Exploring culture through travel: Adam Vaughan on his unique experiences

Recent advances in technology have resulted in a drastic impact on the world and the way people live in it. They are creating a greater degree of interconnectedness between technology and the human experience. Innovation is changing the way that the world works and academic, Tonino Pencarelli, claims that this will result in the need to perceive the world, “through different lenses and new paradigms.” He also makes the case that technological advancement is changing the tourism industry, and this change must be incorporated by the industry if it wants to continue to succeed. 

Pencarelli argues that soon it will not be possible for the tourism industry to simply incorporate advances in technology to continue to succeed. The tourism industry will be required to experience a shift towards different perspectives that highlight sustainability, social value, and quality of life. New technologies in the tourism industry will need to prioritize improving the quality of the practices of tourism generally. This will require a paradigm in which social value and quality of life take top priority for both tourists and the local populations of travel destinations.  

Adam Vaughan on culture, travel and his unique experiences

Adam Vaughan was brought up in the suburbs of Omaha, Nebraska. He spent his formative years playing baseball and football with his friends and emulating warfare in the trees and creeks close to his neighborhood. He first experienced travel by going to Des Moines, Adventureland, Kansas City, and Worlds of Fun. He was also given a taste of other countries through his uncle’s stories of Ireland, and by watching television and films. He now states that these places, “might as well have been on the moon,” because he could never imagine traveling there.

This would all change when Vaughan joined the US Air Force in 1998. He quickly realized just how massive the world was and that his desire for travel and new experiences was equally as large. He realized that “All along there was a yearning for exploration of culture, history, and pure experiences that I never knew existed but luckily broke free.” He was deployed for the first time after 9/11 and was subsequently deployed to multiple combat zones, as well as being deployed on hundreds of other missions around the world. In his wide travels, he has visited every country in Asia and nearly every country in Europe. 

Throughout his many Air Force missions, he encountered many people of varied cultures and social statuses. This led him to develop respect and admiration for, “those who had far less, those that were affected, and those that had nothing as we had.” He has developed a strong belief in equality for all people regardless of their race, gender, or sexual orientation. He has a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ rights and is currently working on educating and improving the corporate environment in this regard. 

Twenty years after he began his service in the Air Force he retired and began a new chapter in his life. He is now working at Meta as a manager of Global Operations. This job suits him perfectly as he is frequently required to travel around the world to collaborate with team members on various projects. This experience with Meta has led Vaughan to his new adventure – developing a travel brand. This brand is called Vonski Travels and the official website will be launched soon. Through this brand, he aims to achieve two important goals. These are sharing his depth of experience with the world and inspiring others to pursue travel and their adventures.  

Final thoughts 

Adam Vaughan has experienced two important realizations through his work. Through the Air Force, he learned that he has an unquenchable thirst for traveling the world and for learning about and experiencing new cultures. Through Meta, he has learned that he wants to share this passion with the world, which has given him so much inspiration and helped others to achieve their dreams and see as much of the world as he has.