Several people have requested more information on the Travelers' Century Club's list of 315 countries and places. I quote below from the Club's brochure.
"Membership in the Travelers' Century Club is limited to those who have visited one hundred or more countries of the world. It was first organized in Los Angeles in 1954 by a group of the world's most widely traveled people. The idea has attracted the interest of world travelers everywhere and the Club now has members throughout the U. S. as well as in many foreign countries.
"The motto of the Club is, 'World travel ... the passport to peace through understanding.' In this connection, the Club's brochure quotes from a talk made at the World Travel Congress in 1958 by Mr. E. C. Daniels, Assistant Managing Editor of the New York Times, as follows:
"'If there is left in the world any hope whatsoever that men can live in peace, despite the terrible weapons they have created to destroy each other, that hope lies in a better understanding among peoples. Understanding isn't possible without extensive personal contacts. Personal contact can only be made by traveling.' As the late Pope Pius said, 'Away with the barriers, break down the barbed wire fences, let people be free to know the life of other people, let that segregation of some countries from the rest of the world - so dangerous to peace - be abolished.'"
Shown below is the Club's official list of countries - a total of 315 as of January 2005. Although some are not actually countries in their own right, they have been included because they are removed from parent countries either geographically, politically or ethnologically. After consideration as to how long one must have stayed in a country or island group to qualify, it was decided that even the shortest of visits would suffice - even if only a part-of-call or aircraft fuel stop. This greatly widens the field and gives a better chance to qualify for one of the most unusual clubs in the world and certainly the most exclusive travel group!
The Club may be contacted at P. O. Box 7050, Santa Monica, CA 90406-7050. Its fax is 310-395-9511 and its e-mail address is tccclub3@gte.net. The club's web site is: www.travelerscenturyclub.org.
Only John Clouse, a lawyer from Indiana, and perhaps a dozen others have traveled to all of the destinations on the Club's list. The youngest person to have traveled to all of the destinations on the Club's list is Charles Veley of San Francisco. Veley completed the list in 2003 before his 38th birthday.
I (Ted) have only had the pleasure to meet three people (one of whom is Charles Veley) who have been to more places on the list than I (307). Do you happen to know anyone who has been to more than this?
=============================================================
The Travelers' Century Club (TCC) added 4 new destinations to its official list in January 1999: Lampedusa Island (Italy); Somaliland (on the horn of East Africa and now in addition to Somalia); Rodrigues Island (Indian Ocean) and Chatham Islands (New Zealand).
The TCC added 1 new destination to its official list in January 2001: East Timor.
The TCC added 3 new destinations to its official list in January 2003: Kosovo, Srpska and Trans Dniester.
The TCC added 2 new destinations to its official list in January 2005:
Prince Edward Island and Nakhichevan (an exclave of Azerbaijan sandwiched
between Armenia, Iran and Turkey). In addition, the TCC removed 4
destinations from its official list in January 2005. San Blas Islands
(Panama), American Antarctica and Russian Antarctica were all removed.
Also, "Yemen, Northern Republic" and "Yemen, Southern Republic" were combined to
create the single entity "Yemen."
The TCC added 4 new destinations to its official list in June 2007:
Cabinda (an exclave of Angola sandwiched between Congo Brazzaville and Zaire),
Bonaire, Curacao and St. Maarten. In addition, the TCC removed 2
destinations from its official list in June 2007: Johnston Island and
Netherlands Antilles.
The total number of destinations on the TCC list is now 317.
After the recent changes to the TCC list, Netherlands Leeward Islands, Wake Island, and newly-added Cabinda are the only three non-Antarctic destinations on the list which I've NOT visited. Unfortunately, Wake is off limits to non-military personnel per the U. S. Air Force which administers the island. So the only hope of getting to Wake is on one of the veterans' tours which are often run on anniversary years of the battle.
The Travelers' Century Club list:
T = 307 destinations in list below visited by Ted
NORTH AMERICA - Club subtotal 6
(Ted's subtotal 6)
T Alaska
T Canada
T Mexico
T Prince Edward Island
T St. Pierre & Miquelon
T United States (continental)
CENTRAL AMERICA - Club subtotal 7
(Ted's subtotal 7)
T Belize (British Honduras)
T Costa Rica
T El Salvador
T Guatemala
T Honduras
T Nicaragua
T Panama
CARIBBEAN - Club subtotal 29
(Ted's subtotal 28)
T Anguilla
T Antigua & Dependencies (Barbuda, Redonda)
T Aruba
T Bahamas
T Barbados
T Bonaire
T Cayman Islands
T Cuba
T Curacao
T Dominica - Ted aircraft transit
T Dominican Republic
T Grenada & Dependencies (Marie Galante)
T Guadeloupe
T Haiti
T Jamaica
T Leeward Islands, French (St. Martin, St. Barts)
Leeward Islands, Netherlands (Saba, St. Eustatius)
T Martinique - Ted aircraft transit
T Montserrat
T Puerto Rico
T San Andres & Providencias
T St. Kitts, Nevis
T St. Lucia
T St. Maarten
T St. Vincent & Dependencies (Bequia, Canouan, Grenadines)
T Trinidad & Tobago
T Turks & Caicos Islands
T Virgin Islands, American (St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas)
T Virgin Islands, British (Tortola, etc.) - Ted aircraft
transit
SOUTH AMERICA - Club subtotal 13
(Ted's subtotal 13)
T Argentina
T Bolivia
T Brazil
T Chile
T Colombia
T Ecuador
T French Guiana
T Guyana (British Guiana)
T Paraguay
T Peru
T Surinam (Netherlands Guiana)
T Uruguay
T Venezuela
ATLANTIC OCEAN - Subtotal 13
(Ted's subtotal 13)
T Ascension
T Azores Islands
T Bermuda
T Canary Islands
T Cape Verde Islands
T Falkland Islands
T Faroe Islands
T Fernando de Noronha
T Greenland (Kalatlik Nunat)
T Iceland
T Madeira
T St. Helena
T Tristan da Cunha
PACIFIC OCEAN - Club subtotal 39
(Ted's subtotal 38)
T Australia
T Bismarck Archipelago (New Ireland, New Britain,
Bougainville, Admiralty Islands)
T Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Penrhyn)
T Chatham Islands (New Zealand)
T Easter Island
T Fiji Islands
T French Polynesia (Tahiti, Tuamotu, Austral, Gambier)
T Galapagos Islands
T Guam
T Hawaiian Islands
T Juan Fernandez Islands (Robinson Crusoe Island)
T Kiribati (Gilberts, Tarawa, Ocean Island) - Ted transit
T Line/Phoenix Islands (Palmyra, Fanning, Christmas, Canton,
Enderbury, Howland)
T Lord Howe Island
T Marquesas Islands
T Marshall Islands, Rep. of (Majuro, Kwajalein, Eniwetok)
-
Ted transit
T Micronesia, Federated States of (Ponape, Kosrae, Truk,
Yap;
Caroline Islands) - Ted transit
T Midway Island
T Nauru
T New Caledonia & Deps. (Noumea; Loyalty Islands)
T New Zealand
T Niue
T Norfolk Island
T Northern Marianas (Saipan, Tinian)
T Ogasawara (Bonin, Volcano Island, Iwo Jima)
T Palau, Republic of
T Papua New Guinea
T Pitcairn Island
T Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa)
T Samoa, American (Pago Pago)
T Samoa, Western (Apia)
T Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal, New Georgia, Tulagi) - Ted
transit
T Tasmania
T Tokelau Islands (Fakaofu, Atafu, Union)
T Tonga (Nuku'alofa)
T Tuvalu (Ellice Islands, Funafuti, Vaitapu)
T Vanuatu (New Hebrides Islands)
Wake Island
T Wallis & Futuna Islands
EUROPE & MEDITERRANEAN - Club subtotal 67
(Ted's subtotal 67)
T Aland Islands (Mariehamm)
T Albania
T Andorra
T Austria
T Balearic Islands (Majorca, Minorca)
T Belarus (Minsk)
T Belgium
T Bosnia & Herzegovina (Sarajevo)
T Bulgaria
T Corsica
T Crete
T Croatia (Zagreb, Dubrovnik)
T Cyprus, Republic of
T Cyprus, Turkish Fed. State of
T Czech Federated Republic
T Denmark
T Dodecanese Islands (Rhodes)
T England
T Estonia (Tallinn)
T Finland
T France
T Germany
T Gibraltar
T Greece
T Guernsey & Dependencies (Alderney, Herm, Sark; Channel
Islands)
T Hungary
T Ionian Islands (Corfu, etc.)
T Ireland (Eire)
T Ireland, Northern (Ulster)
T Isle of Man
T Italy
T Jersey (Channel Islands)
T Kaliningrad (Koenigsberg)
T Lampedusa (Italy)
T Kosovo
T Latvia (Riga)
T Liechtenstein
T Lithuania (Vilnius)
T Luxembourg
T Macedonia (Skopje)
T Malta
T Moldova (Kishinev)
T Monaco
T Montenegro (Titograd)
T Netherlands
T Norway
T Poland
T Portugal
T Romania
T Russia (Moscow)
T San Marino
T Sardinia
T Scotland
T Serbia (Belgrade)
T Sicily
T Slovak Republic
T Slovenia (Ljubljana)
T Spain
T Spitsbergen (Svalbard, Bear Island)
T Srpska
T Sweden
T Switzerland
T Trans Dniester
T Turkey in Europe (Istanbul)
T Ukraine (Kiev)
T Vatican City
T Wales
NEAR EAST - Club subtotal 20
(Ted's subtotal 20)
T Abu Dhabi
T Ajman
T Bahrain
T Dubai
T Fujeira
T Iran
T Iraq
T Israel
T Jordan
T Kuwait
T Lebanon
T Oman
T Palestine
T Qatar
T Ras Al Khaima
T Saudi Arabia
T Sharjah
T Syria
T Umm Al Qiwain
T Yemen
ANTARCTICA - Club subtotal 7
(Ted's subtotal 0)
Argentine South Pole
Australian Antarctic Territory South Pole (Mawson,
Davis,
Macquarie, Heard)
Chilean South Pole
Falklands Islands Dependencies (British Antarctica,
Graham
Land, So. Shetland, So. Sandwich, So. Georgia,
So. Orkney)
French Southern & Antarctic Territory South Pole
(Kerguelon,
Crozet, Amsterdam, St. Paul)
Norwegian (includes Bouvet)
New Zealand South Pole (Ross Dependency)
AFRICA - Club subtotal 53
(Ted's subtotal 52)
T Algeria
T Angola (Portuguese West Africa) - Ted transit
T Benin (Dahomey) - Ted aircraft transit
T Botswana (Bechuanaland)
T Bourkina Fasso (Upper Volta)
T Burundi (Urundi)
Cabinda (Angola)
T Cameroon
T Central African Republic
T Chad
T Congo (Brazzaville)
T Djibouti (French Somaliland, Afars & Issas)
T Egypt
T Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni, Fernando Poo)
T Eritrea
T Ethiopia
T Gabon
T Gambia, The
T Ghana (Gold Coast, British Togoland)
T Guinea (French Guinea)
T Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese Guinea)
T Ivory Coast
T Kenya
T Lesotho (Basutoland)
T Liberia
T Libya - Ted transit
T Malawi (Nyasaland)
T Mali (French Soudan)
T Mauritania
T Morocco
T Morocco, Spanish (Ceuta, Melilla)
T Mozambique (Portuguese East Africa)
T Namibia
T Niger
T Nigeria
T Rwanda (Ruanda)
T Sao Tome & Principe
T Senegal
T Sierra Leone
T Somalia (Italian Somaliland)
T Somaliland (British Somaliland)
T South Africa
T Sudan
T Swaziland
T Tanzania (Tanganyika)
T Togo
T Tunisia
T Uganda
T Western Sahara (Spanish Sahara)
T Zaire (Kinshasa; Belgian Congo)
T Zambia (Northern Rhodesia)
T Zanzibar
T Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia)
ASIA - Club subtotal 49
(Ted's subtotal 49)
T Afghanistan
T Armenia (Yerevan)
T Azerbaijan (Baku)
T Bangladesh
T Bhutan
T Brunei
T Cambodia
T China, People's Republic of (Beijing)
T China, Republic of (Taiwan, Formosa)
T Georgia (Tblisi)
T East Timor
T Hainan Island
T Hong Kong
T India
T Indonesia (Java)
T Irian Jaya (Dutch New Guinea)
T Japan
T Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo)
T Kashmir
T Kazakhstan (Alma Ata)
T Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek-Frunze)
T Korea, North - Ted transit
T Korea, South
T Laos
T Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Timor, Indonesia)
T Macao
T Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
T Moluka (Moluccas, Indonesia) - Ted aircraft transit
T Mongolia
T Myanmar (Burma)
T Nakhichevan
T Nepal
T Pakistan
T Philippines
T Sabah (North Borneo)
T Sarawak
T Siberia (Russia in Asia)
T Sikkim
T Singapore
T Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
T Sulawesi (Celebes, Indonesia)
T Sumatra (Indonesia)
T Tajikistan (Dyushambe)
T Thailand
T Tibet
T Turkey in Asia (Anatolia, Ankara, Izmir)
T Turkmenistan (Ashkhabad)
T Uzbekistan (Tashkent)
T Viet Nam
INDIAN OCEAN - Club subtotal 14
(Ted's subtotal 14)
T Andaman-Nicobar Islands
T British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago, Diego
Garcia)
T Christmas Island - Ted transit
T Cocos (Keeling) Islands - Ted transit
T Comoro Islands (Anjouan, Moheli, Grand Comoro) - Ted aircraft
transit
T Lakshadweep, Union Territory of (Laccadive Islands)
T Malagasy Republic (Madagascar)
T Maldive Islands
T Mauritius & Dependencies (Agalega, St. Brandon)
T Mayotte (Dzaoudzi) - Ted transit
T Reunion & Dependencies (Tromelin, Glorioso)
T Rodriguez (Mauritius)
T Seychelles
T Zil Elwannyen Sesel (Aldabra, Farquhar, Amirante Islands)
=============================================================
MY STRATEGY:
I have already "finished" 8 of the 12 TCC areas: North America; Central America;
South America; Atlantic Ocean; Europe; Near East; Asia and Indian Ocean.
I had finished Caribbean until St. Maarten was split off from the rest of
Netherlands Leeward Islands in June 2007. I had also finished Africa until
Cabinda was added in June 2007. I plan to visit either Saba or St.
Eustatius plus Cabinda either sometime in late 2007 or in 2008. I hope to
visit Wake Island on a veterans' tour whenever that is offered. Then I will try to finish
Antarctica.
=============================================================
My short-term travel goals (3 destinations in 3 trips) are as follows:
Saba/St. Eustatius & Cabinda & Wake Island
Total TCC
Places: 3
Accumulated total including this = 307 + 3 = 310
My long-term travel goals (7 destinations in 2 trips) are as follows:
Antarctica (7)
The South Pole
includes 6 TCC destinations:
Argentine SOUTH POLE
Australian Antarctic Territory SOUTH POLE
(Mawson, Davis,
Macquarie, Heard)
Chilean SOUTH POLE
Falklands Islands
Dependencies (British Antarctica,
Graham Land,
So. Shetland, So. Sandwich, So. Georgia, So. Orkney)
French Southern & Antarctic Territory
SOUTH POLE (Kerguelon,
Crozet, Amsterdam, St. Paul)
New Zealand SOUTH POLE (Ross Dependency)
Norwegian
(includes Bouvet)
=============================================================
TED'S TRAVELERS' CENTURY CLUB (TCC) DESTINATION ANALYSIS:
Summary of current total and goals:
TCC |
Ted
Total | Now
North America 6 6 #
Central America 7 7 #
Caribbean 29
28
South America 13 13 #
Atlantic Ocean 13 13 #
Pacific Ocean 39 38
Europe
67 67 #
Near East 20
20
#
Antarctica 7
0
Africa
53 52
Asia
49 49 #
Indian Ocean 14
14
#
--- ---
Totals 317
307
317
---
Destinations to go: 10
# = Areas Ted has already completed
=============================================================
Breakdown of 8 destinations (315-307) remaining to be visited:
North America 0
Central America 0
Caribbean 1
Leeward Islands, Netherlands
South America 0
Atlantic Ocean 0
Pacific Ocean 1 Wake
Island
Europe
0
Near East
0
Antarctica 7
Africa
1 Cabinda
Asia
0
Indian Ocean 0
--
Total
10
=============================================================
Of 39 Pacific islands, only Wake Island is still to be visited.
P A C I F I C O C E A N
Ryukyu
Midway
Ogasawara
N.MARIANA Wake HAWAII
GUAM
MICRONESIA MARSHALL
PALAU
---------------------------E-q-u-a-t-o-r----------------------------
Nauru Kiribati
Line
GALAPAGOS
BismarckArch.
PNG Solomon Tuvalu Tokelau
Wallis&Futuna
MARQUESAS
W.SAMOA AM.SAMOA
Vanuatu FIJI
Niue FRENCHPOLYNESIA
NewCaledonia
TONGA COOK
PITCAIRN EASTER
JFERNANDEZ
AUSTRALIA Norfolk
LORDHOWE
TASMANIA NEWZEALAND
CHATHAM
=============================================================
In June 2006 there were 1,795 registered
members of the Travelers'
Century Club. (The additional 223 provisional members who had
not
visited at least
100 countries
are not
included in
these statistics.)
1,244
of these had been to at
least 100 places
but not to as many as 150.
Another 286 had been to at
least 150 places but
not to as many as 200.
Another 161 had been to at
least 200 places but
not to as many as 250.
Another 54 had been to at
least 250 places but
not to as many as 300.
Only 50 had been to at
least 300 places (and possibly to all 314).
Those
who had been to 150 or more places on the list were at
least in
the
top 30.7% of the club.
Those
who had been to 200 or more places on the list were at
least in
the
top 15.0% of the club.
Those
who had been to 250 or more places on the list were at
least in
the
top 5.8% of the club.
Those
who had been to 300 or more places on the list were at
least in
the
top 2.8% of the club.
=============================================================
In February 2004 there were 1,603 registered members of the Travelers'
Century Club. (The additional 199 provisional members who
had not
visited at least 100 countries are not included in these statistics.)
1,077 of these had been to at least 100 places but not to as many as 150.
Another 284 had been to at least 150 places but not to as many as 200.
Another 142 had been to at least 200 places but not to as many as 250.
Another 63 had been to at least 250 places but not to as many as 300.
Only 37 had been to at least 300 places (and possibly to all 314).
Those who had been to 150 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 32.8% of the club.
Those who had been to 200 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 15.1% of the club.
Those who had been to 250 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 6.2% of the club.
Those who had been to 300 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 2.3% of the club.
=============================================================
In September 2001 there were 1,473 registered members of the Travelers'
Century Club. (The additional 192 provisional members who
had not
visited at least 100 countries are not included in these statistics.)
1,032 of these had been to at least 100 places but not to as many as 150.
Another 232 had been to at least 150 places but not to as many as 200.
Another 139 had been to at least 200 places but not to as many as 250.
Another 44 had been to at least 250 places but not to as many as 300.
Only 26 had been to at least 300 places (and possibly to all 314).
Those who had been to 150 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 30% of the club.
Those who had been to 200 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 15% of the club.
Those who had been to 250 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 5% of the club.
Those who had been to 300 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 2% of the club.
=============================================================
In August 1999 there were 1,371 registered members of the Travelers'
Century Club. (The additional provisional members who had
not
visited at least 100 countries are not included in these statistics.)
939 of these had been to at least 100 places but not to as many as 150.
Another 246 had been to at least 150 places but not to as many as 200.
Another 128 had been to at least 200 places but not to as many as 250.
Another 32 had been to at least 250 places but not to as many as 300.
Only 26 had been to at least 300 places (and possibly to all 314).
Those who had been to 150 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 32% of the club.
Those who had been to 200 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 14% of the club.
Those who had been to 250 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 5% of the club.
Those who had been to 300 or more places on the list were at least
in
the top 2% of the club.
=============================================================
Remainder of TCC Watch List from February 1999:
ABKHAZIA
CHECHNIA
ANJOUAN AND MOHELI
=============================================================
"When you think of travel, think of Ted (Cookson)!"