Meet the travel content creator who visited every country in the world

A YouTube sensation who creates travel content viewed by millions has officially visited every country in the world.

Drew Binsky from Scottsdale, Arizona ticked off his 197th country last Friday (29 October) after nearly a decade of jetting around the globe with a camera in hand.

"It’s an incredible feeling", said Drew, who had not slept in more than 35 hours since arriving at his final stop.

The travel bug began for Drew back in 2012 when he studied abroad in Prague, followed by time spent in Korea teaching English.

He then began making vlogs for fun, and by 2016 had started to build a career from his incredible travel videos.

However, the content creator's adventures came to a grinding halt when the world was hit by the coronavirus pandemic last year, with only six countries remaining on his list.

But 432 flights and 2.7 billion video views later, Drew has completed his epic challenge and landed in his final destination, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

“I really like the Middle East and the Gulf, it’s really my favourite region in the world. I love the people, the culture, the hospitality, the food, and so I just wanted to save a good one until the end.

"Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine; those countries are just far superior in my opinion. To travel through and learn about the history, and get invited into people's houses, it's just incredible."

Drew focuses on the positives when it comes to his digital storytelling, highlighting the lesser known destinations and communities that deserve more visitors. 

"I try to shine a spotlight on people because there is talent everywhere in the world, a lot of talent. But unfortunately in most places that talent will never be seen, so I like to reverse my camera", said Drew.

"People know what I look like, people know what I think, but I'm not an expert on Central African Republic. You know who is? My friend David, and so I will reserve my camera on him and have him tell his story which has never been heard before. That is something I feel is really necessary and that's why I do it."

For those thinking of following in his footsteps (or perhaps a smaller adventure), Drew said it takes a lot of hard work and patience, but it is entirely possible. 

“The best advice I can give is written on my shirt right now. Two words. Just go. Because the best moments in life comes from spontaneous decisions in my opinion."

So, after travelling to every country on the planet with the whole world watching, what is the social media personality going to do next?

“I’ve already got my flight booked. I’m going back to Prague for three days. It’s where I studied abroad so it's like the full circle. After I finished all the countries I wanted to go back to where I started. No cameras, no computers, no phones.”

To discover more about Drew’s adventures, subscribe to his YouTube, follow his Instagram, Facebook and TikTok (@drewbinsky), or keep any eye out for his upcoming documentary, Border 197