Another week, another installment of my favorite reads this week:
Let’s kick things off with two interesting articles about tourism: Eric Weiner‘s “Why Tourism is Not a Four-Letter Word“ at World Hum and Sarah Menkedick‘s “Tourism and the ‘Preservation’ of Culture: A Rebuttal” at Matador Abroad. They both raise some great points, and I can’t disagree with either of them. From an intellectual standpoint, I probably align closer with Sarah (because I’m a worrier, and so I worry about things like cultural imperialism), but from an emotional standpoint, I support Eric’s premise that tourism is not as negative a thing as many travelers make it out to be. I, too, grow quite weary of the travel snobbery that exists out there, and the people who act as though the only “right” way to travel is by shunning luggage with wheels, tour groups, and popular attractions like the Eiffel Tower. I don’t buy into this theory that tourists and travelers are radically different things, and that one is right and one is wrong. Tomayto, tomahto, people; live and let live. Sometimes, the only way a person is going to have the courage to travel and see the world is with a tour group that “edits” their experience. I’d rather see them do that than not travel at all. And sometimes, the only way a region can eke out a living is with tourism. I know, because I live in a state that depends on tourism a LOT. Does everyone in Vermont ski, milk cows and tap maple trees? No, but if that’s what brings people here to spend money in our state, God bless.
Here’s a follow-up piece to the article I noted in last week’s Recommended Reads (How Vacations Affect Your Happiness from the New York Times). Here, Christine Garvin elaborates on The Truth About Happiness and Travel at Brave New Traveler.
And thanks to Jared Romey at Matador Trips for this fantastic article, Budget Guide to South Beach. I love-love-love South Beach (especially in the winter time), but it can be quite pricey. I’m always looking for ways to save money there. Jared offers some great tips in this regard.
I really enjoyed this entry by Christine Ka’aloa at GRRRLTraveler, GRRRL Goes Whimpery in Her New Korean Location. What do you do when you commit yourself to working in Korea for a year, arrive there all excited, only to discover your initial impression is disappointing to the extreme? Okay, first you freak out. Then what? Read Christine’s post and find out.
And for your weekly funny. . . Poor Jodi at LegalNomads describes a frustrating, maddening and yet hilarious (sorry, Jodi) problem she’s been having on her travels in The Official Birdcrap Counter: Documenting the Crap. I can honestly say this has never happened to me, and I hope it never does.
Photo credit: foxypar4 at Creative Commons.
on Mar 7th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Thanks for posting this and bringing these pieces on tourism and cultural preservation to our attention. They are both excellent reads, as are the comments that follow them. I've been reading Sarah's blog for awhile now and really appreciate her point of view on tourism and cultural preservation and it's certainly provoked some new thought on this topic for me. I see both points of view, though, and think neither is the absolute last word – every action we take as travelers has an impact, and that impact can be positive and negative at the same time, for entirely different reasons.
on Mar 7th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Thank you, Lauren. I agree–both articles were well-written and sparked great conversation.
on Mar 8th, 2010 at 7:46 am
Thanks for the mention, Gray! It was quite a surprise to be telling the story of the Official Birdcrap Counter and have a bird crap on me at the very same time. Punctuation for the story, perhaps? I enjoyed the link roundup as well – thanks for posting!
on Mar 9th, 2010 at 8:43 am
I was once in Chicago for one full day and decided to take one of those three-hour bus tours. Sure I could've wandered around the city and would have loved doing that if I had more time there, but I definitely feel like I got more out of the quick trip with guidance and without having to worry about transportation etc. (that alone can take up a lot of your trip time if you don't know what you're doing).
I absolutely think tour groups, etc., have their place…it's up to each individual as to how they'd like to experience something
Great post!
on Mar 9th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Still hanging in there. Thanks for the mention Gray! Your review makes me laugh everytime I look at it. “… first you freak out.” Glad I could entertain and uplift spirits. LOL.
on Mar 9th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
I totally agree, Michelle. Those city tours, especially, can be a great way to “get the lay of the land” when you first arrive in a new place.
on Mar 10th, 2010 at 12:38 am
You're welcome, Christine. I really enjoyed your post, mainly because I have had situations like that before (not via travel, necessarily) and I could really relate.