I begin with this – something unimpeachably wise from someone irreproachably sagacious – in an attempt to ground what follows. You see, over many moons I have read and pondered your (my fellow travel scribes’) articles, blog posts and comments. Sadly, with each passing day, I shake my head and wonder how you’ve not read the writing on the wall: the travel terrain has changed, so why haven’t you?
Vision is not seeing things as they are, but as they will be
Most mainstream newspapers and magazines today give periodic lip service to the evolution of travel, acknowledging that more and more travellers consider themselves ‘ecotourists,’ but not really giving their readers enough to feed their ethical penchants. Hamstrung by shrinking budgets, market-deaf advertisers and cumbersome bureaucracy, major travel media look like they’re being outpaced by the industry they’re supposed to support.
So why aren’t you, the new generation of penmen and -women, stepping into an expanding vacuum? Why aren’t more of you – buttressed by blogging skills and vocal in your frustrated desire to be recognised for your craft – helping to drive the kind of change that positions you as leaders? More nimble, more imaginative, more bold and less reliant on traditional revenue sources, you have little stopping you.
As one of the rank and file, I wouldn’t dare to guess at or pass judgment on your individual motivations as writers. And yet, banking on substantial personal experience, I feel justified in a Lincolnesque examination of the evil-good balance of advocating for the fastest-growing but most rough-trod parcel of the travel terrain and of wondering aloud why so many of you (travel writers in general, but bloggers in particular) appear to be shrinking from a perfect storm of a challenge.
What we see is mainly what we look for
Here’s what I see: an alternative marketplace that’s got many niche names: ecotourism, responsible travel, sustainable travel, local travel, slow travel, community-based tourism, geotourism, green travel, pro-poor tourism, conscious travel, ethical travel etc.
This travel space continues to be alternative to the mainstream traffic of consumers who plan and shop for holidays guided principally by bucket lists and budget. That being said, high-minded considerations – worries about carbon emissions, ‘economic leakage,’ ‘cultural flattening’ and the like – are now increasingly asserting themselves as powerful motivators too. As early as 2007, Condé Nast Traveler’s “The Power of Travel” focus on “the impact of tourism on communities and the planet” revealed a whopping 74% of respondents who thought “that hotels should be responsible for helping alleviate poverty in their own communities.” This is just a small fraction of the 7% of the international travel market in 2007 that the UN World Tourism Organisation attributed to ecotourism, a number that has increased significantly since then. We’re beholding the mainstreaming of the fringe.
What we fight against defines us as clearly as all we embrace
As I consider shifting travel trends, though, what has surprised me most is the lacklustre endorsement for change from travel media. Catherine Mack wrote meaningfully about this last month. “After a plethora of responsible tourism conferences, conventions and codes of practice, so many travel writers, not just travellers, still think it is amusing that our industry is ‘responsible’ for so much damage,” she lamented. So do I. I also wonder why.
Now, I’m sure the proliferation of travel monikers has lent to confusion about what it all means. It may even have lent to some degree of exhaustion. There’s already a small but important weight of accountability (and sometimes culpability) associated with the cluttered mix of mindful compound-noun travel styles, but does “The lack of a precise, commonly agreed definition of ‘ecotourism’… cause… misunderstanding, argument and debate,” as Ron Mader asks in an essay about tourism definitions? Why else would each new entrant into the space feel compelled to come up with a new banner, right?
I nevertheless keep coming back to the same thought. Does the majority of travel writers and editors just not get it? Or not care? In a LinkedIn comment left in response to Catherine Mack’s post, one reader is understanding about the mix of priorities that influence travellers and travel providers, but he has no sympathy for the media. “They would only be interested in the reality TV show ‘I’m a Responsible Celebrity on Holiday, Get me out of here.’” Another reader derides “smug media apathy.”
“We buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like” – Dave Ramsey
Not surprisingly, the circle-jerk of blame in the travel media space can be impressive. I try to avoid it, which means I am ignorant both of what powers it and of how to neuter it when it grows too rabid. Looking in from the outsider ranks, I see writers criticising editors criticising advertisers criticising PR firms criticising travel suppliers criticising tourist boards criticising what writers write. Working in such conditions, the pool of writers – a glowing (and growing!) cadre of exceptions notwithstanding – seems fundamentally ill-equipped to drive change.
Far too many of them behave like angry miners clawing at a passing flash of blood diamond. Do they not care about morality or changing consumer interests? Perhaps not. A writer I won’t embarrass by name once told me “I write for today’s traveler, not tomorrow’s,” which struck me as fundamentally wrong-footed. Everyone’s stuck in an engine coughing on dirty oil that soils the clean whenever it’s added.
We only grow when we step outside our comfort zone
If your comfort zone is exclusively surf, sand and sun in an air-conditioned, gated, foreign-owned resort that imports the foods you eat at home and staff who look like you, it’s time to expand your horizons. At a time of global warming, widespread economic and political upheaval, and irremediable cultural extinction, should you really be devoting energy to the promotion of bad practices and sorry stereotypes? Why do I even have to ask that question?
I’ve never yet heard a legitimate argument against being responsible when you travel. Burlap sheets and grass dinners are no more likely with ethical operators than they are with any others. And objecting to the sustainable use of resources or equitable sharing of profits with local providers would be like lobbying against kindness. By Lincoln’s standards, then, responsible travel is more of good than of evil, something to be embraced. Dipping your quill in support of it should also be a no-brainer.
“We must hang together, gentlemen…else, we shall most assuredly hang separately” – Benjamin Franklin
If ever there was a man who was unafraid to try something new, it was Franklin. However, while he was always ready to go out on a limb by himself, he was also a convinced collaborator, banking (sometimes literally) on the shared wisdom and foresight of his colleagues.
Now, I’m no Franklin, but I do believe that travel writers (especially bloggers) are in a unique position today:
We could add oomph to the fair travel crusade by giving consumers what they want and, just as critically, rejecting what is wrong with irresponsible travel.
We could join forces with the mass of industry stakeholders who are making meaningful decisions about where they work and how best to present it to visitors.
We could stabilise the unsteady responsible travel stool by adding media – the missing third leg – to those above and finally propelling the travel industry into the next generation.
What do you think?
Images: Contrails (Feature) - Francesco Proceda, Camera women - Johnnie Utah, Farmer – Anne Wangalachi/CIMMYT, Girl – McKay Savage
Post Revisions:
- 26 February, 2012 @ 13:25 [Current Revision] by Ethan Gelber
- 26 February, 2012 @ 13:22 by Alastair McKenzie
- 26 February, 2012 @ 13:18 by Alastair McKenzie
- 26 February, 2012 @ 13:15 by Alastair McKenzie
- 26 February, 2012 @ 13:05 by Alastair McKenzie
- 26 February, 2012 @ 13:05 by Alastair McKenzie
- 26 February, 2012 @ 12:54 by Alastair McKenzie
I think bloggers SHOULD write more responsibly about travel. We visit and promote places but often don’t include much more than nice photos, basic travel information and personal stories & details. I try to write about responsible tourism but many of those posts are not well-received among other bloggers.
Sensitive subjects don’t sell well.
Hi Adam, thanks for the thought. And for giving attention to responsible travel.
I disagree, though, with your contention that sensitive subjects don’t sell well. Sensitive is what makes news move. Striking hard with breaking news is what many journalists dream of. So is changing the terms of a contentious debate – helping readers to understand the complexity of something they thought was simple… and then helping them see clearly through it. We travel writers should be writing for these people (consumers who deserve to see the world as it is really is), providing a full depth of knowledge and understanding about how to be better travelers. And we should not be overly concerned about how well it is received by other bloggers. You can’t lead from the back of the pack.
Random interesting thing: I see an important but subtle distinction between writing ‘more about responsible travel’ and writing ‘more responsibly about travel.’ They’re both important, but subtly different.
Probably the best way to encourage “responsible travel” is to encourage people to do something closer to home. Think about it: If you live in New York, why not minimize your impact on the environment and support a local economy by spending a week in the Bronx or Newark (or Trenton or Hartford, if you feel the need to go farther afield)?
The problem, of course, is that most people (including bloggers) would rather visit Paris, France than Paris, Kentucky, or they’d prefer to spend a week than in Bangkok than in Bradford.
Also, we need to remember that a high percentage of travel blogs are personal diaries. They don’t inspire trips, they’re inspired *by* trips–and “responsible travel” probably isn’t a great topic for the peripatetic RTW blogger who’s racking up 200,000 frequent-flyer miles per year.
Hi Durant,
Some very valid observations. To the last one first: For the very reasons you have cited (the abundance of personal trip logs), I didn’t ask and definitely don’t believe that ALL bloggers should or would devote their attention to responsible travel. I can’t imagine that most of them find their way to this site anyway. I’m talking to the professionals – or would-be professionals – in search of travel blogging opportunity… and missing one of the biggest ones out there.
I also don’t want anyone to think that responsible behavior in travel is limited to staying local to where you live. This type of “local travel” should absolutely be encouraged (it is something in which I fervently believe); there’s magic to be discovered close to home. However, as Cynthia points out directly below, “local travel” is also a mindset when you’re a visitor in a foreign land. Even in Paris, France, there are ways to spend, to engage, to discover that are show conscientious and responsible choices.
I agree that the carbon emissions of long haul flights is perhaps the biggest threat to travel/tourism sustainability. It’s also the most difficult to broach, as “travel closer and and travel less” is not kind of message stakeholders or consumers will be likely to respond to any time soon.
I think there are more constructive messages to promote in the online travel literature, like “travel slower” or “travel local” that can encourage those who will inevitably travel far and often to think about the kind of local impact they have on a destination, both environmentally and economically.
Hi Cynthia, As mentioned in my comment to Durant above, I think your distinction between “travel closer and and travel less” and “constructive messages to promote in the online travel literature, like ‘travel slower’ or ‘travel local’” is SPOT ON!
Hi Cynthia and Ethan, thanks for offering your thoughts on promoting “travel local” and “travel less” messaging. I am all for local travel and have been enjoying the beauty of my new home state of Colorado instead of traveling internationally over the past year. At the same time, I have done a great deal of international travel in the past and want to offer another perspective. Sustainability of our planet not only depends on reduction of fossil fuels, though that is extremely important, but also on our ability to relate to and understand each other. If we only stay local and don’t experience how people live in other parts of the world, we risk narrowing our world view and shrinking our understanding and therefore our compassion. Travel is one of the most effective peace builders and change catalysts in the world. Raam Dev writes, “As long as those with ability to change the world isolate themselves from the part of the world that needs change, those people are not going to be fully equipped to change the world. World peace requires people with a mindset for change; people who have experienced and witnessed firsthand the things that need changing and who unconsciously make choices that are conducive to positive change.” So I invite you to consider that travel to far off places could also play an important role in the long-term well being of our planet and humanity, provided it is done as responsibly as possible while we continue to raise the standard of what “responsible” means.
Oops, misunderstood the main point of your conversation in the middle of a sleepless night. I think we’re totally on the same page. Sorry for the unnecessary comment.
Years ago we held an online conference focusing on Media, the environment and tourism — http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/period/metevent.html — and to be honest, it was a struggle to get media pros working in tourism to grasp the environmental and social consequences much as it was a battle to get the environmental journalists to consider the connections in travel. Has the picture improved? At the end of the day, I thought we’d be further ahead by now.
Certainly bloggers should write more about responsible travel and what it means to the communities in which travel makes an impact. We might or might not choose to call this ‘responsible tourism’ but we ought to do our utmost to catalyze conversations among visitors and locals to come up with local solutions that create win-win benefits.
This past month we conducted an online dialogue focusing on responsible travel around the world and I am gobsmacked by the breadth and depth of the discussion, of the examples, of the opportunities. See http://planeta.wikispaces.com/rtweek2012
How we carry forward these conversations is today’s big question in our quest for travel that creates better places for people to live and better places to visit.
Thanks for the flashback. It is, I think, important. Whether or not there’s been ‘progress’ and regardless of people’s opinions, the terms of many debates *have* changed (sometimes significantly) to reflect heightened awareness of climate change, carbon footprints and sustainability. Environmental awareness is now a far more central consideration in industrial production, food production, the creation of alternative technology, the development of alternative energy, the design of urban transport and much more. This has been reflected in how the media reports on it.
But, even though the tourism industry and travel consumer demand are changing, I don’t get a sense that that enough travel writers are upping their game. Many many have, as was amply demonstrated by Responsible Tourism Week, but what can we do to move more?
As far as carbon emissions are concerned, simple things can make a difference. For example:
- Flying economy is more efficient than flying business or first class.
- Traveling light is more efficient than traveling with big, heavy suitcases.
- Taking a trip to one place is more efficient than going to multiple places during a trip.
- Using public transportation is more efficient than riding in a car or taxi, and walking has even less impact on fossil-fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
All good tips, but, again, conscientious transport choices are just one part of the may ways people can be more responsible when they travel.
I think coverage of and interest in responsible / sustainable travel pretty much reflects where the western world is as a whole on issues of economic growth (growth generally), consumption, humanity and the environment. Hard to see how is could be otherwise.
Not surprisingly the narrative is the same. A new paper put out by 20 past winners of the Blue Planet Prize (http://econews.com.au/news-to-sustain-our-world/top-scientists-urge-radical-change-for-governments/ ) urges governments to replace Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of wealth, end damaging subsidies, and transform systems of governance to set humanity on a new path to a better future.
With a framework like this in place the way forward for tourism will become much clearer …as will the messaging.
I do believe that change is afoot. What concerns me in the travel market (in particular) is that, if you look at the four stakeholder pillars that support its roof – government, businesses, consumers and media – one is lagging behind.
Really interesting Ethan. We have begun getting our linked project village coordinators in Malawi to write short articles for us to use on our blog page of our site. This, along with visitors reviews, helps to give travelers to Malawi a true perspective of the importance of local travel initiatives and the impact these are having http://www.responsiblesafaricompany.com/news.php. We could perhaps move this further and put these project coordinators and our past visitors in contact with Travel blogs etc and get them to share their experiences. Professional journalists/bloggers they are not but they do have the first hand experience.
Fantastic, Kate. That these articles have not been scribed by professionals is not what matters. I absolutely believe that you should be reaching out to blogs and other travel sites open to guest contributions.
Thank you Ethan for asking this question and I hope it illicits a response from members of the travel blogging community.
Sadly the answer to your question lies in a banner on the host site for your article which read “Looking for blog trips or sponsorship next year, try America”
http://travelllll.com/2011/09/12/looking-for-blogtrips-or-sponsorship-next-year-try-america/
The author of that post (and publisher of travelllll.com opined “Wily travel bloggers might get ahead of the pack by pitching ideas and travel plans to US tourism offices or their PRs, before the World Travel Market announcement” It was based on the fact that the new US marketing agency will have lots of “contra” to spend hosting bloggers on fam trips etc….
I too have been dismayed by the sheer volume of travel blogs – there are some fabulous writers out there but they are becoming harder to find as anyone with a wordpress account seems to have decided that blogging is the best way to fund a gap year or RTW trip.
If their sights are set on getting sponsored trips or inclusion on paid for fam trips, they are highly unlikely to risk exposing tourism’s dark side or its vulnerable underbelly.
What I do see though is the potential for those of us who are trying to create an alternative vision to create our own blogging network that chronicles things “as they are and as they could be” and that highlights/celebrates the efforts of providers and destinations who are struggling (and it is a struggle at times), to chart a different course. That’s why I love reading the blogs of people like Gopi, Catherine, Ron and yourself – your (plural) is damm goodd too.
Hi Anna. Lots to mull over in what you’re saying here, but I’d like to take a slightly different tack.
As Durant points out above, many travel bloggers create their sites out of personal passion. I applaud them, just as much as I value all the tools available to passionate people who no longer face insurmountable obstacles to free expression and communication. Travel blogs may be a dime a dozen, but I believe the quantity has enriched the pot, not diluted it.
What’s more important is that the leading blogs, bloggers and content-carrying travel sites serve as guiding examples. And, in keeping with the focus on responsible travel, the example I wish they would set is one that goes further in spotlighting experiences that are as meaningful to the traveler as they are mindful of the host communities. They don’t necessarily have to rake up any muck, they should be just in, as Ron Mader says above, promoting “travel that creates better places for people to live and better places to visit.”
As far as blogging networks are concerned, they do exist. Bret (Green Globe Travel) mentions one below and I’m sure there are others.
I think it’s a mistake to get bothered because thousands of people on “gap year or RTW trips” are creating blogs. It’s also a mistake to think that their blogs should be anything but what they are: personal accounts of their travels.
Blogging is like writing poetry or painting watercolors: Most people do it for pleasure, or to share experiences with family and friends. Expecting a person who’s writing a personal RTW blog to pontificate on “sustainability issues” or expore “tourism’s dark side or its vulnerable underbelly” is like asking the author of a new mother’s blog to pontificate on formula manufacturers or infant survival rates in third-world countries.
I might add that the holier-than-thou left can be just as sanctimonious and bossy as the holier-than-thou right. Bloggers needn’t feel obligated to write about “responsible tourism” or anything else unless the topic interests them and they feel that they have something to contribute.
I sort of agree (in broad principle) with the first two paragraphs. However, I don’t think we’re dipping into sanctimony, political leaning or any sense of obligation. Of course people should write about what they like. However, if they insist on focusing on the magnificence of their Hummers, they should be prepared to defend their decisions if/when people challenge them about skyrocketing fuel prices, carbon emissions, road safety, conspicuous consumption, etc. But whereas I think most people are conscious of the choices they make when they buy (and write about) cars, way too many consumers have no idea how the travel choices they make are affecting the people, the nature, the culture and the economies in which they make themselves guests. And one of the leading reasons why is because not enough travel writers are putting the story out there, not offering or explaining the alternatives.
Thanks a lot, Ethan, for bringing up some great points there!
I was especially (positively) suprised by the ”whopping 74% of respondents who thought “that hotels should be responsible for helping alleviate poverty in their own communities” and then (negatively) by the big discrepancy to how small “ecotourism” actually is (%-wise).
Two reasons I can imagine for that:
a) Talk is cheap. For example, I can imagine that if you asked people whether they wanted people in developing countries to be less poor, probably 98% of people would say yes, but how many of these actually donate/get involved with charities/ ask our leaders for policy changes etc.? I think and fear a much smaller number.
b) The industry itself doesn’t want a profound change, at least not yet (where consumer pressure isn’t high enough)
But this of course doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to change things! In this vein, I especially liked your disapproval of “I write for today’s traveler, not tomorrow”. It’s true, with good writing one can inform travelers and sensitize them for problems of the industry, and we should use that opportunity where ever we can. Because…
I feel that at the end of the day consumer power (inspired among others by authors) hopefully is going to change patters in the tourism industry, as they have partially changed in the food industry – in European supermarket discounters one can now buy a lot of organic food, something unthinkable only 5 years ago. Even McDonalds is selling FairTrade-coffee these days.
Similarly, the paper Len pointed to for me exemplifies that there is a paradigm shift going on, and we can only hope that it will reach the tourism industry as well.
On a slightly different note, I think Durant has a good point when saying that we shouldn’t expect the thousands of gap year travellers to deplore endlessly about how bad the tourism industry is. But I have a feeling that Ethan wasn’t necessarily thinking of them when writing his post.
Anyway, much looking forward to your thoughts!
It’s not an easy thing to blog or write about – important, no argument there – but not always easy. For me.
There is a couple I’ve been impressed by lately, in terms of the way they are handling long term travel with an eye to responsibility. Bethany and Ted at Two Oregonians:
http://twooregonians.com/
Thanks for the example of blogging best practices, Kirsten. Fine stuff!
But I really don’t think that blogging/writing about responsible travel is so hard. If you look for examples of responsible travel product, you will find LOTS of it. If you look for consumer feedback about it, you will come up with rich pickings. All you need to do is write about *that* – what it is, why it’s meaningful, and why people should care – and you’re good. You’re doing exactly the same you would do about a mainstream product (the “nice photos, basic travel information and personal stories & details” Adam mentions in the first comment above), but just elected to cover something different.
thanks for this Ethan,
I agree with Anna – I think those of us in “responsible travel” need to blog more – not simply more often but also more effectively – we need to identify with whom we are trying to communicate and then ensure our blogs have real content of real interest to them. Most professional bloggers will write about that, that they have been or believe they will be commissioned to write about for a fee – just as with any other market place it is our role to create a product they wish to “purchase”. Sadly those of us in the rt world do, all too often, come across as sanctimonious – not an attribute mainstream travel writers including bloggers find useful or attractive. I think we need to remind ourselves that the way we talk to eachother is not the same way we should be talking to potential customers or those that write for them.
Sallie, I think the days of guilting an audience are well behind us. There’s so much incredible and compellingly presented responsible product out there that it’s just not an issue. That all of it has an added mindful quality to it should be a powerful selling point. RT purveyors should feel no guilt spotlighting what makes it different and travel media (bloggers very much included) should be astute enough to ind a way to make it matter. We should also be shooting for the same mainstream travel audience. The goal is to convert the unconverted by making RT so ubiquitous that there’s no longer a sense of it as ‘alternative.’ It just is.
Sure everyone could write about travelling responsibly. We can compare our travel with high polluting modes and pat ourselves on the back. “I’m responsible traveller because I fly First Class instead of taking Virgin Galactic” . Just joking of course, but do you see where I’m coming from? No. I thought not.
I write about it and can assure you it is about as rewarding as poking myself in the eye with a pointed stick dipped in chilli powder. My advice is to keep penning those “Top 10″ posts. Everybody loves them. Aligning our travel aspirations with the constraints of responsible travel is like turkeys campaigning for an extra two holidays a year to be celebrated like Christmas in the UK and Thanksgiving in the USA.
George Monbiot heads his blog with “Tell people something they know already and they will thank you for it. Tell people something new and they will hate you for it.” The very mention of giving up flying, or even paying green flight taxes gets most travellers up in arms. I find the challenge travelling responsibly a great adventure. A real adventure, considering the surface of the planet is completely explored. To explore it responsibly in a way that allows future generations to do the same is relatively uncharted territory.
I’d better sign off now and head off down to the Eye Hospital.
John, although I thank you for the lighthearted tone of what you wrote, I couldn’t disagree with it more. It is a perfect illustration of Catherine Mack’s frustration with travel writers who “still think it is amusing that our industry is ‘responsible’ for so much damage” and my dismay with writers who “write for today’s traveler, not tomorrow’s.” Responsible travel is a constraint only if you’re looking to satisfy Monbiot’s myopic readers. I encourage you to try some new glasses. They might also help deflect those red hot pokers.
Ethan, you obviously don’t get irony.
Green Global Travel, which is dedicated pretty much exclusively to Ecotourism, has been blogging about these subjects for 16 months now (partnering with organizations such as WWF, Sustainable Travel International and the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association in the process). But the concept is not quite as sexy to people as getting drunk in Chiang Mai or selling all your stuff so you can travel RTW for a year.
I think most bloggers are looking for rapid traffic generation, whereas covering Ecotourism offers a more slow, steady audience build. Luckily for us, the Ecotourism industry seems more interested in niche than numbers, so we’ve got some great companies lining up to work with us. Through our “Travel Bloggers Give Back” initiative on Facebook and our newly formed group of Ecotourism & Adventure Travel Writers, we’re trying to encourage the growth of the Ecotourism and Responsible Travel industry on the whole. As it grows, so will we!
Thanks for this Bret. Great news of the group and of the progress that you’re making in the industry. While I agree that the ecotourism industry has taken an appropriately long-term view of growth, I believe we’re seeing the transition from niche to numbers, one that has its own sex appeal. And, like my good pal Ben Franklin suggest, we could make this a whole lot more interesting for all of us if we hang together.
My blog, Breathedreamgo, is all about 1) transformational or meaningful travel (spirituality, solo, long-term, volunteer etc.) and 2) immersive travel (throwing away your guide book, getting off the backpacker trail and REALLY trying to get to know the local culture) and 3) inspirational travel (using travel to overcome problems like depression). I also really care about quality of content, and work hard to constantly improve my writing skills.
In the past 2.5 years since I launched, I’ve seen TONS of travel blogs about travellers hitting the well-trodden tourist path around the world get way more traffic and grow way more quickly than my blog.
However, I remind myself that “Eat, Pray, Love,” which speaks to the same readers as my blog, sold 7 million copy. I live in hope that substance wins, in the end.
Hi Mariellen. All I can say is: stick with it. I am. Others I know are. Our sites are growing, attracting a readership, making their mark. And as our consumer audience grows – the one that thinks more and more about big meaningful human impact with a small footprint – we’ll get where we want to go.
I have to support Bret at Green Global Travel here. I have seen this new blog develop and take a decidedly ”responsible tourism” slant and around him he attracts like minded bloggers and helps focus them on this very subject. Gratifying to see others that do blog about responsible tourism issues.
As Durant says here-”I might add that the holier-than-thou left can be just as sanctimonious and bossy as the holier-than-thou right. Bloggers needn’t feel obligated to write about “responsible tourism” or anything else unless the topic interests them and they feel that they have something to contribute.”
the subject has to be interesting.
My own blog did start as an opportunity to write down travel experiences of a lifetime, and does reflect the interest I have in conservation, particularly wildlife preservation.
Sorry for delay Jim. Just found you in the spam folder.
Me spam?
Oh dear. Ok you want sensitive subjects told in a way that attracts readers/ Try this?
http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/ive-been-running.html
Lots of travel bloggers hitting up disturbing issues.
The roots of responsible tourism lies in improving the local economy, supporting local cultures and investing in local people, and protecting the environmentI. But one of the big challenges that responsible travel has faced – and that bloggers also deal with writing about it – until now is that it hasn’t been able to market itself in to make it sound fun and sexy. I think one part of this is the conflicting and confusing jargon that has been associated with it. But if bloggers can show meaningful – and fun – travel experiences that have a responsible tourism angle, then responsible tourism will begin to be associated with these terms. It’s not easy – we’re still trying to find that balance.
“But if bloggers can show meaningful – and fun – travel experiences that have a responsible tourism angle, then responsible tourism will begin to be associated with these terms. It’s not easy – we’re still trying to find that balance.”
What’s “responsible tourism?” Again, it’s in the eye of the beholder. On our European travel-planning sites and blogs, our biggest single topic is Venice, Italy. We tell our readers that the best way to experience Venice is to just go walking. Along the way, someone who explores a city on foot is likely to stop in small shops, restaurants, snack bars, etc., and of course his or her carbon footprint will be far lower than that of the tourist who takes an organized boat tour or makes extensive use of public or private transportation. Also, because more than half of our readers are from Europe, a majority of our readers will use less jet fuel and generate less CO2 from traveling than they would if they flew to a place like Sub-Saharan Africa or South America. (FWIW, we also recommend many small hotels, and we encourage people to stay in one place for a week or longer and to consider staying in vacation apartments so they can enjoy the fantasy that they’re local residents and not just tourists who are passing through.)
In other words, many of the principles that we espouse fall under the heading of “responsible tourism,” but we don’t market ourselves as a “responsible tourism” site.
IMHO, “responsible tourism” is best promoted at the trade level (not at the consumer level). A small percentage of the traveling population may enjoy doing good (or feeling like do-gooders, which isn’t necessarily the same thing), but most people just want to enjoy their vacations. Preaching at them isn’t the best way to accomplish your goals.
“Responsible tourism” is like “fuel-efficient cars”: For every person who buys a Prius to save the planet, there are probably five others who buy fuel-efficient cars (not necessarily Priuses) simply because doing so makes economic sense. But both types of motorists–the Prius owners with preachy bumper stickers and the economy-minded drivers who simply want to feel less pain at the pump–are saving fossil fuel and reducing carbon emissions.
Ethan,
Thanking your for hosting this conversation. I’ve been writing about responsible/sustainable travel since 2007, and I echo your sentiments that there is a surprising lack of depth in the coverage of this aspect of travel.
I believe that the common perception has gotten a bit greenwashed; most travelers are aware of hotel linen reuse programs, but that seems to be where the awareness often stops. While the ecological impacts of travel are crucial to understand and work to offset, I feel that the very general sense of “greening travel” has become a limiting factor – sustainability, to me, seeks to understand the longer term impacts on people and culture, not just environment. http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/travelpurpose/2012/01/31/what-is-sustainable-travel-anyway/
I think we need to shift focus away from ourselves, the travelers, to start talking about the communities that are hosting us, (whether they want to or not), and how travel is changing both the fabric of their culture as well as the landscape of their homelands.
I’ve started to avoid using the term “responsible travel” for this reason. While we are absolutely responsible for respecting the people and places we travel to, framing it as a conversation about “responsibility” tends to create a reward-or-punishment conversation centered around the traveler. I think we need to avert our gazes away from our navels and look towards connecting and collaborating with the people around the world who are living with the impact of our choices.
Angela, if you’re interested in getting to know and sharing support with a group of like-minded bloggers, you’re welcome to join our growing Facebook group. Just add me (Bret Love) as a friend and I’ll add you to the group. Would love to get to know you and your blog!
Thank you for this article! I definitely noticed this problem as I stared to read and follow lots of travel blogs. Shallow travel has lost its appeal. I’m trying something different, I think it’s helpful not to be looking for money, if you’re doing the right thing…money will follow. Thanks again, and I look forward to connecting with more people who are thinking like this!
Thank you Ethan for initiating this important discussion. I know travel can make such a significant positive difference and think it’s about awareness and education, so the more people can talk about responsible travel at all levels (trade and consumer) the better. Also, companies need to offer these opportunities. I’m such a strong believer in this that I recently started Impact Journeys that is all about responsible travel and blog about it too – http://www.impact-journeys.com/do-good-with-your-travels
Fab article, Ethan… great discussion, too!
I’ve been writing about responsible travel in one guise or other for about six years now, and have finally started my own site dedicated to ecotourism and green travel. I figured it was about time I wrote on the subject for myself rather than other sites. And like Bret, I know it’s a slow burner. But I’m OK with that. I’m doing it because it’s what I really want to do rather than for the sake of starting just another travel blog.
Sites I worked for in the past did seem to think it was important to cover responsible travel, but it really wasn’t their primary focus because it doesn’t always pull the same page views as other areas of travel. At least they were trying; other sites really don’t give two hoots. But then, I’m quite happy with that. It means people will come to my site looking for inspiration and information.
And because more people are travelling than ever before, a larger number of travellers will give proper thought to the impact of their travels on both the environment and the communities they visit. This in turn will drive more people to seek out responsible travel options. I’ll be waiting in the wings.
That’s why it’s important to appeal to a wider audience, to catch the browsers – those who are tempted by the idea of responsible travel or ecotourism, but haven’t yet made the leap. Otherwise, you’re right in what you said to Sallie, you’d just be preaching to the converted.
I think if travel bloggers choose not to write about responsible travel then they’re missing an evolving readership. That’s up to them. I don’t think they should write about it because the industry thinks they should. Then they’re just ticking boxes.
I think ‘responsible travel’ could attract more travel bloggers/writers in the future as green technology increases and we learn more about the impact of travel on our environment. But, I also believe that travel writers must have a passion for environment and conservation, responsible travel, human interest stories, etc. Some do, some don’t.
I do agree that more people are traveling close to home for whatever reason. This is a good way to stimulate the local economy and reduce fuel emissions. Plus, I don’t think people realize all of the travel opportunities available to them in their area.
I think it make take a while longer before people begin to realize the impact of travel, both nationally and internationally. Unfortunately, we can’t force people to ‘wake up’ sooner rather than later.
Agreed Ethan Gelber. We’re all responsible for changing the way we travel. Surprisingly responsible travel isn’t more prevalent and as you say the main marketing contributors (media, government etc) haven’t all gotten 100% behind it. I think it’s getting here though. One blog at a time… I’ve created my own blog on my views of sustainable tourism. There are other bloggers writing about it – like Much Better Adventures. It’s out there.. just not as prevalent as it should be. Having been travelling more responsibly in the last 2 years, i’ve definitely noticed more travellers with the same mind-set.. but the information/blog details are really out there yet, it’s more up to yourself to seek out the right information as to how to travel responsibly.
I think many writers have some underlying responsible travel message in the blogs they post these days (at least in the blogs I come across), they just don’t tag the article as #green, #responsible, or #ecotravel. I feel there is always some mention of experiential travel with an emphasis on local interaction and understanding of local peoples and their culture.
I believe the best way to get the responsible message across to travellers is to focus on the experience that exists when one does travel responsibly… without necessarily pushing “responsible travel” as the topic within the article.
What I wanted to say. Well done, Luke!
Years ago on Planeta.com I wrote an essay on Planeta.com touting Fair Trade in Responsible Travel reporting – http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/period/fairtrade.html – which starts: “If we wish to develop responsible travel, investment in fair trade in travel writing and photography ought to be a priority.”
Rifting on Anna’s comment: “If their sights are set on getting sponsored trips or inclusion on paid for fam trips, they are highly unlikely to risk exposing tourism’s dark side or its vulnerable underbelly.”
Bloggers and other media pros know the ‘rules of the game.’ What’s missing are the investigative travel writers who can write about a hotel’s amenities AND its handling of sewage AND its interaction in the local community. We’re seeing some good features and I’d highlight Ethan’s work on the Travel Word as a fine example, but the vast majority of the press I skim past highlights anything but responsible travel. Rarer still are the expositions of tourism’s dark side by anyone else but those whose sole work is to expose tourism’s dark side.
We are caught in a vicious circle of underpaid media pros with little economic incentive to explore the nuances of tourism. We have tourism boards that evaluate their own success in the media by the ads they purchase in magazines and the bloggers they host (and presumably put into their pocket).
That said, I’m quite optimistic. I honestly believe 2012 is a year of many transitions. Thank you, everyone, for your great comments on this post and to Ethan for stirring up the pot in the first place. Anyone interested in recording a skype conversation?
Excellent essay and points/counterpoints Ethan. I have had discussions along these lines with Ron Mader, who started worked as a contributing editor on Ecotourism, Responsible Travel, and Latin America for my late father going back some 15 years or so ago and continues to work with me when I have time offering us the latest resources for the explicitly-named responsible travel section of our website.
My family started traveling relatively responsibly (unconsciously), when I was as a mere toddler back in 1963, as we made our way in a VW bus across the deserts and mountains. It was natural for my down-to-earth American-born family farmer father to treat locals with extreme respect and for my Swiss-born mother, who loved adventure and people, to do the same. We were welcomed into countless homes in North Africa and the Middle East during wars and in times of crisis and reciprocated the only way we could; by showing our hosts the proper respect and learning as much as possible about their culture while spending the little money we had in the local community, and not in made-for-tourists hotels and the like. That first experience influenced their mode of travel, and my mode of travel, ever since. Whether staying in farmhouses or family-run B&Bs rather than chain hotels, eating Slow Food, driving the tiniest of cars imaginable, and interacting with natives in their own language, that has been our M.O. as a family. In the early days we came across the super-consuming, insensitive, arrogant, “Ugly [fill in the blank],” but now that behavior seems to have spread to whichever country has the most money at the moment. I am forever embarrassed when I see a fellow citizen go into a store abroad and demand of the barista crudely in English “a cup of coffee and a coke” without a measure of manners–almost like a barbarian. Having lived in countries abroad many years, I know from locals that such behavior is privately mocked as gauche, at best, and arrogant, at worst.
But to your subject. We have noticed both in the old magazine and on the website that articles written for us on Responsible Tourism–no matter how featured–receive far less traffic than those which are less explicit about the subject matter. We cannot figure out exactly why, but we cannot afford to pay writers to write pieces which are extremely overt about Responsible Travel when the traffic does not merit it. You can only have so many “loss leaders.” So we have long changed our editorial to make Responsible Travel and related notions implicit in much of the content. I think there can be a Puritanism or a Fundamentalism in preaching too much to the reader, as often those who are the “Bible-Thumpers” commit the worse sins (see the current political field), and I think that some are put off by such calls to action.
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So I agree with your ethical emphasis and the sense of historical momentum towards a greener and more responsible mode of travel, but I caution that we are not there yet and subtle approaches are possible to achieve the same means. I also worry that when everyone calls themselves embodiments of Green Travel, or advocates of Responsible Travel, then the words lose their meaning and potency. We each have our roles, IMHO.
This is a really interesting discussion. I am currently setting up my own travel website, and it is important to me that I factor in the ‘sustainable travel’ factor. I’m conscious of it all the time personally, but it doesn’t stop me getting on a long haul flight to London to visit my sister, or travelling to Italy to go skiing. My way of compensating for the carbon footprint of my air travel is to offset my carbon emissions. I use http://www.climatecare.org, a well recognised and awarded organisation that channels money into sustainable development projects in developing countries. I know it doesn’t solve the problem but in my opinion it’s better than a) not travelling and b) doing nothing about my carbon emissions.
It is also interesting to read the information presented by Gregory in relation to the popularity (or not) of ‘responsible travel’ articles. I am not surprised by this and agree that people don’t like to be ‘nagged’ into doing the right thing. There’s a wider issue of education that needs to be addressed. And writing so that it is implicit in the content, or providing easy access for people to find out more about responsible travel seems like a good solution.
One thing that also strikes me in my own quest to find ‘responsible’ travel solutions, is that it’s very hard to know who owns what venues (and I’m particularly talking about Asia which is where I am right now). I prefer to stay in independently owned establishments, and I’m lucky enough that I can afford to spend more than I could when I was a backpacker. But so often the options presented are 5* resorts in places like Phuket or Bali etc. and even if they’re not well known brands, I usually guess that they are owned by big corporations. You really have to trawl through a lot of google searching to get more interesting options. Which I am willing to do but I bet the average Joe is not.
Thanks for the useful post.
Victoria
I find this diatribe rather depressing, not for the case that it presents but for how this niche community is still lamenting the fact that it hasn’t taken over the world yet (I was doing that 6 years ago). It’s not going to happen. Stop labelling yourselves and what you’re looking for and just write good travel stories, I think you’ll find there’re a lot more thoughtful accounts of travel than you’re giving people credit for, they just don’t always have one of your keywords in.
Responsible travel is a hot topic in a sector of the travel market and a bit of a tough sell outside that sector since “responsible travel” sounds an awful lot like doing homework on your vacation. However, responsible/sustainable/low impact/eco/green can all be sexy terms in the hands of a writer who knows how to research, package and present.
My blog is certainly not exclusively about responsible travel (it IS a road trip, after all) but I know I have readers who are interested in responsible travel issues and even more who could be intrigued. So I’ve touched on the topic of responsible travel when it dovetails with my Trans-Americas Journey. These posts are always popular, like the latest one about responsible travel issues related to how travelers obtain safe drinking water while traveling http://trans-americas.com/blog/2012/05/drink-responsibly-steripen/.
Moral of the story: like any niche within a larger topic (ie, responsible travel within the world of overall travel) you can’t force it but you can finesse it.
Hey Ethan
We at http://www.aworlddifferent.com focus on sustainable travel in a broad sense, namely those properties around the world (and travel companies) who do ‘good’ works. The range of projects being tackled is quite amazing – and quite often by very classy properties and ones you have never heard of – from promoting local artists to educating local communities about HIV to teaching women how to make textiles that are so good they are sold in Italy to building schools. The response we’ve had from people interested in this is fantastic. It’s a whole new world.
Best
Ted
I think part of the reason more bloggers don’t write about responsible travel is because of the in-fighting inherent in so many grass-roots movements. Now, obviously I could be wrong, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen one organization or another (such as Green Peace, WWF, National Geographic, etc) talk down anothers actions as “green-washing”, or not being as absolutely green as they possibly could be.
For a while I was running an ecommerce site that specialized in eco-friendly products of all sorts, and it was ludicrous the lengths manufacturers would go to to demonstrate just how eco-friendly they were. And you could see, in the words they choose and sentences they wrote, that they were trying to anticipate the rebuttles of the eco-friendly dick-measuring types, who would surely critique if their site wasn’t on wind-powered servers, or that the fully-recyclable water bottle wasn’t made in the USA.
Unfortunately, with responsible travel as with so many things, people love to pull things down. People hate to see ideas take the high-road, for fear that it may be able to look down on them. So they pull it down to their baser level. Instead of trying to flatten a rising star like responsible travel, they should be celebrating every move in the right direction.
I remember Green Peace trying to detract from Virgin Atlantic’s bio-fuel powered trans-Atlantic flight by calling it “sub-orbital green-washing” or something like that. But I think that’s rediculous. At least they’re trying something! At least their working on it! At least it’s on their radar!
And to Ethan’s quote, it doesn’t matter if it’s pure good or not. If there’s more good than evil, it should be celebrated, and bloggers shouldn’t have to be afraid of criticism. The journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step.
Ethan, thank you for writing this article. I work for a responsible travel social enterprise in Cambodia, and along with running educational adventures we also advocate for responsible travel practices amongst both travellers and industry professionals. We’ve found that our messages are often ones people find difficult to hear, as it can be very uncomfortable to confront the idea that your ‘holiday’ is causing damage in someone else’s home community. I personally feel that the more responsible travel options are discussed, the more this will seem like a viable option for those who are just looking for a nice holiday; I don’t believe anyone wants to cause damage with their travel practices, but perhaps avoiding doing so can sometimes seem like too much of an effort?
To encourage more responsible and informed practices in the area of voluntourism specifically, we’ve recently produced these guidelines: http://issuu.com/pepytours/docs/learning_service_learning_before_helping I hope you find them interesting!
Thanks again,
Sarah
Agreed 100%! We dedicated the entire month of April to Sustainable Travel at TravelandEscape.ca and the power we have as travellers to make the right choices that help make the world a better place. As the site’s Travel Editor, I’m so proud of our community of travel bloggers, like Green Global Travel’s Bret Love and DTravelsRound’s Diana Edelman whose dedication are exemplary!