Lots of great links and plenty to think about here. I really appreciate you giving us a rundown of the situations you perceived and also giving us your actionable items. It's easy to cry wolf but tough to find a solution.
I'm always curious as to how we perceive ourselves as tourists. I, for one, tend to exlcude myself from the general tourist category and claim that I experience places differently but it's probably just clouded vision. But that prompts the curiosity of what archetypes of tourists exists and how we can address different archetypes differently. The young, heavy-drinker, who doesn't give a shit about historical monuments or museums would experience a city much differently than the retired couple who's looking to learn more about the culture and take cooking classes. I find myself researching all the 'local' hacks before a trip, and avoiding all TripAdvisor or mainstream suggestions. I say this to say that regardless of the archetype of tourist, your #4 suggestion must hold true, whether there's a campaign or not.
We have to do better as tourists to respect the place and try to experience it like locals would. I know that sounds on the nose, but still. In the judgemental-Indian-community, we have a name for those specific photo-perfect locations where people will gather to take one family photo, not even read the infographic or pay attention the scenery, and then leave asap: Patel Points. I think if we stopped treating tourism as a thing on a checklist or a banner on social media, the behavior optics might change as well.
Ha, as someone who spent four years in Orange County, CA surrounded by Gujuratis, I find the “Patel Points” stereotype very funny.
You sound like a fun person to travel with and I agree with your archetypes. They track with Paige McClanahan’s concept of “the new tourist.”
Somewhat relatedly, our roaming data wasn’t really working in Europe, which forced us to (gasp) ask people for recommendations, directions, and help calling a taxi. It was the best inconvenience. From now on, no more roaming data!
David - great blog post - I've thought of this a bit too - I post sometimes about the pros and cons of living outside the US and I regularly get nasty posts about people not wanting Americans in their city (as you point out - it's not that large of a percentage of the population). I think that's a common feeling of not wanting things to change. Many people want to be the last person into a city (or country) - then they want the doors closed. There are people hurt (all over) by increasing prices - especially those on fixed incomes who pay rent. But most will benefit by additional income coming into the community and having it ripple through the local economy.
Thanks, Bill. Yes, fixed income with rising inflation is a real bummer. I wish more people had access to people like you to plan for it.
It’s amazing to me that light-skinned Oaxacans protest in the streets with banners saying that tourism is neocolonialism. As if the conquista never happened. As if the Aztecs didn’t conquer the Zapotecs who conquered the Olmecs and on and on.
Fortunately for me, I’ve felt nothing but welcomed by 99% of Oaxacans. (And the many Oaxacans I meet who lived and worked in the US tell me they were treated very well by Americans.) Offline, where we are all our better selves, I imagine that’s true for most people.
I wish you had said all of this to my face. Wow, how have I not heard all of this news about anti-tourism? It’s like I’ve been in a small town in the upcountry on Maui doing CrossFit with locals, hula dancing and surfing, and cheering up a good friend who is going through a break up and having birthday blues.
Great article, David! I always love reading your work! It’s funny because I am often guilty of seeing gentrification as a bad thing, especially when I travel. Or not.. we tend to ignore what that “gentrification” can bring to the areas that we are visiting. I guess in my case I always look at it thinking “aww the beauty of traveling is going places where there are not necessarily a lot of people who look like me and feel fully far from home and disoriented”. But like you said, more and more people travel internationally every year so this is part of an evolution that we can’t stop or resist. And as much as I love seeing the world mixing up and people moving around (I am one of them after most of my family did, generation after generation) somehow I become nostalgic and anxious thinking that if we keep all moving around all countries will become the same and people will look alike in all countries in their diversity. What will happen to cultures and traditions, which I am always so sensitive to. It’s almost like I become the biggest critic to something that I am guilty of. Traveling, moving to a different country and contribute to “denaturing” it. Everything is moving so fast that I have found myself needing time to work on keeping an open mind of things. Does it make sense? Does it even have anything to do anymore with you article?? Anyways, maybe reading your article at 10.30pm after a long day at work hit me differently than it would have at another time. I am glad you didn’t get assaulted by crazy barcelonian water snipers!!
It makes perfect sense. And I appreciate you reading, Nelly, and hope we get to hang soon. It definitely feels like culture is changing and homogenizing. I wrote my reflections on that about Mexico City, so I won’t repeat them here. (https://davidsasaki.substack.com/p/authentically-yours) But I’m skeptical of this idea that there was this one period in time when, say, Rome was “authentic” and now it’s just a city like any other. When was that? 20 years ago? 200 years ago? 2,000 years ago? I hear a lot of people complaining about how Seattle is changing. Yeah, Seattle has always been changing. The world has always been changing. We’re all part of the change.
Great article, David! I always love reading your work! It’s funny because I am often guilty of seeing gentrification as a bad thing, especially when I travel. Or not.. we tend to ignore what that “gentrification” can bring to the areas that we are visiting. I guess in my case I always look at it thinking “aww the beauty of traveling is going places where there are not necessarily a lot of people who look like me and feel fully far from home and disoriented”. But like you said, more and more people travel internationally every year so this is part of an evolution that we can’t stop or resist. And as much as I love seeing the world mixing up and people moving around (I am one of them after most of my family did, generation after generation) somehow I become nostalgic and anxious thinking that if we keep all moving around all countries will become the same and people will look alike in all countries in their diversity. What will happen to cultures and traditions, which I am always so sensitive to. It’s almost like I become the biggest critic to something that I am guilty of. Traveling, moving to a different country and contribute to “denaturing” it. Everything is moving so fast that I have found myself needing time to work on keeping an open mind of things. Does it make sense? Does it even have anything to do anymore with you article?? Anyways, maybe reading your article at 10.30pm after a long day at work hit me differently than it would have at another time. I am glad you didn’t get assaulted by crazy barcelonian water snipers!!
Lots of great links and plenty to think about here. I really appreciate you giving us a rundown of the situations you perceived and also giving us your actionable items. It's easy to cry wolf but tough to find a solution.
I'm always curious as to how we perceive ourselves as tourists. I, for one, tend to exlcude myself from the general tourist category and claim that I experience places differently but it's probably just clouded vision. But that prompts the curiosity of what archetypes of tourists exists and how we can address different archetypes differently. The young, heavy-drinker, who doesn't give a shit about historical monuments or museums would experience a city much differently than the retired couple who's looking to learn more about the culture and take cooking classes. I find myself researching all the 'local' hacks before a trip, and avoiding all TripAdvisor or mainstream suggestions. I say this to say that regardless of the archetype of tourist, your #4 suggestion must hold true, whether there's a campaign or not.
We have to do better as tourists to respect the place and try to experience it like locals would. I know that sounds on the nose, but still. In the judgemental-Indian-community, we have a name for those specific photo-perfect locations where people will gather to take one family photo, not even read the infographic or pay attention the scenery, and then leave asap: Patel Points. I think if we stopped treating tourism as a thing on a checklist or a banner on social media, the behavior optics might change as well.
Ha, as someone who spent four years in Orange County, CA surrounded by Gujuratis, I find the “Patel Points” stereotype very funny.
You sound like a fun person to travel with and I agree with your archetypes. They track with Paige McClanahan’s concept of “the new tourist.”
Somewhat relatedly, our roaming data wasn’t really working in Europe, which forced us to (gasp) ask people for recommendations, directions, and help calling a taxi. It was the best inconvenience. From now on, no more roaming data!
Agreed, no roaming data! Only Anya has international data when we travel, and I love it bc my screen time is like under 30 mins lol
David - great blog post - I've thought of this a bit too - I post sometimes about the pros and cons of living outside the US and I regularly get nasty posts about people not wanting Americans in their city (as you point out - it's not that large of a percentage of the population). I think that's a common feeling of not wanting things to change. Many people want to be the last person into a city (or country) - then they want the doors closed. There are people hurt (all over) by increasing prices - especially those on fixed incomes who pay rent. But most will benefit by additional income coming into the community and having it ripple through the local economy.
Thanks, Bill. Yes, fixed income with rising inflation is a real bummer. I wish more people had access to people like you to plan for it.
It’s amazing to me that light-skinned Oaxacans protest in the streets with banners saying that tourism is neocolonialism. As if the conquista never happened. As if the Aztecs didn’t conquer the Zapotecs who conquered the Olmecs and on and on.
Fortunately for me, I’ve felt nothing but welcomed by 99% of Oaxacans. (And the many Oaxacans I meet who lived and worked in the US tell me they were treated very well by Americans.) Offline, where we are all our better selves, I imagine that’s true for most people.
I wish you had said all of this to my face. Wow, how have I not heard all of this news about anti-tourism? It’s like I’ve been in a small town in the upcountry on Maui doing CrossFit with locals, hula dancing and surfing, and cheering up a good friend who is going through a break up and having birthday blues.
Great article, David! I always love reading your work! It’s funny because I am often guilty of seeing gentrification as a bad thing, especially when I travel. Or not.. we tend to ignore what that “gentrification” can bring to the areas that we are visiting. I guess in my case I always look at it thinking “aww the beauty of traveling is going places where there are not necessarily a lot of people who look like me and feel fully far from home and disoriented”. But like you said, more and more people travel internationally every year so this is part of an evolution that we can’t stop or resist. And as much as I love seeing the world mixing up and people moving around (I am one of them after most of my family did, generation after generation) somehow I become nostalgic and anxious thinking that if we keep all moving around all countries will become the same and people will look alike in all countries in their diversity. What will happen to cultures and traditions, which I am always so sensitive to. It’s almost like I become the biggest critic to something that I am guilty of. Traveling, moving to a different country and contribute to “denaturing” it. Everything is moving so fast that I have found myself needing time to work on keeping an open mind of things. Does it make sense? Does it even have anything to do anymore with you article?? Anyways, maybe reading your article at 10.30pm after a long day at work hit me differently than it would have at another time. I am glad you didn’t get assaulted by crazy barcelonian water snipers!!
Nelly
It makes perfect sense. And I appreciate you reading, Nelly, and hope we get to hang soon. It definitely feels like culture is changing and homogenizing. I wrote my reflections on that about Mexico City, so I won’t repeat them here. (https://davidsasaki.substack.com/p/authentically-yours) But I’m skeptical of this idea that there was this one period in time when, say, Rome was “authentic” and now it’s just a city like any other. When was that? 20 years ago? 200 years ago? 2,000 years ago? I hear a lot of people complaining about how Seattle is changing. Yeah, Seattle has always been changing. The world has always been changing. We’re all part of the change.
You are so right. Change is a constant, unstoppable thing.
I hope too we can hang soon!!
Thank you for sharing your article, I will read it as soon as coffee is ready :)
This was a good read. It is difficult, and somehow comical, to imagine that people will disagree on tourism but it makes sense.
Great article, David! I always love reading your work! It’s funny because I am often guilty of seeing gentrification as a bad thing, especially when I travel. Or not.. we tend to ignore what that “gentrification” can bring to the areas that we are visiting. I guess in my case I always look at it thinking “aww the beauty of traveling is going places where there are not necessarily a lot of people who look like me and feel fully far from home and disoriented”. But like you said, more and more people travel internationally every year so this is part of an evolution that we can’t stop or resist. And as much as I love seeing the world mixing up and people moving around (I am one of them after most of my family did, generation after generation) somehow I become nostalgic and anxious thinking that if we keep all moving around all countries will become the same and people will look alike in all countries in their diversity. What will happen to cultures and traditions, which I am always so sensitive to. It’s almost like I become the biggest critic to something that I am guilty of. Traveling, moving to a different country and contribute to “denaturing” it. Everything is moving so fast that I have found myself needing time to work on keeping an open mind of things. Does it make sense? Does it even have anything to do anymore with you article?? Anyways, maybe reading your article at 10.30pm after a long day at work hit me differently than it would have at another time. I am glad you didn’t get assaulted by crazy barcelonian water snipers!!
Nelly