Nobody is or isn’t an ecotourist. The defining characteristics are found among a spectrum from the most extreme to the most casual. David Weaver addresses the different attributes that make up an ecotourist in his book Sustainable Tourism. I’ve included the chart below and a video introduction to the topic. Thanks for stopping by.
Global tourism on a mass scale really began post World War II with the increase in discretionary income and time within the more developed countries . These countries included most of Europe, North America, Austrailia/New Zealand and later Japan and Hong Kong. These more developed countries still account for 70% of all international tourism traffic, about 500 million tourist trips. These trips were predominantly between within and between the more developed counties. But a shift is taking place.
In the 1960’s people from the more developed countries began focusing on the less developed. This can be seen everywhere when rich people go party in poor countries; Americans to Mexico and the Caribbean and Europeans to the Indian Ocean Basin. This shift has caused still developing countries like Fiji, Cyprus, the Maldives and Barbados to become extremely dependent on tourism. By the early 2000’s approximately 25% of international tourism consisted of travelers from more developed countries visiting less developed countries.
The third and most recent stage of tourism is the result of an emergence of a middle class among these less developed (third world) countries. These people are accounting for roughly 5% of all tourism traffic and are the tourists from less developed counties traveling with in other less developed countries and in to the more developed world. Key examples of this are Indians to Kenya, Brazilians to Uruguay, Malaysians to Thailand and most noted Chinese to everywhere. In fact the number of Chinese outbound tourists in 1990 was approximately 620,000, about 9.2 million in 1999 and almost 80 million in 2010.
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people (“gentry”) acquire property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size decreases in the community. It is commonly believed that this results in the poorer native residents of the neighborhood, being unable to pay increased rents, house prices, and property taxes, being displaced.
Often times this influx is motivated by a desire to experience an environment that is truly authentic and in doing so will erode the actual authenticity of a place. This video is a quick description of Gentrification, thanks for stopping by.
for a better understanding check out;
Suleiman Osman’s The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn: Gentrification and the Search for Authenticity in Postwar New York
or
A Neighborhood That Never Changes
Gentrification, Social Preservation, and the Search for Authenticity
by Japonica Brown-Saracino
Tourism can effect host communities in a number of ways. Sometimes tourists think they simply visit a community and leave without having any significant impact but in reality visitors have a huge influence on an area.
As tourists we influence the culture of a host community, the environment, and the financial well being of a community. This influence can be positive or negative and its important to be aware of the different factors.
Leave No Trace is both set of principles, and an organization that promotes those principles. The principles are designed to assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions about how to reduce their impacts when they are in the outdoors.
The organization strives to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about the nature of their recreational impacts as well as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts. Leave No Trace is an educational and ethical program, not a legal set of rules and regulations and the principles have been adopted by all sorts of outdoor enthusiasts.
In order to be a successful traveler for both business or pleasure it is important to have a certain sense of cultural sensitivity and awareness of the different histories, customs, beliefs and behaviors.
Cultural sensitivity is the combination of knowledge, awareness and sensitivity. To function effectively in a foreign culture a person needs a solid grasp of the different elements of cultural sensitivity.
Thanks for checking out my first video blog and stay tuned for more.
Today my sister is leaving for New Zealand. Known for its natural beauty, eccentric locals and friendliness towards travelers I have to sit looking out the window as she leaves like a puppy left behind. Throughout this blogging experiment it has been easy enough provide information, tell tales of my travels and analyze the different influences and affects of tourism. It is a very different thing to watch someone else go on what is sure to be an unbelievable adventure, especially someone as close as my sister.
I’ve had to say goodbye to family members many times. Sometimes only for a couple of days, sometimes for a year or two, and once forever. Its never an easy thing to do but I wish her the absolute best. I’m sure in no time at all she will befriend a few Kiwi’s, make her mark on the Fiordlands and hopefully come back with some amazing stories. Her backpack is packed, she has her guidebook and perfect attitude.
I’m struggling with these very mixed emotions. Jealousy, sadness, and excitement. Chelsea, I plan on living aggressively vicarious through you for the next 6 months, you had better go big.
One of Reno’s favorite events is on the horizon; Hot August Nights. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the event with drag racing and car shows from August 10th through August 13th in the west parking lot of John Ascuaga’s Nugget. Ten years ago, 2001 marked the last year the Drags were conducted at the Reno-Stead Airport. The popular event had to be cancelled indefinitely, until now.
Full Throttle Performance and John Ascuaga’s Nugget decided to bring back a beloved element of Hot August Nights to contribute to a successful 25th year celebration.
The drag races will be on an eighth of a mile track and will take place in the west parking lot of John Ascuaga’s Nugget from 12pm to 10pm August 10-13. Hot August Nights volunteers and car participants will gain free entry into the event. The gate fee for the general public is $10 daily.
To enter your car in a race, vehicles must be 1972 or older, with an American or European make. The cost to race is $25 per vehicle, per day for registered car participants and $45 per vehicle, per day for non-registered car participants. Tires must be D.O.T. approved (no slicks), no nitro/nitrous and no racing fuels allowed. Daily prize for the fastest overall time will be awarded.
The Bardessono, opened in Yountville, CA in February 2009 and is considered by some experts to be the “Greenest Hotel in the world”. The hotel is a strong statement for pushing the sustainability envelope in the hospitality industry. “The hotel industry often believes that seriously green projects are compromises in guest satisfaction and experience, and are too expensive,” developer Phil Sherbune said, “I didn’t think any of those things needed to be true.”
Perhaps the most impressive green element of Bardessono is the amount of energy the facility generates on site. Eighty-two 300-foot deep geothermal boreholes are subtly hidden beneath a small vineyard at the front entrance, providing heating and cooling for all of the guest rooms, the spa, and the domestic hot water system. The flat rooftops accommodate 940 solar panels, which lay flat and out of sight, generating 200 kilowatts of electricity.
While the energy-generation technologies are relatively invisible, the materials used in the hotel’s design are proudly displayed. All of the wood throughout the place was sourced and milled by Evan Shively, who runs a sawmill in West Marin county called Arborica, specializing in salvaged and reclaimed wood. Shively outfitted Bardessono with Monterey cypress, orchard walnut, California bay, elm, and redwood (from recycled wine casks).
No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain is my favorite show on tv. I enjoy the travel channel very much I think often times the host can be overly enthusiastic of mediocre attractions and paint every destination with a romantic hue, making such places as Stockton, CA “an absolute delight” or Lincoln, NB “truly fascinating”. Bourdain keeps it real, if a places is boring he says so. If the people are rude surly there will be a sharp comment. His commentary is littered with profanity and sexual references that, though mildly excessive, comes across more natural than other travel hosts.
I just finished his book; Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. Bourdain does well telling his own story, and through him insight into the cooking world. If you’re fan of cooking shows (Bravo, the Food Channel, Fox) or interested in learning about what it takes to be a chef, this book offers one professional’s insight into that world. His stories entertain, shock, and illuminate how difficult and complex being a line cook, much less a head chef.
Bourdain acknowledges his checkered past, the ups and downs, drug usage, alcohol abuse, 17+ hour days, and the total commitment necessary to be successful. I understand now why shows like Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen are constructed. The career line cooks would cook circles around many of those contestants.
More important, Bourdain shares what it takes to become a chef, whether taking a college track or apprenticeships, or a combination. A family member wants to be a chef. Now we have a way to develop a plan for building the foundation. A little crude but very entertaining.
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Outbound with Matt Ulinski 