The Last Tourist

[Anonymous]

I actually watched the movie. It’s not saying don’t travel; it’s saying be mindful of your travels and impact on local communities. Don’t use developing countries as a your personal playground or life lessons. Remember you are a guest. Do your research. Pick tours, etc that benefit the locals vs the big cruise ship company/mega resort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So how do we feel about the Peace Corps?

Drunk, rapey, granola, idealistic, naive, druggie, nepo

Just a little free association exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually watched the movie. It’s not saying don’t travel; it’s saying be mindful of your travels and impact on local communities. Don’t use developing countries as a your personal playground or life lessons. Remember you are a guest. Do your research. Pick tours, etc that benefit the locals vs the big cruise ship company/mega resort.

I watched it, too. But here’s the thing: locals do benefit from the big cruise ships. They arrange excursions with locals (they just get a cut). Ftr, I don’t use those group excursions; I book directly with locals. But some countries actually have risks involved and you are better off with a vetted excursion.

What did you think of all the commentary from seemingly privileged white folks? Weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When they ban large gas guzzling SUVs and mansions (neither of which I have or want) then I’ll stop traveling.

You must not have children. Why are you on this board?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After reading the Maui thread about travel to Maui after the apocalyptic wildfire incident this week, I felt compelled to share the trailer for this recent documentary and urge DCUM posters to watch the film and reconsider your travel consumption habits, especially in the developing world.

Most of the people who post here have children (duh), and I am consistently amazed by the lack of concern expressed about the welfare of the planet, especially with regard to levels of consumption. How will your grandchildren think of you 50 years hence?

Thank you. It looks timely and thought-provoking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When they ban large gas guzzling SUVs and mansions (neither of which I have or want) then I’ll stop traveling.

You must not have children. Why are you on this board?

You need neither a mansion nor an SUV just because you have children .

Stop exaggerating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WTF was that? What’s the equivalent of word salad for a film trailer? Wowza!

They are really throwing everything against the wall in this film.

Animals as entertainment? I suspect most of the citizens of Dcumlandia are against this. Having said that, some orgs actually use the ticket sales/revenue to protect animals, so it depends on the actual activity.

The local quoted about how cruises come into port and the locals get nothing? Poppycock! Drivers, guides, salespeople, restaurants, bars, beach chair operators, etc. benefit directly. It’s cash in their pockets. Literally. Heck, I’ve paid $20 to a disabled man offering pictures with his pet monkey on various Caribbean islands. No clue how that man and his family would survive without cruise ship tourists. Plus, the hefty port fees fuel entire economies. I believe the tourism director in Montenegro was poached from nearby Croatia with marching orders to replicate the port success. Why? Because those dollars are significant to the government and its services as well as to locals (businesses and individuals).

I’m curious if this film bothers to address the abject poverty and suffering faced by communities during the pandemic when tourism grinder to a halt. If you bothered to speak with cab drivers, shopkeepers, guides, restaurant workers, etc. you know that people barely made it. Governments weren’t equipped to support their people.

I wonder if the film was made by the sort of people who come to dcum to kvetch about how crowded various destinations are and lament the days decades ago when nobody had discovered X yet.

The poverty tourism is admittedly tough. Like the animal tourism, there’s a fine line between crass and necessary. I know people who have done such tours. They are told in advance what kinds of donations would be helpful (think: school supplies and new shoes) and they are hit up for cash donations onsite. Then there is the ongoing ask for more sizable donations. Newsflash: how do these critically needed services (orphanages, schools, hospitals) function without cash? The funding simply won’t come from locals. Period.

Lastly: the environment. Sigh. We get it. But everything socially aware Americans do to save the environment is a drop in the bucket when the rest of the world gives zero Fs.

If the film is produced by a certain nonprofit or is steering funds to a specific org, look closely and be skeptical. Also: do the filmmakers have a flawless reputation, or are they faux activists like Luxury Yacht Boy Private Jet Leo?

The film must have made you in incredibly defensive.

You do know, don’t you, that you can give money to disabled people and orphans without them having to pose for selfies with you. Or without them having to act as props on a stop in your vacation itinerary!

We could also work towards a world in which all children are cared for, for example, before able-bodied people are paid enough to spend thousands per nite on a hotel room or gourmet meal.

Open your mind to what would be possible if we had compassion and respect for those who were not lucky enough to be born in a rich country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Volunteer tourism is awful, I will give you that.

So what’s your solution? How else can the nonprofits caring for orphans, educating children, providing desperately needed healthcare, food, whatever survive without this funding stream?

Icymi: the government isn’t equipped to provide the funding or services…despite buckets of money from the US government. Locals aren’t equipped to step up.

I suppose your solution is simply that Americans should send money instead of volunteering AND giving money, right? That would be nice. But the reality is their business model relies on tugging on heartstrings to prompt volunteers to not only donate long term but also help with fundraising through their own networks.

All of this matters.

Unless you have a better solution, pp?

Non-corrupt politicians elected through legit democratic elections.

Much of the aide given to lower income countries gets siphoned off to corrupt rulers.

We are losing ground in that regard (starting with ours truly)!

[Anonymous]

This post has obviously pushed a button among the entitled DCUMers!

How can they brag about their vacations in social media if you make them look socially irresponsible for taking them??

😂

[Anonymous]

Lets cap car emissions (bye Suburbans!), factory emissions, cattle emissions, and home sizes (bye McMansions!) and then we'll talk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I will give an F about climate change when whichever President and the likes of John Kerry/ any State department people/ any UN people start flying commercial, especially economy as they are using my tax dollars.

Their motto: do as I say, not as I do. Eliminate the Paris agreements until they all start setting examples themselves.

We are not sheep for these climate change hypocrites.

Eh, strange to fixate on high level politicians who have legit security reasons to travel differently from the rest of us.

The real issue is that America actually does a terrific job of taking steps to protect the earth while the vast majority of the world simply does not. We aren’t the problem, so we can’t really be the solution. Even if every American stopped traveling abroad, the environment wouldn’t really feel a positive impact. Plus, like it or not, our tourist dollars matter. Bigly. Just ask people impacted by the pandemic.

you are seriously kidding yourself if you think America is doing a "terrific job" at protecting the earth. Do you know how much recycling actually gets recycled? How much waste we produce? How much of a single-use culture we have to many others? Now, are we doing better than some, absolutely- in limited numbers of areas- namely cities such as DC, NY, LA, SF. Go to Northern Europe- they turn composting into energy, have alternative energy sources in abundance, electric or hybrid cars everywhere, recycling (that is actually recycled) for batteries, electronics, light bulbs, etc in every grocery store, recycling pick up to include compost. That's actually doing a terrific job.

Compare what America is doing versus China, India, Eastern Europe, Africa, South America, and even large parts of the EU.

The reality is we aren’t the big polluter despite our size and population. We just aren’t.

There are dozens of reports on this. Google it.

No, you show us the evidence to support this ridiculous claim.

The US is the world’s second biggest polluter, second only to China whose pollution outweighs ours by a very large factor BUT a very large portion of it is in producing goods to sell primarily to our markets, so we are deeply responsible for much of China’s pollution.

The US is far bigger and more densely populated than most countries. Hence: second biggest polluter.

There are studies that show where our pollution actually comes from. ICYMI: it’s corporations, not individuals.

Corporations developed the whole recycling environmental protections thing to shift focus from a legit criticism of corporations.

Uh… we rank 82nd for population density.

I guess you have not spent much time in Asia.

Do you realize that you hold beliefs that just support you actions and politics. It is called confirmation bias.

Try facts and education instead, they will rick your worldview .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now it’s getting interesting: Kenya, where only 14% of tourist dollars stay in the country. The lion’s share goes to foreign owned hotels, airlines, travel services, etc.

No discussion of AirBnBs (yet), the biggest driver of gentrification and housing insecurity fueled by foreign ownership (in every tourist area around the globe).

Next: most popular tourist destinations have highest poverty rates because the poor were never factored into the tourism value chain.

Hmm…

Valid points regarding vulnerability of developing countries.

But also valid: how else would some of these locals support themselves and their families without tourist dollars?

You just keep saying that. Your own post suggests this industry could be restructured so that the only people making big bucks are not executives and investors from Hyatt and American Airlines (or their ilk).

The world can change but not if the privileged just dig in their heels and feel threatened!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Peruvian father of 8 speaks the truth: without tourism, there is no money for us to support ourselves.

That is like saying human trafficking is necessary because how else will those young people support themselves. Same for child labor.

When you know by looking at your own children that other options are possible when those with the power are motivated (or forced) to protect human/worker’s rights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So how do we feel about the Peace Corps?

Some if the examples on here are NOT tourism.

They are trained professionals doing a legit job in a place where they are desperately needed (like Doctors Without Borders ).

[Anonymous]

Yawn. Perfect reading for the fragile white progressive woman who gets an endorphin kick from reading Robin DiAngelo.

Meanwhile, in the real world most developing countries treat themselves like crap and you're blaming it on white tourists?