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Problems with Tourism

As Ibiza and other islands are saying no to tourists coming to party, it’s becoming increasingly clear that expectations on travellers in the world’s most popular destinations are changing. SOURCES: BBC-The World’s Revolt against ‘bad tourists’ and the Guardian-Be a better tourist! 28 ways to have a fantastic holiday without infuriating the locals

Tourism is a perfect geographic topic; the allure of exotic places, different cultural activities, and distinct cuisines drives the industry and the human impulse to experience the unknown.  Tourists are drawn to unfamiliar biomes and dramatic landforms. Tourists go to see the world and experience things they wouldn’t in their homeland.  I’m an unabashed advocate for experiencing more of the world as a way to learn, grow, and develop.  That isn’t to say that tourism doesn’t have its downsides.

Tourists aren’t just learning about new places, often they are partying and letting loose in a place away from home precisely because they are out of their normal environment.  People also go to the same places that are iconic, in search of the perfect Instagram shot of the most viral Tik Tok video.  Some places are getting a massive seasonal influx of tourists, more than the local transportation network can handle.

The British media is especially (BBC and the Guardian) aware of this topic, publishing pieces about the adverse impacts of tourism.  The negative stereotypes (loud, drunk, culturally insensitive, etc.) are more than off-putting to the local residences in party destinations like Ibiza.  People flock to some party destinations, and the picturesque rural community can be confronted with needing a stronger nighttime police force to deal with public drunkenness and more serious criminal activities.  

QUESTIONS TO PONDER: What are the responsibilities of tourists? Can a region both foster a tourist-based economy AND keep the place untouched by the industry?

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VIDEO: My Dear Kyrgyzstan

My Dear

“Emil is a social media-obsessed entrepreneur in one of the most remote places on earth: An abandoned Soviet mining village in Kyrgyzstan. Emil has returned to put his village on the map as an international tourist destination.” SOURCE: MailChimp

This delightful video shows the former Soviet mining town of Jyrgalan and a local entrepreneur that wants to revitalize the village economy, bring in the outside world, and make is home a tourist destination.  It serves several purposes for a geography teacher.  One, it’s a great portal into a Central Asian country where most of my students don’t have any real reference points.  Two, the video highlights important geographic concepts such as tourism’s impact on indigenous cultures and globalization’s impact on previously isolated locations.  Three, this is a great case study for a cultural landscape analysis.  The video has some incredible juxtapositions; nomads wearing traditional clothes encountering adventure tourists outfitted in Patagonia gear, people in town cutting grass with scythes as well as gas lawn mowers, and traditional architectural styles intermixed with signs of modernity such as satellite antennas.  The physical and cultural landscapes in this are absolutely stunning and worth the twelve minutes of your time.

GeoEd Tags: landscape, Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, video, tourism, globalization.

My_Dear_Kyrgyz

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The American West, 150 Years Ago

In the 1860s and 70s, photographer Timothy O’Sullivan created some of the best-known images in American History. After covering the U.S. Civil War, (many of his photos appear in this earlier series), O’Sullivan joined a number of expeditions organized by the federal government to help document the new frontiers in the American West. The teams were composed of soldiers, scientists, artists, and photographers, and tasked with discovering the best ways to take advantage of the region’s untapped natural resources. O’Sullivan brought an amazing eye and work ethic, composing photographs that evoked the vastness of the West. He also documented the Native American population as well as the pioneers who were already altering the landscape. Above all, O’Sullivan captured — for the first time on film — the natural beauty of the American West in a way that would later influence Ansel Adams and thousands more photographers to come.

 

Tags: images, art, landscape, tourism, historical, USA.

Source: www.theatlantic.com

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25 Photos That Will Make You Fall in Love With Norway

“So how gorgeous is Norway? From its majestic wildlife, captivating Northern Lights shows, and snowy mountains, to its vivid landscapes, and mystifying fjords, Norway is a must-visit destination for anyone who loves the outdoors. Plus, opportunities for hiking, kayaking, glacier climbing, fishing, and skiing are endless! If Noway wasn’t already on your travel bucket list, I bet it is now!”

Source: www.travelalphas.com

My wife lived in Norway for 18 months, and her love for this country is infectious.  The stunning physical geography leads to some equally magnificent cultural landscapes that were forged in a very rugged, inhospitable environment for early human settlers.   

 

Tags: Norway, place, tourism, physical, Arctic, geo-inspiration, images, art, landscape.

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Atlas Obscura: A travel guide like no other

“A popular website and now a bestselling book, Atlas Obscura is a guide to many of the world’s most unusual places. Serena Altschul discusses some of the awe-inspiring destinations with two of the guide’s creators, Josh Foer and Dylan Thuras.”

 

Tags: place, tourism, video, geo-inspiration.

Source: www.youtube.com

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Paris mayor unveils plan ​to restrict traffic and pedestrianize city center

Anne Hidalgo says she wants to cut the number of cars in French capital by half as part of campaign to tackle pollution

Source: www.theguardian.com

The world’s biggest cities are struggling to maintain access to congested downtown areas and still ensure that the downtown maintains it’s historic sense of place that generate so much tourism and concentration of cultural amenities.  Pollution is driving cities to change as the private automobile as the default mode of transportation becomes less feasible and unsustainable as cities expand to be far larger than they ever have been before.  

 

Tags: urban, environment, pollution, urban ecology, France, place, tourism, Paris, megacities, transportation.

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Why houses in Bermuda have white stepped roofs

The island of Bermuda has no fresh-water springs, rivers or lakes so the design of its roofs is essential for collecting rainwater.

Source: www.bbc.com

This is such as distinct, localized example of how people adapt to their physical environment.  It explains why a particularly cultural landscape is prevalent, and the article nicely shows how traditional island living comes into conflict with tourist expectations and consumption patterns.  Tons of good geographic factors in this issue for students to analyze. 

 

Tags: water, tourism, sustainability, architecture, consumption, landscape, Bermuda, environment adapt.

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Linking the most interesting places in the world

“Every city has a picturesque spot or two where the probability of a photo being taken at any given time is pretty high. Now there’s a world atlas of maps showing the routes people follow while taking these pictures in every city around the world:Mapbox’s Eric Fischer has been working on the “Geotaggers’ World Atlas” for years, using locations of photos uploaded on Flickr over a decade. In his city maps, which now span the world, he connects the dots between subsequent photos taken by a photographer—representing their path in sketchy lines that criss-cross across the city.” 

—Tanvi Misra on CityLab

Tags: mapping, visualization, social media, tourism.

Source: www.mapbox.com

Questions to Ponder:

  1. How does the idea of crowdsourcing influence modern-day cartography and geographic data?
  2. What kind of meaning is there in this seemingly random assortment of geotagged images?
  3. Analyze a particular pattern (anywhere in the world). Describe the location, explain the patterns you see and analyze why they are the way they are.
  4. Analyze a particular pattern (somewhere else in the world). Describe the location, explain the patterns you see and analyze why they are the way they are.
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Mexico is home to world’s largest pyramid

No one knows who constructed this pyramid 2,300 years ago. Cortés missed it when he invaded the pyramid’s hometown in 1519 and it wasn’t rediscovered until 1910. Today it stands as the largest monument ever constructed.

Source: www.youtube.com

10 years ago, about 30 miles outside of Veracruz, Mexico, I see a hill completely covered in vegetation.  I notice that the angle is rather uniform and that it appears to have distinct faces at right angles.  It dawns on my that I’m staring at an archeological site that has not been excavated and the Indiana Jones explorer in me is immediately fascinated.  Mexico is filled with sites of ancient civilizations that stir the imagination and this is one of those. 

 

Tags: Mexico, indigenous, folk cultures, culture, tourism.

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