BlogHer - Travel - Comments

The importance of ecotourism.

jimmahon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:10:33 -0600

I have taken over the travel project and traveled so many places so I ouht to myself find the the importance of ecotourism definitely.

Ecotourism have become popular tourism sales pitches. In order to truly understand ecotourism and all of it's attendant pros and cons it is necessary to do some background research.

Attractive and scary

Maria Niles — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:52:58 -0600

That's a great way to describe it and exactly why, I think, people take on the challenge. And, wow, what an insight you had:

And then when it was all in the moving van, watching the van driving off and feeling very strongly that I would not care if it all got lost in transit and I never had to see all that stuff again.

I haven't heard of Michael Landy's documentary so I'm off to check it out.

Thanks for your comment!

BlogHer Contributing Editor PopConsumer Beyond Help

Possessions

mashadutoit — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:05:16 -0600

There is something so attractive and scary about this.

A couple of years ago we moved from Durban to Cape Town. There was the packing up of all our possessions, going through that torturous process of deciding "keep or toss" for every single little thing. And then when it was all in the moving van, watching the van driving off and feeling very strongly that I would not care if it all got lost in transit and I never had to see all that stuff again.

Did you read about the artist, Michael Landy, who destroyed all his possessions? I saw the documentary and it was fascinating and quite frightening too. Here are two links -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2002/feb/13/artsfeatures.arts

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/feature_michael_landy.shtml

Personal stake

snigdhasen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:52:16 -0600

Hi Nita, welcome back! Thanks, I found these blogs very interesting too. I am not surprised you found racist blogs out there. The reason, I feel, these writers are different is because each one of them seems to have a personal stake in India -- they are trying to build a relationship with the society and culture, much like immigrants do. That makes their criticism more constructive and informative, and their praise more grounded. No?

Good list

Nitajk — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:10:06 -0600

Snigdha, this is an interesting list and I am bookmarking this page so I can check out these blogs. It is always interesting to know what foreigners living in India feel. However, once I came across a rather racist blog too! I guess one gets all kinds.

Nita

Since I love to travel, I

zaza09 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:39:31 -0600

Since I love to travel, I also like travel blogs, it's a good way to know about a place from personal experiences.

I also created a blog about my experience with the Pousada Morro Sao Paulo

Education & Job

miley — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:52:58 -0600

vacances santander

Word Up Pam

Kim_Mance — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:07:09 -0600

You are so exactly correct.

Kim Mance
editor-in-chief
Galavanting online women's travel magazine

Interesting Debate!

soultravelers3 — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:45:19 -0600

Indeed! There certainly should be questions about how truly objective a writer can be when they've taken a trip that was funded by others.

No matter how good the writing is, the stories ARE affected by who is paying for them. Sadly, MOST of our media is run that way and why it is so difficult to discern what is truly factual today.

I think more than good writing is at stake. How valuable is great writing if it hides the full truth intentionally?

I don't trust much in mainstream media today because of this trend. When I sold my house at peak in 2005, Time Magazine had a lead article including cover on why it was the best time to buy a house ( influenced by real estate and mortgage bank money no doubt). Now, most who caught that enthusiasm (from "great writing") are deep in underwater mortgages or foreclosed.

A good example in the travel industry is how big cruise ship companies spend a ton on advertising in travel magazines and does endless free trips for travel writers/bloggers. There might be some great and entertaining writing (plus travel porn photos, videos & tweets) but 0% inform the public that cruising is absolutely the most harmful to our planet.

The travel writers that are doing the excellent writing that includes all the critical facts are those not on the free press trip cruises (or magazines supported by the booming cruise industry).

I find it sad for our planet that just like few knew about the housing crash until it was too late, that public awareness about the extreme environmental harm of big cruise ships are unknown ( and will remain unknown to the public, until it is too late, because that is what the rich cruise industry promotes with travel writers.)

I don't know how to solve the problem of paying writers fairly, but I am glad that the internet helps even things out a bit. There are actually some great writers writing exactly what they want to write about so one doesn't have to always folllow the money to sort out the bias.

Out of Africa - Parts I and II

therovingstove — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:48:48 -0500

Please also read parts I and II on my blog for the full story!!

http://jewelsfromtherovingstove.blogspot.com/

Julie Anne 'Jewels' Rhodes

http://www.therovingstove.com/

Health And Fitness

miley — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:18:07 -0500

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Travel

miley — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:16:40 -0500

Costa Rica - Learn about Costa Rica and all that Costa Rica has to offer.

Discerning

Pam — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:45:11 -0500

You're probably right, Elana, readers probably can't tell if the writer is on a freebie. But I do think readers can see through insipid prose that offers nothing but glowing reports of gold tinged perfection.

It's funny, for hotel reviews, I go to the review sites, and look at the worst ones. If something shows up consistenly -- the place is noisy, the food is bad, the rooms are dirty -- then I figure there's some truth to the matter. I look away from ranting, anger, bashing. It's worth applying those same critical skills to glowing positive reports too.

It's in the details. I velieve this is true for any kind of review writing, it's in the details. I know it when you see it.

I agree that reading critically may not be a skill that all readers have. More's the pity. Reading well is something we all should be able to do.

Nerd's Eye View
@nerdseyeview

Great essay Pam

mara@themotherofalltrips — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:08:57 -0500

When I do my own internal check I feel pretty uncomfortable with the idea of a trip that is paid for by a travel outfit, hotel, cruise line, etc. I think it would be difficult to do in a balanced way. Not that anyone is banging my door down, but if they were, my first instinct would be to question their motives and also the authenticity of the experience I would have.

On the other hand, I think it is completely unfair to expect that writers will cover all of their own expenses and then some only to be paid a paltry sum by the organization that wants to publish their writing - the organization that needs content to survive. I accept that travel writers do expect partly to be paid in experiences and lifestyle, but I think it's unrealistic to expect that they should always foot the bill. Especially since what many publications are interested in are articles about very high-end resorts. That doesn't really sit with the vow of poverty they seem to expect writers to take.

And ultimately I do think that good writing - and being honest - is what really matters. To me David Foster Wallace describing the Frank Conroy essay in "Shipping Out" (one of my favorite pieces of travel writing ever) is a perfect illustration of the contrast between being a writer and being a shill.

Mara

The Mother of All Trips

Can Most Readers Discern a Comped Trip?

Elana Centor — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:46:26 -0500

In many ways, the issue of travel writers accepting payment from PR firms and cruise ships, hotels and vacation destinations is very similar to one I've been writing about this week : affiliate marketing sites whose sole purpose is to provide leads for a selling organization. The one I wrote about were the acai berry blogs that all said, " I can' say I owe my life to Oprah..."

When you are able to tell whether a writer has been comped, it can help you evaluate what they are writing. However, many many people do not have that skillset and for them, not having that information means they are not getting all the information they need to evaluate the credibility of the piece.

I hope magazines are called on the carpet for their "reviews" of products that are often furnished by the manufacturer. Should you really "trust" a review in a woman's magazine?

I wouldn't. While I would like to think that I would give an honest review even if I were comped I know that I might tone down the intensity of the review if I had developed a personal relationship with the people who got me the gig and if I wanted to make sure that I got future assignments.

While I don't believe there is ever an unbiased review, I think your odds are greatly enhanced if a news organization pays for it rather than the folks who stand to make a profit by a favorable review.

elana Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&Careers FunnyBusiness