The Ethical Travelguide!

What travelguide to bring on your travels? The Ethical Travelguide!

I  took two books with me; The Ethical Travel Guide1 (ETG) which is possible to order through Tourism Concerns online store at www.tourismconcern.org.uk and the Rough Guide to Kerala.

Before travelling I read the first chapter of the ETG where Tricia Barnett, the director of Tourism Concern and the author of the book Polly Pattullo introduces us to the problems with and within the tourism industry, it is well worth a read as it can deepen anyone’s knowledge of the issues in just a few pages, for those already acquainted, a refresh is never bad before heading out travelling.

Barnett writes;

”So how do you get the world´s fastest growing industry to develop in a way that brings benefits to local people rather than exploiting them and their environment?”

Local people, even in the most remote environments, are no fools. They know there is money in tourism. It is obvious all around them but they hardly get access to the money that trickles down through this sector, despite the fact that their cultures are used in marketing purposes to sell the holidays and which are the reasons for tourists to come

“This is particularly a problem when holidays are about our own needs and pleasure. All too often the problems are well hidden. How would you know that this beautiful hotel is on land snatched from fisherman for which they weren´t compensated? How would you know that the water in the pools and shower are depleting local people´s resources and that their access to water is limited to two hours a day…? And we certainly don´t ask waiters how much they are earning and whether it is enough to help them climb out of poverty.”

The ETG also gives us practical advices on how we can prepare for our travels plus a practical Tourism Concern´s Travel Code for those of us that want to travel ethically. To illustrate how this is possible the ETG lists a number of small travel stories from different parts of the world “The ethical traveler goes to Jamaica” etc.

After the introductory chapter we are introduced to a new world of possibilities for ethical travels or as Tourism Concern puts it; possibilities for not making any “guilt trips!”

The Ethical Travel guide lists over 300 places for us to visit in over 60 countries:
 “You can stay in very simple local style accommodation; more sophisticated with western plumbing; or the very luxurious. You can stay with people who are doing it alone or who are working closely with an outside who has made a commitment to develop tourism that locals can benefit from, or go through tour operators who are in partnership with local people”

If you decide to visit one of these hotels, guest houses, lodges or villages you will know that your money will go to people directly and not be lost to outsiders”

The last chapter of the book lists tour operators (UK, US and a few non UK/US) that are challenging the dominance of mainstream tour operators and are committed to supporting local communities.

I have two weeks before my field study starts to travel independently in India so to prepare I read the chapter about the problems with the tourism industry from the ethical travel guide, the travellers code plus the specific chapter about India. I hope to find something that will suit me and the short period of time I have!

As a complement to Tourism Concerns traveler’s code it is possible to download recommendations (only in Swedish) for the tourist that has been issued by the Swedish network for fair travel www.schystresande.se.  These two codes/recommendations are good to bring when travelling as they can help the individual tourist to make more ethical choices while travelling.

1. 1. There is a new version of the guidebook available at www.tourismconcern.org.uk. The one I am using is the older version.