Tourism Profile Series: Dean MacCannell

Tourism as a field of research is still young and as such, has suffered somewhat of an identity crisis, evident through the large number of definitions that seek to properly situate tourism either as a standalone field or embedded within a larger context. Believing strongly that tourism fits the latter description of embeddedness, Dean MacCannell, a prominent sociologist and anthropologist from the early tourism days of the 1970s and still building on his work today, has helped to usher in the sociology of tourism perspective – that is, in which ways do groups of people interact with tourist spaces . Due to his rise to meet the early formations of tourism as a discipline, MacCannell was a student born of different disciplines – he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology at the University of California in Berkeley in 1963, and his Doctorate Degree in Rural Sociology at Cornell University in 1969. Following this educational upbringing, MacCannell began to drift his interests in rural sociology toward the application of leisure behaviors and, ultimately, tourism. A part of what drove MacCannell’s initial push toward the tourism sector was his concerns over the negative effects of modernity on social spaces in which tourists interact (MacCannell, 1973). Using mostly qualitative techniques, particularly semiotics, MacCannell combined his knowledge of sociology to advance tourism for the next 40 years, and continues to this day to remain an active member of his academic community.

This week, I had the great fortune of speaking with Dr. MacCannell regarding his views on tourism in regards to curbing mass tourism, discussing alienated leisure, and his suggestions for future tourism scholars as an area of focus. Check out our discussion, below:

ML: What is your most memorable travel experience, and what makes it stand out to you?

DM: It would be easier for me to recount my most forgettable travels. Every trip is memorable but for different reasons. They are hard to compare. I will give you two.

As a child I travelled extensively in wilderness areas in Washington State. My parents were poor and hiking and camping was the only form of tourism we could afford. In the 1950s I lived in rural California about 15 miles from the Mexican border. The interior of Baja California was mainly unknown. Before satellite imaging there were no maps of Baja south of Ensenada. The existence of one of the last unexplored and unmapped parts of the world only 50 miles from my home proved to be an irresistible attraction to me as a teenager. I explored and drew maps of the deserts and the San Pedro Martír mountain range to share with other climbers. In 1959, at age 19, I became one of the few who had found and reached the top of El Picacho del Diablo the highest peak in Baja. I have given a more detailed account of my Diablo climb in Via Tourism Review:  http://viatourismreview.com/2016/06/maccannell/.

After the “Events of May” in 1968, Juliet and I unwound by hitchhiking from Paris to Istanbul and back. Our route took us across Yugoslavia and Bulgaria at the height of the Cold War. We were given a ride by a high ranking Bulgarian army officer in the lead car of a military convoy. He was not initially amused at having picked up two “American spies.” But we soon became friends. A woman in Sofia who illegally sheltered us for a night in a black market room sent us Christmas cards for years after. We can still remember the delicious tomato and basil salad she prepared for us when we told her we had not eaten all day.

ML: Generally speaking – why do we travel?

DM: Today with video conferencing and VR experiences of all the worlds’ attractions soon to be available, there is no longer any reason to travel. Except human beings have always traveled. Our survival depends on it. Culture, or what we now call the symbolic order, is the basis of our survival as a species. Culture does not change on its own in response to existential threat. The tendency of a symbolic system is toward self-preservation, the mythic, the static, the creation of place and identity. But the future of humanity is predicated on questioning our existing symbolic order and adapting to changing conditions. In the past, the primary impetus for transforming symbolic values was contact with different symbolic systems through travel. Therefore, even if there is no practical reason for travel, or evident function, it remains crucial to our collective adaptation. I went over this in some detail my 2011 book The Ethics of Sightseeing. At the superficial level of individual psychological motivations, there are as many reasons to travel as there are travelers—to find something new to remember, to get away from something and try to forget, to find a new love, to keep up with the Jones’s, because you saw a picture of Yosemite in a magazine, because your mother told you to, etc. etc. But all of this is nothing more than the chaff of obfuscation that makes busy-work for professors. At a psychoanalytic level where the unconscious meets the socio-symbolic, there can only be two options—only two reasons to travel.

Sightseeing is the closest we will ever get to the socio-symbolic order as such. Tourism alone puts the entire cultural and natural universe literally “up for grabs.” Every symbolic value has concrete representations among the things tourists go to see. Sometimes it is in your face like freedom as symbolized by the Statue of Liberty. Most symbolic values lurk just beneath the surface of the attractions we visit. Gender definition and every other identification, heroism, desire and its objects, all our ideals, the meaning of success and failure, the “good,” evil, beauty and ugliness, the “other”—all symbolic values have their touchstones in the form of tourist attractions. So what do tourists do in the presence of this enormous potential? It is perfectly predictable that sightseeing’s potential to transform consciousness and the symbolic is repressed by the very institutions that support tourism.

For some, it is just too much. They want to escape what they perceive to be the painful rigors of civilization—to get to do nothing for a change; to lay on a beach and be served drinks with little umbrellas in them; to be free, at least for a moment, of all social responsibility; perhaps they might find ultimate release far from home in drug-enhanced sex with a stranger. These tourists fantasize the possibility of literally being able to ‘get away from it all.’ This pole of the tourist dialectic is founded on an assumption that the symbolic order “is what it is,” for better and for worse, we are stuck with it, or in it. All we can do for pleasure is to get free of it for discrete periods of time before returning to its strictures and confines. Of course this “getting free of it” is pure fantasy as the luxury cruise to nowhere, the  all inclusive resort that could be anywhere, are as firmly embedded in the symbolic as the rest of life. In fact they are even more totalizing and coercive than other areas of life. This motivation goes hand in hand with false nostalgia for a past order in which everyone was thought to have had a stable and proper place.

The beach of anywhere – is this what tourists seek? (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The other pole is curiosity about oneself and humanity, an interest in seeing some thing that made a new opening in the symbolic order—the quay in Venice where Marco Polo stepped off toward the Orient, for example. Any place, object, or event that marks the moment when a particular social order loosens its hold over its subjects and permits them to breach its boundaries and revise their sense of space, time and identity, and ours. This tourist motivation models real ways of escape rather than fantasized ones. It harvests the raw material for the kind of changes in the symbolic that are necessary for our continued survival. This motivation is not “stuck” in some preexisting order. These tourists want to enlarge the idea of a beyond of the symbolic walls around them. This reason for travel affirms our basic human heritage in common with others. This model is spelled out in detail in “The Two Fantasies in Architecture for Tourism” (Dean MacCannell and Juliet Flower MacCannell,  Forthcoming, VIA).

ML: In our initial conversation, I falsely suggested that you didn’t believe in authenticity at all. You were reassuring in pointing out that I wasn’t the only person to draw this conclusion from your work. Can you give a sense of what you actually meant, in terms of its connection to your work on alienated leisure?

DM: I don’t remember ever having written that there is no such thing as an authentic tourism experience. I have tried to stay out of the minds of individual tourists—to let them experience and feel whatever that might wish.

My focus has always been on the rituals and institutions of tourism and on what these might imply about our modern humanity. I discovered “staged  authenticity” in tourist settings and provided enough evidence for the existence of the construct that it hasn’t gone away—the many shows put on for tourists to make them believe that they have somehow gotten in with the natives, behind the scenes, or seen the kind of things ordinary tourists don’t get to see. But I never claimed that tourists are necessarily “taken in” by staged authenticity. If you consult my original article, you will find several examples of tourists who make jokes about this kind of staging for their benefit and clearly regard it as silly.

It is true that I based my explanation of the sightseeing drive on modern alienation and the weakening or dilution of intimate social bonds in modern life, bonds that might be experienced as “authentic.” My concept of “alienated leisure” is openly derived from Marx’s concept of “alienated labor.” It does not take a virtuoso reader of Marx to know that even if a worker loves his work, his boss, and his co-workers, and looks forward to going to work every day, that does not make his labor any less alienated. In a strict sense, so long as the profits of his labor accrue not to the worker, but to the owner of the means of production, the worker’s labor is alienated. Probably all the more so, or at least pathetically so, if he experiences “joy in work.” The underlying question of alienated leisure is the same: what is the surplus value of leisure at the level of the entire society? If society evolves to the point where, from the perspective of its ordinary, everyday members, it appears unimaginably huge, ungovernable, disconnected, fragmented, what can be done to impose upon it some sense of order and meaningful connection? My argument at this point became dialectical. I stated, rather too clearly I suspect, that the very fragmentation of society today, its disconnections and dislocations, have become primary resources for new and modern kinds of solidarity founded on resistance to the rule of alienation. However it may be experienced psychologically in the mind of the tourist, this is the structural engine of tourism.

Regatta sailing into Venice (source: Wikimedia Commons)

ML: Building on your comments regarding the alienation of leisure and the surplus value at a broader scale, I’d like to point out that Venice has recently experienced this in a very real way, as protests against a surging rate of mass tourists become more common place. Other popular tourist sites are also seeking ways to curb mass tourism. Can you offer some of your own suggestions for ways in which tourists can substitute quantity with quality?

DM: Tourism researchers could have a role in creating models of how effectively to repel tourists. This does not strike me as a particularly difficult task, and in coordination with community leaders and/or activists, there is little reason why it could not go forward apace. The first step in developing “tourist repellent” would be to derive applications of the conceptual model of tourist motivation as outlined above. Each type of tourist motivation has a completely different relationship to culture (both the host culture and the tourists’ own culture) and accordingly each has completely different infrastructural supports. Once the dominant type of tourism at a particular destination has been identified, and an analysis of its infra-structure supports completed, strategies for shrinking it or even shutting it down completely should be evident.

Type I: The tourists’ motivation is simple curiosity about oneself and humanity, an interest in seeing some thing, from the past or in the present, that promises a new opening or insight on one’s own culture. These are the ethical tourists, the kind that have been wandering around Barcelona, Paris, Venice, etc., for several hundred years and continue to come today, deterred only by the growing numbers of the second type of tourist and capitalist promotion of ersatz attractions for the second type.

Type II: A second type of tourist is motivated by a fantasy of escaping all confines of their culture and every other culture. From their perspective, they are travelling to no-places, ‘utopias’ that seem completely beyond any established social order and their locked-in place in it. One filth-strewn beach is as good as any other for drunken sex with a stranger. Their resorts could be anywhere, their cruises could be to nowhere. So long as the “package” promises relief from everyday responsibilities and duties toward oneself and society.

The first step any community or a region needs to take in shrinking tourism would be to make a determination of which type they want to discourage. Because the measures needed to reduce their numbers are very different. The public and private tourist sectors appeal to the first kind of tourist motivation by maintaining monuments, parks, museums, historic sites, and scenic landscapes. The infra-structure needed is effective heritage and nature preservation initiatives, quality site maintenance, accessible public transportation with clear signage, knowledgeable guides and detailed information, and hotels, restaurants, and cafés accessible to visitors from every social stratum.

The tourist industry appeals to the second kind of tourist motivation by offering all inclusive resorts and “cruises to nowhere,” and for those who can’t afford a cruise to nowhere, crowded charters to beach resort areas.

Thomas Cook & Sons Ltd, ca 1922 – Perhaps the originator of the ‘cruises to nowhere’ (Source: Wikipedia)

The infra-structure needed is cheap charter flights, hotels that accept over-crowding in the rooms, lax standards for public alcohol and recreational drug consumption, etc. The negative impacts of both kinds of tourism can be mitigated by  encouraging off-peak travel and requiring completion of on-line courses in local behavioral norms and standards before booking travel arrangements, or as a condition of hotel check-in. The second type of tourists can be discouraged by local vendors agreeing to raise the rates on  everything—food, drinks, lodging—all at once and across the board. They could start low at, say five percent, and then slowly increase until they find a “sweet spot” where they are making the same profits from 30 percent fewer tourists. And/or, local ordinances against public drunkenness, nudity, beach fires, noise, could be rigorously and visibly enforced: arrests made, fines levied, jail time. If tourists arrive by car, municipalities can reduce the amount and convenience of street parking for those not displaying a local resident’s permit. Etc. This is not really difficult to figure out. In fact, it would be so easy to shut down the commercial tourist sector of a regional economy I suspect that most of the complaints about “too many tourists,” or “boorish tourists,” are in bad faith.

ML: Today, tourists are presented with a commodification of tourist sites with markers that are difficult to reconcile with the real thing (for example, Statue of Liberty piggy banks). What impact do you feel this has had on tourism, generally?

DM: You will find several sustained passages in The Tourist and my other writings where I remark that the tacky commercialization of tourist attractions and their simulacra (your piggy bank example is excellent) are perfectly predicted by the dialectics of authenticity. The penumbra of junk surrounding the attraction is crucial to the perception of the attraction as the “Real Thing.” The junk doesn’t detract—it enhances. The more junk the more real. And possession of a Statue of Liberty piggy bank serves to affirm the possessor’s connection and obsequious obeisance to the symbolic values embodied in the Statue of Liberty. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

ML: What advice can you give future tourism researchers in regard to things to watch out for, and which areas that you feel tourism research needs more attention?

DM: Most tourism researchers today think of themselves as providing expert advice to players in the travel and leisure sectors of the economy. The emphasis in the literature is on what drives tourist numbers up, destination reputation, new motivations to travel (sex tourism, medical tourism, etc.), new leisure products, etc. I will not presume to give advice, but I will confess that personally I find this work terminally boring for the most part.

There are three existential questions that should be on the minds of tourism researchers today. (1) humankind fighting to survive man-made environmental disasters by trying frantically to switch to sustainable energy sources, saving and restoring precious natural resources, by recycling our waste, etc.; (2) some of us fighting to complete the project of democracy to the point that it can actually make good on its promises of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all; (3) unprecedented geo-cultural dislocations—millions of peoples in motion—huge and rapid flows of migrants and refugees and tourists with almost pure uncertainty overhanging these collective projects. If I could not meaningfully connect my future.

I Now Pronounce You Authentic Tourists

The past few months I have been exploring the topic of authenticity in a summer project design to determine whether travelers really do know how to gauge the authenticity of their trip, and more importantly, whether this matters or not. Here, I am referring to authenticity as related to the ways in which an experience – specifically in regard to touristic experiences – feels ‘real’, ‘genuine’, ‘sincere’, ‘original’, and ‘natural’.

The problem with studying authenticity is that it is so damn subjective. Put best by Wang (1999, p. 356), “Symbolic authenticity has little to do with reality out there”. If it has little to do with reality, how can we know if an experience is indeed authentic or not?

My argument is that authenticity comes a lot from within, and is more of a projection of ourselves than it is something that a marketer can create (and, indeed, often fails at creating – as is the case with staged authenticity as described by Dean MacCannell in his book The Tourist (1976 – not to be confused with the mixed-reviewed Johnny Depp film), where a setting created to feel authentic is even worse than not mentioning it at all*).

So going back to my original question – how do you know if you are truly experiencing something authentic? Well, it turns out the answer to that question can be as simple as getting married in a far off destination. When I visited France last summer, I walked along the famous bridge from that scene in Now You See Me where the padlocks are locked onto the steel frame of the bridge, signifying love and relationships, kept together indefinitely with a key thrown into the adjacent water. What’s interesting about this experience is that France actually hates it. They cut all of the locks off the bridge in 2010, and have created campaigns to stop tourists from doing it. However, the film has created an imaginary in the tourists’ mind of a timeless tradition (even though it’s only been around for 8 or so years in France, as a result of some tourists doing the same thing in Italy and Asia). While I walked along the bridge, just minutes after I snapped this photograph, a nervous looking man was getting down on one knee and proposing to his brand new fiance, followed by a locked padlock and another discarded key. I watched the couple embrace for a moment, and reveled in the opportunity to get to see such an amazingly real moment. Although Paris did not create the authentic moment, they were an important part of it.

Fast forward to last month, when my beautiful fiance at last became my wife. We ventured to Iceland together, spent a week exploring its sights, and the last few days getting married on a black sand beach in the very early hours of the morning. And to me, this was a moment of complete sincerity in which Iceland played a pivotal role, and yet technically did nothing. If Iceland offered a ‘wedding at Black Sand beach at 4 a.m. package, we would have ignored it. But they had the right conditions for us to create our own authentic experience, and we jumped at the opportunity.

Beautiful featured photo courtesy of Full Frame Pro photography (@fullframepro on Instagram).

There may be an opportunity for Destination Marketing Organizations to understand this better, and to create the environment for authenticity rather than try to stage it directly. The implications for this, I believe, are significant. As I continue with my summer research project and work toward better understanding the phenomenon of authenticity, I will maintain this important distinction.

As always, feel free to comment below!

 

 

*For an interesting discussion on this notion of front and back regions, refer to Goffman’s chapter which presents some interesting scenarios where these regions may feel ‘challenged’.

A Frugal Guide to Las Vegas

Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps, what happens there stays there, just the right amount of wrong, the City of Entertainment – you get the idea.

Vegas is notorious for its lavish nightclubs, exotic locations, bigger than life hotels and casinos, and more shows than you could get through in a lifetime. Because of this, travelers looking to save money on their vacations are hesitant to choose it, out of fear of going for broke shortly after arriving at the airport (which is a valid concern, given that even the airport here has slot machines threatening to part you with your hard earned cash before you even step onto Nevada soil).

After spending 3 days there this past weekend, I’ve learned (in some cases the hard way) how to save some serious money in Vegas without sacrificing the excitement that comes along with it. As always, a small bit of preparation goes a long way. The following list outlines some effective ways to save in Vegas, divided by three major categories that affect all travelers: Transportation, Accommodation, Entertainment, and Food.

Transportation

Tip # 1: Download the Lyft App and save $10 per person for 5 rides

Lyft is a new rideshare service very similar – identical, in fact – to Uber. The problem with Uber is that everyone already has it, so there are no opportunities for first time rewards. By downloading the Lyft app, you can save $10 (USD!) off each trip up to 5 trips in total. Even better, by sending the app to your friends, they also get the $10 off 5 trips, but you get an additional $10 credit on your account. Let’s do some math to see what you could save:

For 2 people, one person downloads the app and gets $10 x 5 trips = $50 off. By sending the app to another person, they get $10 more, so $60 off. The other person also gets $50 off ($10 x 5), totaling $110.00 worth of FREE ridesharing around Las Vegas!

There are two important things to remember if you choose to do this: (1) Tips are not included in the free amount, even if your trip is less than $10, and (2) this is $10 one-way trips, so if you take a $15 trip, you still have to pay $5, even if you are under your total allowance of $50. We ended up taking a car half way, getting out, walking a block, calling another car, and finishing the trip on a new fare, essentially getting a $20 trip for free (plus $1 for adding a tip).

Tip # 2: Consider buying a monorail 24-hour pass when casino hopping

The monorail in Vegas is incredibly convenient, air-conditioned, offers great views of the city, and stops at all major casinos along the strip. Additionally, a voice-over announces the attractions at each stop, including popular restaurants and landmarks worth checking out. If you are planning on sticking to the strip for the day and want to conveniently visit each casino without making the trek from one end to the other (especially in 42 degree weather!), consider spending $12 on a 24-hour monorail pass. If you also followed the Lyft suggestion, that is best saved for short trips to non-casino destinations, or in several short trips to make a longer one (as described above).

Tip # 3: Look into free airport to hotel shuttles before paying for a taxi or Uber

This one we didn’t realize until we got to the hotel – after a $15 (CDN) Uber ride from the airport, we were told that the hotel offered free airport shuttles 24/7. In all likelihood, the majority of decent hotels in the area will offer this, as this would be a great chance for them to pick up people from the airport that haven’t chosen a hotel yet to come to theirs. Either way, don’t pay for fare from the airport. Please.

Accommodation

Tip # 1: Avoid the expensive hotels, but don’t cheap out either

Staying at The Mirage or MGM Grand will cost you big time. Personally, I’d rather spend less on the hotel and more on the experiences outside of it. That being said, if you go too cheap, you’re going to either be too far from the strip and feel out of the action, or you’re going to miss out on amenities like a swimming pool which is potentially the most gratifying thing you can have in 40+ degree weather. The hotel I booked was the Fortune Hotel and Suites, and although it was a little dated and a 15-minute walk from the strip, it had a pool, free breakfast, and free wi-fi. Other hotels to be considered are Circus Circus, where at around $80-100 per night, you can be very close to the strip, and have a theme park inside the hotel. How many people can say they rode an indoor roller coaster? Be sure to book wherever you stay well in advance to take advantage of online deals, such as those through Hotwire or Trivago (you can even set up price alerts if you have a specific budget in mind). Also, consider contacting the hotel directly and asking about their rack rate – which is the price they are willing to go down to in order to fill an otherwise empty room. This may be less common in Vegas, but you could get lucky (sorry for all of the gambling puns).

Entertainment

Tip # 1: Book shows online ahead of time and use the Tix4Tonight booth for low-cost entertainment

We booked Cirque-Du-Soleil, a gravity-defying hour and a half show where tickets can range greatly from $50 to over $300. The higher the price, generally, means the closer you are to the stage, and could lead to some audience participation with the show. However, you don’t have to choose a nose-bleed section to get a better price – a quick Google search for tickets will take you to various websites offering prices at different rates, and usually at least $10-20 less than you would pay at the venue. If you’re alright with choosing a less popular show, hop into the Tix4Tonight line at Flamingo Road and S Las Vegas Blvd. Here, you can find fairly deep discounts on a variety of shows available throughout the day along the strip and on Fremont Street.

Tip # 2: Gamble your own money on Fremont Street, people watch on the Strip

By far, the fastest way to lose your money is by gambling in any of the big name casinos along S Las Vegas Blvd. With its reputation as the most popular street in the most famous gambling city in the world, it is no surprise to see tables with minimum $20 bets, a wide variety of $5/play slot machines, and never ending poker games and high stakes areas. Keep your wallet in your pocket in these casinos, and instead hover innocuously around some of these tables, watching the bets take place by other players who are more willing to part with a day’s wages than you are. When they win, you’ll still get that dopamine hit seeing their reaction to a big increase in their chip count, and when they lose – you’ll be grateful it wasn’t you in their chair.

Obviously, you’re in Vegas, so odds are you plan on doing some gambling – the better place to do this would be off the strip, at one of the smaller gambling houses where the odds are higher and the drinks are cheaper. Better yet, gamble at Fremont Street, still incredibly popular with tourists, but a less-expensive version of S Las Vegas Blvd. It even has a cool zip line ($5 cheaper if you do it before 6 p.m.) and after the sun sets, the entire ‘Fremont Street Experience’ lights up for a dazzling display of colours and sounds. Head into the Fremont Casino for $1 minimum bets on many tables, as well as digital roulette wheels with a single 0 (European style), rather than a 0 and 00, moving the odds more in your favour. The only other advice I have on gambling is to set a limit at the start, and stay within it. It is easy to get caught up in the “one more time” mentality, but one more time is a never-ending concept. It’s fun to see money you brought to be entertained with go into the hands of the hard-working casino staff, it’s another thing to start dipping into credit cards to try to leave a winner.

One last gambling tip is to choose your poker table wisely – wait until late in the morning when slightly inebriated players join the tables, and make sure they all look like tourists, and aren’t locals. Your odds of beating slightly drunk tourists at poker are much, much higher than any other form of gambling you will be doing all weekend.

Tip # 3: Free Drinks! (For the shameless)

A lot of people think you need to be a high roller on a streak in order to get free drinks. Although this is definitely true, you can also use a more shameless approach to getting what you want. Servers will walk around with trays of drinks, taking orders from those playing at the tables. Unfortunately for them, the turnover for these players can be quite high, and the time between a drink order and getting out of your seat is often times very low. After someone leaves their seat, the server will still come by with the drink, but quickly learn that it has no owner to give it to. At this point, they take the drink back to the bar and discard it, or give it to another patron if the same drink happened to be ordered. This can be a great opportunity for you to ask the server with a tray of drinks if they have extras. If so, these extra drinks can be given away, free of charge, which is done happily by the server who would prefer to give it away than pour it down the drain. Although this technique is going to be less likely for mixed drinks, it works great for beer and water.

Tip # 4: Don’t spend money on activities you can do elsewhere – keep to Vegas attractions only

This goes without saying, but a movie theater ticket, bowling, etc. are going to cost you a lot more in Las Vegas, and are frankly a waste of time (unless you’re dying to see the next installment of Star Trek and can’t wait until the weekend is over). There is so much to see and do in Vegas that is only there, why pay more for activities that you can do at home?

Food

Tip # 1: Go to all-you-can-eat buffets to refuel, buy snack food ahead of time or at CVS or Walgreens to fill in the gaps

We struggled to find these all-you-can-eat buffets after being told they are all over Las Vegas. In fact, they really aren’t, but they do exist. The one we went to was called Paradise Buffet, in the Fremont Casino. For $18 per person (!) we were able to get a wide variety of great food, including soda, tea, coffee and desserts. The staff in the restaurant were incredibly fast at clearing plates, and the total price for 2 people was a mere $45 (USD) including tip for as much food as we could eat. To put that in perspective, I bought a chili cheese hot dog and a beer from Nathan’s earlier that day for just under $20 (USD). Nearly the same price!

When not eating meals, eating granola bars, fruit, etc. that you either bought ahead of time or at one of the convenience stores on the strip will help you save tons of money. If you’d rather sit down and eat, there are some guides that list restaurants by price, and if you’re desperate, there is a McDonald’s on the strip. I suggest avoiding this place at all costs at 3 o’clock in the morning.

Tip # 2: Buy liquor off the strip and drink it in your hotel room

Pre-drink, it works at home before a night out at the bar, so why not use the same approach in Las Vegas? Drinks can get pricey on the strip (we paid nearly $40 (USD) for two shots at The Mirage), the cost of an entire bottle of vodka at one of the many liquor stores in the area.

Tip # 3: Keep lots of water in a backpack that you carry around with you

There is NO free water anywhere in Vegas. Even the faucets in the bathrooms of the casinos are designed to make refilling a tedious task. Water fountains simply do not exist anywhere, and you pay a minimum of $1 (USD) for 400ml bottles anywhere you go.

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So there you have it – Las Vegas for those who didn’t think they could ever go. If you’ve ever been, did you have any ways that you were able to save some cash? How about a horror story of where you spent way too much, and what you learned from it? Feel free to comment below! And thanks for reading!

Tips from Kevin Callan, the Happy Camper, on finding balance on your next camping adventure

This week, I caught up with Kevin Callan, the Happy Camper, and we talked about the notion of happy camping and why we prefer to be comfortable and happy while out in the woods. Kevin provided plenty of great tips and suggestions for those looking for a few nights out under the stars, without counting the seconds before heading back home and away from the bugs, bears, cold, dirt – you get the idea.

In the years that I have packed my hiking bag full of various amenities that I consider essential to a prosperous camping trip, I am always finding myself torn between two perspectives: pack as light as you can, because you should be able to get by on the bare essentials, and bring as much as you want, since you want to be comfortable while out there. Obviously, the decision is contextually based: Am I car camping? backcountry trekking? Portaging? And other factors as well, such as who I am with, how long I am going, etc. Generally speaking though, I find people fit into one of three categories:

Survivalists. These are the “all I need is a tarp and my trusty knife, nature will provide the rest”.
Happy Campers. People like myself, who bring enough to be comfortable and relaxed, but not feeling the need to bring everything and the kitchen sink out into the wild. Which brings us to the third and final group…
Glampers (glamorous campers). These are the folks who need to feel pampered during their vacation, and rely on propane-heated, cable-ready, wi-fi hot spot enabled homes-on-wheels.

A glamper’s idea of the great outdoors.

I should point out that none of these categories are inherently bad. And people can cycle through these categories as their lives change (it’s better to be a glamper than to not go at all, after all). However, I do find that there are perceptions about camping that those who are new to the experience tend to imagine, and it is the goal of this post that I try to defuse some of these perceptions.

When I talk to people about how I like to go camping, especially when they find out I go in the winter, ideas of frostbitten fingers and snow covered tents come to their minds. “You’re crazy!” I hear frequently enough that I’m starting to question it myself. However, according the Kevin, there are benefits to winter camping you don’t get when there during the summer months. “There are times I think I winter camp more than summer camp…” starts Kevin. “No bugs, bears or crowds. And the silence is amazing”. Especially if you are used to living in a metropolitan area, the silence truly is magical. In a way, it’s almost louder than the noise we hear every day in the city, since our ears so are used to that ambient background noise and the absence of it really livens up your ears and puts your mind truly at ease. Everyone needs to experience that feeling at least once in their lives. To combat the cold, Kevin recommends a hot tent, which is essentially a prospector tent with a wood stove. “The huge advantage of the hot tent is, yes, you have a heat structure, but also from 5 at night when it gets dark, until 8 am the next morning, you have something else to do. You don’t go in the tent to try and survive, you go in there to play cards and have a good time. As the happy camper, I’m not trying to survive, I’m trying to have a good time.”

Hot tents, such as the Snowtrekker (pictured) offer a comfortable and enjoyable winter camping experience.

Moving away from the topic of winter camping, I know from Kevin’s many books that he is a big believer in a hearty and filling camp dinner, complete with appetizers and a bit of choice whiskey for dessert. One of his staple items for any respectable camper is a well-made bannock (Recipe here). He points out that not only does it taste great and use limited ingredients, but a good meal is a serious morale booster for a weary group at the end of a long day.

“…a good meal is a serious morale booster for a weary group at the end of a long day.”

For those looking for their next adventure, Kevin recommends checking out his favourite place at the moment, the Chiniguchi/Sturgeon River system. “It has everything you want in a good lengthy ‘northern’ trip.” Known for its large stand of old growth red pines, this is a great trip for someone to take who doesn’t want to be either a survivalist or a glamper, as you can bring plenty of your gear along with you in your canoe but bear in mind that you will need to do plenty of portaging and it is considered ‘backcountry’ in its terrain.

 

So thinking back to the three types of campers, I encourage those who haven’t been camping and picturing it as a survival situation, it doesn’t need to be. You can pack lightweight amenities such as cooking stoves, down-filled sleeping bags, even chairs and pillows to be as comfortable as possible. And for those who have been camping, but only done so from the comfort of an R.V. (which I love to do on occasion myself and recommend if you can afford one), to try heading out either alone or with a close friend and try your hand at tent camping, using your judgement and skills to stay warm or cool, and try out various activities such as animal tracking and identification, bird watching, and other meaningful activities that will connect you more to the world around you.

Finally, if you want to see The Happy Camper in action, Kevin Callan will be appearing at the Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show from February 20-21, where he is scheduled to put on a presentation. I encourage everyone reading this to see him present. For an idea of his style and sense of humour, also please check out his latest YouTube video series “Happy Camper Whiskey Fireside Chat“.

Thanks for reading!

Why the fleeting moments are the ones that stay with us the longest

Happy New Year!

I recently read a fascinating book on pursuing quests. The book has the reader think about what kind of quest he or she would want to embark on. I think my quest would be to seek out the most remote places in the world and write about them. This thought about quests led me to a new question, which the book didn’t cover, but had me thinking anyways. Why is it that the idea of an experience holds more importance with me than, say, a book about acquiring new prized possessions? I hope to explain why here.

Just a few short years ago, I firmly believed that possessions were better than experiences, because you got to keep them and use them for years after, while an experience is always fleeting and finite. Now I know that this simply is not true. Things break, get lost, or become uninteresting to us over time. They rarely add any sacred value unless they are gifts or artifacts from places visited . However, in both of these cases, it is not the thing that is important to us, it is the meaning behind the thing.

“…it is not the thing that is important to us, it is the meaning behind the thing.”

One of my most cherished things is a small globe made of different rocks that my mom gave to me. It is valuable to me not based on a price attached to it, but on the notion that my mom thought of me when she saw it, and of six siblings to give the world to, she chose me. I have no idea where she got it or what she paid for it, and I don’t care. I also know that I would not sell it for any amount of money offered to me.

Have you ever looked forward to buying something, researched it, obsessed over it, saved up for it (or not), and finally went out or online and got it? Remember that feeling of removing the packaging  when you got home? The new smell, the accessories, the subtle nuances of a brand new shiny thing? Well where is that item now? When did you last use it? Even if it’s something you use every day, like a toaster, you probably don’t value it like you did when you first obtained it.

Now – think about some experiences you’ve had. If you’re like me, you can remember how you felt when you were in that moment.

Our feelings are our memories. And our memories are incredibly important in shaping who we are as individuals. So it stands to reason that it is actually the fleeting moments that last the longest, not the objects that crowd our spaces. I am so grateful to have this perspective now. It has enabled me to constantly “check-in” with myself during moments that I want to remember. I can then recall back to these moments either through memory or through pictures, and relive it as much as I want to.

“…it is actually the fleeting moments that last the longest, not the objects that crowd our spaces”

In 2016, I have one resolution: to remind myself to pursue these experiences, be it in the form of visiting a new country, spending quality time with people I care about, or any number of other non-material forms of consumption. This will undoubtedly lead to as rich and fulfilling year as much or even more so than the one that just ended.

Thanks for reading 🙂

 

Not all those who wander are lost

Which direction should I choose?

This is the question we ask most frequently in life. Where should I go next, and what if I make the wrong decision? At its core, we are really asking, “What if I’m making the wrong choice, and just don’t know it yet?” Unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure what impact our choices have on our futures. An act as small as choosing to be patient at a yellow light and waiting for the next green could result in you missing a visitor at your home who intended to invite you to a get-together that night where you would have met your future wife if you had attended it. Every action has a consequence, even if we only see things linearly though our limited perspectives. And so we choose. And we live with the choices we make. And that is just the way things are. We can consider ancient metaphors relating our individual points of view to an allegorical cave with shadows dancing carelessly along its surface, while the real world passes by out of sight behind us. But that story does not take into consideration the curiosities of our prefrontal cortex. Surely, inevitably, someone is bound to turn around.

Every action has a consequence, even if we only see things linearly though our limited perspectives.

Although I don’t like to deal in absolutes, I do believe that the answer to the question “which direction should I choose?” is simply a determination to choose “the right one for us”, and avoid staring in the same direction as everybody else. Think of it as a “not all those who wander are lost” (J.R.R. Tolkien) kind of thing, where as long as we are moving in a direction that makes sense to us, we are moving in the right one. Then, even if things go awry, the obstacles we encounter are our own. And I cannot think of a greater feeling than overcoming an obstacle that is unique to my own life’s path (or learning from the failure of being re-routed by it).

…as long as we are moving in a direction that makes sense to us, we are moving in the right one.

I’ll be 30 next month. This thought both exhilarates and terrifies me. I am not sure if I’m ready to start checking off the “30 to 39” box on questionnaires, especially given that I am still building my life’s purpose. Yet there are lessons that I have learned in the formative years of my life, which I believe are a direct contribution to the happiness that fills me each day. Although I believe this has been my own unique journey and that everyone’s list will be different, I am compelled to share some of these thoughts with you just in case you are still staring at that cave wall, unaware of the world going on behind you.

1. Always make time to listen to someone passionate about their craft, regardless of what it is they are passionate about. Whether that passion is drawing, singing, poetry, or collecting milk bottles. There are incredible people all over the world, and if you get the chance to meet someone who lights up when they talk about their passion, listen to their stories and remember that even if the subject doesn’t resonate with you, the intensity in their words should.
2. Volunteer your time for something beyond yourself and your own personal world. Helping the elderly, animals, working with children, building homes or helping the homeless are just surface examples of ways in which you can enrich your own life through the support of those that need it. Don’t allow “time” to be an excuse to not have volunteerism in your life. Helping others gives you time, by allowing you to slow down and appreciate your own life even more.
3. Never pass on listening to free, live music. They are everywhere and sometimes can spring up when you least expect it. For at least one song, tap your foot, nod your head to the rhythm, and smile. They worked incredibly hard and were very brave to give their talent to the world, expecting nothing in return, so appreciate it. I’ve never walked away from listening to beautiful music without a giant smile on my face.
4. See the world (or as much of it as you can). Don’t waste your money on things, science has proven that they will not bring you long-term happiness. While the things we once thought were going to be important to us (think about those golf clubs or that waffle maker you have collecting dust somewhere) they rarely keep their importance as much as the memories of a new experience does. Traveling without a plan can give your life more meaningful direction than any kind of thing you can buy in a store.
5. Put off the things people expect you to do at certain milestones simply because your age merits the ability to do those things. Being 30 today is different than it was 40-50 years ago when our parents were young. If the idea of a child in your life with the person you love, watching them grow old while you help them along with their journey appeals to you, then you should do it. If you want to keep your independence and continue to build your own life’s experiences, then don’t. A date on a calendar should not make this decision for you.

As I said earlier – this is my list. I don’t expect anyone else to agree fully with it. However, I hope some of it has resonated with you, and at the very least, inspired you to consider what your list might look like. Also, remember that it will evolve as you do. That’s the beauty of it!

SoundScape Series # 1: Bon Echo National Park

This entry will be a little different from the rest, and may very well shape the future of my tourism blog.

To start, as much as possible, remove yourself from any outside distractions. Allow your body and mind to relax and focus solely on these words and away from other stimuli that could be competing for your attention. Turn your phone to silent, close all other tabs, windows, and programs on your computer, turn off your television or pause the show you are watching, dim the lights, and focus here.

When you’ve done that, open a new tab in your browser and begin playing this album, then come back to this post :

The Echelon Effect – Sierra  (if in Chrome, right click on the link and choose “Open in New Tab”)

Welcome back.

By this point, hopefully you are in an environment where you can let your body relax and you can take a moment to enjoy the sounds of this beautiful music. To enhance the experience even further, try picturing the musicians slowly build up the score from a soft sound to something increasingly more intense and powerful.

Simply listen to this introductory music until the song comes to a close. During this time, try to remember a moment in your life where you had a real connection with nature. It could be the smell of the sea, the feel of sand in your hands, or the view from an incredible vista. Once you’ve found this memory, hold onto it for the duration of the song. If nothing comes to mind, simply imagine yourself sitting under a large oak tree in a vast empty field. The point here is that you want to be in a state of higher awareness, not simply observing but feeling as well. Close your eyes if that helps. Once the second song begins (around the 2:12 mark), continue further to read today’s blog post.

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Have you ever felt the urge to isolate yourself in a new place, alone, without any distractions? I had this very urge a few months ago, and began planning a trip to the backcountry area of a provincial park in Ontario, Canada. I wasn’t sure where to go at first, but after doing some research, I settled on Bon Echo National Park. This is a unique area with an interesting history to it. The owners of the land had an opportunity to turn it into piecemeal lots for condo development, but instead chose to donate the entire area to the government, who agreed to preserve it for future generations. What you have as a result is an area roughly 66 square kilometers filled with pristine water, a 330-foot high cliff, and over 260 native pictographs. The park is divided among the typical family campgrounds with showers, beaches and other amenities, and more backcountry options including sites that are accessible only by a 300-meter portage and a canoe trip across to the other side of the lake. Naturally, I chose the second option as I was going alone and looking for that isolated experience. I wish I could better describe the atmosphere at this isolated camping spot, but suffice to say, it was beautiful.

While still listening to your song, I would like you to try and picture the blissful feeling of the following experiences. The most amazing moment of the trip was, around midnight on the first night at the campsite, I looked up past my fire to the sky, to see the most stunning display of stars I have ever seen in my life. The sky was almost alive, as comets routinely flew past, stars clustered in such density that they appeared to be massive blotches suspended above me, and the streak of the milky way made a clear indent through one large portion of where I was looking. There was only one problem: the mosquitoes. I couldn’t truly appreciate the sky, because every few seconds I would hear that dreaded buzzing sound in my ears of bites to come. I wanted desperately to enjoy the sky, and so I decided to go into the water next to my campsite. The water was incredibly inviting, and within a few moments I was lying on my back in the water, lungs full enough with air to keep me afloat, and I stared at the stars for a very long time. This was one of the most beautiful moments in my life so far, and I remember laughing to myself at one point at how lucky I was to experience that.

My next favourite moment of the trip came along when I decided to hike one of the trails to the Mazinaw Rock, which was over 300-feet from the water. Once I reached the pinnacle, I contended with a large number of other tourists all trying to get a good view of the vista. The loner in me didn’t enjoy this competition over space, so I went exploring. I found that if I were careful, there was actually a way to scale down the side of the rock which led to a nearly invisible trail down to underneath where the rest of the visitors were situated. I found a perfect resting spot, sat down, pulled out my binoculars, and watched as people kayaked below and birds flew between the trees. In the most perfect moment, I witnessed a father with his young daughter in a boat together, and him helping her to pull a fish out of the water on a line. She squealed with excitement at catching her first fish ever, and how excited she was to show it to mommy. The expression on the dad’s face was absolutely telling of how proud he was of her, and the high five and head pat that followed it confirmed his pride in his little girl. I was lucky to see such a real moment, and wouldn’t have been able to see any of it if I had of stayed above with the rest of the crowd.

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Keep listening to the music.

So those two moments were the ones that stood out the most for me during my trip over the weekend. If we come back to your memory of your favourite experience in nature, did my descriptions help you to remember any other feelings or imagery that you had initially forgotten? If you didn’t think of an experience initially, did my story spark any hidden memories from your childhood or even any recent experiences?

And if you still don’t have a memory or an experience in mind – what are you waiting for? Nature calls. 

For the remainder of the song, continue holding on to your memory, and begin thinking of ways you can build new ones. There are always opportunities for new adventures.

Thanks for reading/listening!

Get Your Tickets to Space Soon! Seats Are Limited and the View is Out of This World.

2006 was a bittersweet year for our dear dwarf planet, Pluto.

This trans-neptunian object was delisted from planet status on August 24th (Blogger News Network 2006). However, in the same year, it also was the star of a show that would take 9 years to play out: the deployment of a spacecraft by the New Horizons team at NASA which would take high resolution imagery of the planet, as well as conduct other crucial tests. As you can see in the below Google Trends result for the term “Pluto”, interest waned in the years of the crafts (relatively) slow approach to this dwarf planet. However, just the other day the spacecraft arrived, and the photos being released are absolutely stunning.

Interest in Pluto Over Time (source: Google Trends)

Hi-Res Image of Pluto (Source: Nasa.gov, July 13, 2015)

With all of this interest in NASA’s latest mission, you would expect the topic of space tourism to be on the rise as well. However, the trend has been steadily declining since 2005, when it was first announced as a possibility by an AIAA senior member in the U.S. Yet in all of space travel history, only 547 people have been able to leave our earth’s orbit (Space Station Experience 2015). What is keeping us from seeing this as a reality? Who will be the first successful space tourism company to realize the potential of insanely wealthy people looking for an entirely unique experience?

Enter Space Adventures. The ambitious company is positing an opportunity for two private citizens and a trained cosmonaut to circumnavigate the moon from only 100km away by 2018 – in just 3 years. If they accomplish this, it will be the first time a non-trained astronaut flies into orbit, and will make those individuals the 25th and 26th individuals in all of history to have made the journey.

Probably the best known name in the race for commercial space travel is Virgin, under their Galactic flagship. Virgin has long been promising the eventual departure into space for the common person. Sir Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin, puts it simply: If you are inquisitive about life, and inquisitive about the world around us – well, most of what’s around us is space”. Due to the unfortunate fate of their first spaceship named Enterprise (Star Trek reference!) during its 55th test flight, their progress has been delayed. However, the replacement craft, is expected to commence testing this year.

From these two companies, it appears that commercial space travel really may be just around the corner. It would be fascinating to know what the costs would be for a trip into space, and the demand for going. At the forefront of research into space travel is Dr. Patrick Collins, whose research spans several interrelated topics including space economics, space tourism, reusable launch vehicles, and space solar power. Well in regard to understanding the demand for space travel, Dr. Collins (1994) published an article that looked at the demand for space travel in Japan. He concluded that although price was a major factor in the decision, that there did appear to be a strong interest in attending a flight into space. Following this article, Collins (1994) describes the use of reusable space technologies that will help to bring people into outer space. If reusable crafts are used, perhaps there will eventually be an economy of scale where the cost of the trip decreases gradually to only cover the cost of fuel, resources, and administration.

I believe that when people begin traveling to space to see the world from a distance, it will help to better frame their perspective of the world in terms of their significance within it. Perhaps it will cause people to think twice about any hardships or wrong-doings they are contemplating in their own personal lives as these events may seem trivial given the scope of the world we are on. Perhaps we could even send politicians into space to see the world as one whole, unified place, and not scattered and divided as we desperately try to make things appear. The borders of our world are designed by us, and therefore only hold the meaning that we attach to them, after all.

So, how about it – would you take a trip into space in the next few years?

References:

Blogger News Network. (2006). Retrieved July 15, 2015.

Collins, P., Iwasaki, Y., Kanayama, H., & Ohnuki, M. (1994). Commercial implications of market research on space tourism. The Journal of Space Technology and Science, 10(2), 2_3-2_11.

Collins, P., Stockmans, R., & Maita, M. (1996). Demand for space tourism in America and Japan, and its implications for future space activities. Advances in the Astronautical Sciences, 91, 601-610.

Space Station Experience. (2015). Retrieved July 15, 2015.

Enter…If You Dare: Probing the Importance of Dark Tourism destinations

I am no wimp.

In fact, when I found out that Iceland housed a museum known as The Museum of Sorcery and Witchcraft, I knew I had to pay it a visit. The museum was interesting to say the least. There were exhibits of all types, ranging from the expected spells and objects, to the peculiar (for instance, Google the word “necropants”). By the time I left the museum, I felt a strong sense of intrigue and desire to learn more about the fascinating history of Icelandic witchcraft (for example, did you know that all but one of those burned at the stake were men, which differs greatly from other European witch hunts during that time?). Upon arriving back to Canada, I knew I had to look more into the importance that dark tourism, or thanatourism as it’s otherwise known, plays on influencing our travel destinations. That is, do people go looking for these experiences specifically, or are they simply drawn in to them while already abroad?

Before I get too deep into this topic, some groundwork needs to be laid. Dark tourism does not simply exist as a single attraction, but actually lies along a plane of varying shades of darkness, known as the “dark tourism spectrum” (Stone 2006). This seminal paper illustrates the varying degrees in which tourism can be considered dark, with authentic, historical-based locations, or light, with artificial, heritage-based locations.

Source: Stone (2006)

This spectrum is an important distinction to remember, since no two dark tourism destinations are the same. This blog will focus more toward the left hand side of the spectrum (which is awesome, because it is much more interesting!).

So what are some examples of historical-based dark tourism locations? How much time do you have. There are countless sites dedicated to death and suffering around the globe, with perhaps the most famous of these involving one of the great wars, or certain famous deaths and political assassinations. Some sites are larger than others, and can even include entire cities – such as Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, which were devastated in 1945 by atom bombs and remain to this day a memorial to the crippling effects of these bombs (Siegenthaler (2002). Unfortunately, this often means that the site of a terrible event typically becomes a part of the event itself. Consider such examples as the Amityville Horror, or Auschwitz, which now have negative connotations, or “ghosts” as described by Heidelberg (2015) in his recent paper on the staining of locations’ names following a tragic event. In this paper, Heidelberg discusses how life in Amityville was that like any ordinary town, before a man named Ronald DeFeo Jr. burst into a bar late one night to outline the death of his entire family. When the next family to purchase their home moved out after only 28 days, claiming a haunting to be the reason for their departure, the town of Amityville was never the same. The house became a popular tourist destination for those seeking to catch a glimpse of the “infamous pig demon of Ocean Avenue glaring at them from windows” (Siegenthaler 2015, p.74). Although no one has ever seen it, this house remains to this day a popular destination point for tourists and helps generate revenue for the local government.

Speaking of revenue generation, it is curious to think about the opportunity to actually profit from a tragic event. Morality and ethics aside, how could the site of a gruesome death be enough to turn a profit? Look no further than the Body Worlds exhibit, showcasing real human organs and muscle for over 30 million people to date (Stone 2011).

Source: blogto.com

This shows the power of a well done display showcasing what would otherwise be considered gruesome and grotesque. By framing the bodies in an educational environment, Body Worlds has allowed the masses to enjoy their desire to see the macabre, while also earning a steady profit in the process.

So where is this all going? What is the future of dark tourism?

One of the largest drawbacks is that since many of the “darkest” tourist destinations are based on historical occurences, these sites may slowly degrade and collapse. Although the Amityville house still stands today, it is reasonable to understand that this will not always be the case. It is curious to wonder whether this site will retain its morbid memory once this takes place. I believe that it will. Take for example Podoshen et al.’s (2015) article on dystopian dark tourism. This article outlines three events that are tied in well with dark tourism, one of them being the Charles Manson Helter Skelter tour Los Angeles. If you are unfamiliar with the Manson murders, I suggest a quick search online for context. Essentially, however, Manson orchestrated and carried out several brutal murders at 10050 Cielo Drive in L.A., which became instantly famous due to the song choice of Helter Skelter by Manson, who interpreted it as an anthem for an upcoming race war. Although the site itself has been completely painted over and even renumbered, thousands still flock to its site to get a glimpse of the infamous “murder house”.

So, which places have you visited that have had a dark and twisted past? Can you recall your thoughts and feelings while visiting these places? I personally find myself more clear-minded after visiting a site with a dark past. It helps to remind me that as bad of a day as I may be having, it could always be much, much worse.

References:

Heidelberg, B. A. W. (2015). Managing ghosts: exploring local government involvement in dark tourism. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 10(1), 74-90.

Podoshen, J. S., Venkatesh, V., Wallin, J., Andrzejewski, S. A., & Jin, Z. (2015). Dystopian dark tourism: An exploratory examination. Tourism Management.

Siegenthaler, P. (2002). Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japanese guidebooks.Annals of Tourism Research, 29(4), 1111-1137.

Stone Dr, P. (2006). A dark tourism spectrum: Towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions. Tourism: An Interdisciplinary International Journal, 54(2), 145-160.

Stone, P. R. (2011). Dark tourism and the cadaveric carnival: mediating life and death narratives at Gunther von Hagens’ Body Worlds. Current Issues in Tourism, 14(7), 685-701.

Into the great unknown: Dissecting the implications of remote tourist destinations

Driving the ring road of the beautiful country of Iceland, I was struck by a poignant truth: there are more sheep on the roads than there are other cars. Yet in spite of this lonely feeling, there was some exhilaration to it as well. Being alone in a relatively unknown island next to Greenland, I was able to enjoy scenery and moments that could very well have been spoiled by the presence of other people. In fact, it was with this goal that I decided to spend 14 days alone backpacking, camping, and sight-seeing one of the most visually inspiring places on the planet.

When seeking a remote destination, one of the most important components is in regard to the authenticity that surrounds the trip. Although for the most part, Iceland is open and accessible to all, there are many locations, especially those most popular with tourists, that dictate your path around the attraction, and end with a gift shop and eatery. Research by Dr. Erik Cohen (1989) outlines the irony of this situation. In his article, he describes the trend toward remote tourism, and the ironic fact that since more people are seeking to find authentic and remote tourist destinations, that marketers are creating “staged authenticity” in order to keep up with the demand. A perfect example of this is in Thailand, where the government has forced several northern tribes to lose many of their customs, culture and attitudes in response to the impact of these tribes on the rest of Thailand. However, tourism remains a staple of these tribes in spite of an increasing rate of “non-tribal” accommodations and activities such as “low-cost guest houses, eating places, and coffee shops…” (Cohen 1989, p.36). This dwindling authenticity also exists in more niche remote activities, such as bird watching (Carson and Harwood 2007) and third-world portrayals (Silver 1993).

However, the argument exists for the necessity to streamline these “remote” locations, in order to protect not only the tourist but the ecology of the location itself. In fact, at many points during my trip to Iceland I would encounter signs and ropes warning of “threatened plant species”. In spite of these signs, there was obvious wear to the ground within their boundaries which signifies the lack of concern or understanding of these issues in sustainability. In an effort to understand this type of behaviour, Dr. Marion Hercock (1999) outlines the impact that tourism is having on various regions within the Australian landscape. Due to lacking droughts in the northern region of Kimberley in Australia, four-wheelers have taken to become a popular mode of transportation for tourists. Since the rate of four-wheeler activity is so high, the impact it is having on the landscape is swift and irreversible. Attempts to slow the rate of destruction are futile, as demand for remote adventure tours is ever increasing.

So what does this mean? Surely I am not arguing for the end of remote tourist activities. However, I believe there are insights to gain from the ideas presenting so far in regard to both authenticity and sustainability. Dr. Cohen mirrors this belief, noting that there need to be solutions to providing equity that allows tourists to fully appreciate valuable sights while simultaneously protecting the site itself (2002).

One group of German researchers may already have the solution to this problem. Their research looks at the implications of national greenhouse inventories, which attempt to record the ecological-footprint of a country’s citizens. One issue that is raised in this record is in regard to countries which rely heavily on high-rates of tourists. Since national greenhouse inventories do not take tourist activity into consideration, they are not receiving the full picture of what the actual ecological footprint is on a country’s landscape (Gössling et al. 2002). One potential solution to this is by sourcing funds from tourists to these destinations that would cycle into that countries rehabilitation efforts. However, the idea of paying more money for travel may hinder some from making the trip in the first place, which would have a negative effect on that country’s economy. While I was staying at a guesthouse in Iceland, the owner described to me a unique system that may be employable in other popular tourist destinations as well. Essentially, tourists who choose to travel by rental car are expected to pay a higher amount than in other similar European countries. This extra amount is then filtered into local volunteer emergency rescue services, which offer a range of services including helping you recover your car from ditches after inadvertently driving off the road. This type of idea could be funneled into other ideas as well, such as a small increase in the price of gift shop items which could in turn be used to maintain the sustainability of the destination itself.

Regardless of how remote we intend on being during our vacation, there is an important consideration that needs to be given to how we interact with the environment in which we are in. Basic etiquette involves leaving no trace, and respecting the wildlife around you. And as we seek out unique, authentic experiences to write home about, we can rest assured that these locations are kept pristine for future adventurers.

Thanks for reading, and please feel free to provide your comments and ideas in the section below!

References:

Carson, D., & Harwood, S. (2007). Authenticity as competitive advantage for remote tourism destinations.

Cohen, E. (1989). Primitive and remote: Hill tribe trekking in Thailand. Annals of Tourism Research, 16(1), 30-61.

Cohen, E. (2002). Authenticity, equity and sustainability in tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 10(4), 267-276.

Gössling, S., Hansson, C. B., Hörstmeier, O., & Saggel, S. (2002). Ecological footprint analysis as a tool to assess tourism sustainability. Ecological economics, 43(2), 199-211.

Hercock, M. (1999). The impacts of recreation and tourism in the remote North Kimberly region of Western Australia. Environmentalist, 19(3), 259-275.

Silver, I. (1993). Marketing authenticity in third world countries. Annals of Tourism Research, 20(2), 302-318.