You asked for it (10)

[gerbie]

You asked for it (10)

Write something about tourism (requested by marnix)


The love-hate relationship of my life is called tourism. It was a decisive factor in my choice of study. It has offered me the opportunity to travel a lot, to get to know (parts of) the world and has helped me speak 6 languages. Up to today, I indirectly depend on the trade, as a teacher on a college for Tourism and Leisure Management.

Yet I do not ever want to be called a tourist.


If I think of tourists I think of a German in white socks and flip-flops (thongs for the Ozzies) moaning about not everyone speaking his language. I think of the British, red as a lobster, drinking his own weight on lager every week of his holiday, while singing that Britannia rules the waves. I think of Americans telling the world that back home is everything bigger and if things don’t change, he will sew. I think of the Dutch, taking sandwiches in a napkin from the breakfast room, so they do not have to spend anything at lunchtime. I think of Italians looking for Dominican teenage prostitutes. I think of Scandinavians just leaving their country because the alcohol is too expensive back home. I think of the French who will happily pretend that they do not want you in their country and treat you accordingly.

Tourism does the world a whole lot of harm. Just have a look at the coasts of the Costa del Sol in Spain, of Cancun in Mexico, the Playa Dorada in the Dominican Republic or the Gold Coast in Australia. Huge buildings clash with the natural beauty of the surroundings. Locals have turned into modern slaves, working for meagre salaries in the only industry that is capable to keep them at work: tourism. And for the little money they get, they get offended on a daily basis by people who happen to be born in a country richer than theirs. In Gambia, Thailand, Kenia, Cuba, Dominican Republic and many other country prostitution has become a major problem. Terrorists have chosen Touristy hotspots as their targets in the last years. The ETA gives a warning ahead, in Bali hundreds of tourists were not so lucky to be evacuated in time from the Sari club.

That leads me to another, morbid, list. Places I could have died, had I been there the wrong time. An El Salvador earthquake 3 months after I left. A Venezuelan airplane crashed half a year after I boarded it. The train to the glacier in Kaprun, 3 years after I worked there. The Tauerntunnel on fire, also 2 years after I went through it a dozen times in one winter. The aforementioned Sari club. The WTC, 3 years after I walked past it. It doesn’t scare me though. Most accidents happen in your own home.

After all my seasons working in Tourism, I can’t be a tourist anymore myself. I can’t go on a package holiday. I wouldn’t want to be seen in an All Inclusive resort. I want to be a traveller. A traveller is someone who tries to adapt to wherever he goes. He is interested in local culture, local politics, and the local population. He doesn’t need luxury, he eats whatever is available. He talks to other travellers about the places he has to go. He loves to be on his own in a National Park, but could also walk away into a suburb, because the town centre is too full.

All in all, the world probably needs both. The travellers, because as Guru from GangStarr once sang: “The more travelling I do, the wiser I become”. They go to new places, where the tourist will eventually go as well (Goa!). Yet he doesn’t spend any cash, the tourist will. For economic purposes, tourism cannot be abolished. If only every tourist would learn something from a traveller. If only travellers realise that they are not as unique as they think they are. They are only tourists avant la lettre.

In the meantime I just go on with training youngsters to become travel agents, tour guides, holiday reps and information clerks. It suits me. I enjoy it. And it gives me some travel time while working. What more can I ask for?



(You asked for it, a series I started to give anyone the opportunity to tell me what to write. You want to tell me as well: leave a comment or mail me (E-mail in user info). This was part 10, no request waiting at the moment. Looking forward to the next request.)

Comments

[gerbie.livejournal.com]

First travel of my adulthood? Just to be sure: the first time I travelled alone since I was over 18, or the first time I felt a traveller instead of a tourist, according to my own definition? Or, with you reffering to me being able to recall, do you mean childhood?

[tbone.livejournal.com]

The first independent travel that you took by yourself, at whatever age you felt like an "adult." If that was 18, go with that. If you took one by yourself (or without "adult" supervision, anyway) earlier than that, then use that one.