International Tourism

I think Hollywood and the media provides a bigger impact on tourism than we care to realize. I’m sure everyone has seen a movie or a TV show and made the decision that they want to go to the location it was filmed at or stay away because of it. This can be dangerous but not completely stopped. Stopping the production of movies and TV would be detrimental to many economies, which just wouldn’t be practical. The same can be said with the expansion of “influencers” on social media. These people make a point to influence people to do things or see places without people being conscious of it. Most times, it showcases a very specific part of a location, leaving out a lot of important information and cultural norms. It usually only showcases the highlights, as well. An approach that can be made to combat the negative portrayal of some of these places, such as Iran, is to make a director’s cut or a behind the scenes of these movies and TV series. By doing this, the director, actors,

After exploring all of the cases throughout the semester, I’ve definitely thought in-depth about the way I travel and the impact I leave on the planet on a day to day basis. It’s made me become much more conscious of my actions and the way I live my life. This has started for me with practicing sustainability day to day. Something as simple as recycling, reusing water bottles (buying a few metal ones), reusing packaging supplies when shipping and receiving items, cutting back on electricity use, changing the fuel I use in my car, etc. Any small step I can take, I have. It might not leave a huge impact, but if everyone changed one thing about the way they live and reduce the carbon footprint, it would be huge. I also have thought a lot about the way I travel. Although I don’t believe I’ve done anything to negatively impact an area I’ve been to, I want to be even more conscious in the future and work to solve some of the problems with tourism one step at a time. Over spring bre

After watching the video on YouTube and the film, it’s clear that there is a problem that could have been minimized before it got as large as it did, but it didn’t. Businesses as large as BP and Exxon who deal with a material that has a lot of room for error and impact on our environment certainly do have responsibilities that they need to uphold. Maybe not so much to tourism, but to society and our environment. A global corporation cannot solely focus JUST on their business and bringing in money. This is the case with all businesses, but especially those who are mega corps. These large corporations can have a big impact on this earth for the better, or for worse. Being as big as Exxon and BP are, I believe they need to uphold and push for environmentally friendly, or at least one that isn’t so impactful to help preserve our planet. In situations such as the oil spills, they take initiative to start the cleanup and document the process. The problem is, eventually the public f

After watching The Impossible and Tsunami, I realized what it was like to watch areas built off tourism fall apart in an instant. I think that there are a lot of times we don’t really think about how much some economies depend on tourists for their main source of income. Aside from dealing with the horrific disaster and death, there is much more to think about in regards of what to do now. Once a tourist depending destination gets wiped away and has to be rebuilt, there isn’t much of anything driving the economy. We got to witness this in the movies. It becomes hard to make the call on what should be done to get these destinations rebuilt to what they once were. Often times, the small businesses and family only businesses can’t make a comeback after natural disasters. They just simply do not have the monetary capacity to do so. It’s also not easy to plan for these disasters because you may never really know how much damage will be done. What they might feel is adequate savings ma

Upon researching companies that are taking initiative in providing ecotourism opportunities or sustainability practices, I found three based on my interests. These include Noah, Heron Preston, and PlanMyGapYear. Some of these companies are newer than others, and some of them have decided to expand their practices even further in the recent years. The first two companies that came to my mind were Heron Preston and Noah. These are both fairly large streetwear companies that have grown exponentially over the last few years. I’m big into fashion so I had known about these companies prior to researching for companies that have taken initiative to become more sustainable and alleviate their impact on the environment. Oddly enough, Noah takes the stand to say that they are in fact not a sustainable company. Their reasoning behind this is that if they were a sustainable company, they wouldn’t produce clothing anymore and encourage people to buy already existing clothing. What they are do

It can get tricky when going to foreign countries and trying to take note of what’s socially acceptable and legal. We got to experience this vicariously through LockedUp Abroad and Brokedown Palace. Taking note of the norms and laws of other countries isn’t something a lot of travels take into consideration when preparing for a trip. Aside from North Korea and Russia, I would go out on a limb and say only a small portion of the population of tourists know anything about etiquette and laws of the countries they’re traveling to. With that being said, there should be more, readily available resources for those venturing off to a foreign country. Until recently, I was unaware that the State Department of the United States Government published a small guide on what should be taken note of when traveling to foreign countries. They compiled a list for almost every country of passport rules, things to be cautious of, and import and export regulations. As someone who has traveled to many d

Farther Than the Eye Can See introduced more than a story of a blind man who conquered Mt. Everest. It introduced that no matter your situation, if you’re determined, you can overcome any odds. Even if all odds are already against you.   Erik Weihenmayer didn’t do this alone, which is something great to note. He had a great support system helping him chase his goal. This shouldn’t be overlooked. I think a lot of people are faced with the misconception that obtaining and chasing the wildest dreams and aspirations are to be done alone. This often time isn’t the case. It’s important to have a strong support system and people who are willing to help get you closer to your goals. It makes these aspirations much more obtainable. There is no right or wrong way to go about doing this. Personally, I’ve realized this once I came to Grand Valley. It all started with concert photography. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time and I soon found out that it wasn’t an easy task

Both Blackfish and The Cove did a beautiful job at showcasing the horrors of what has been happening to dolphins and whales for monetary gain. Focusing specifically on Blackfish, the film documented what really happens to the whales behind the scenes. For the first time, people were able to see that SeaWorld isn’t the happy place that it is marketed to be. The killer whales that inhabit these parks are either capture from the wild, or they’re bred at the parks and are separated from their offspring. This introduces extraordinary amounts off stress on these animals. Not only that, but at night they’re kept in small cages where they don’t have room to swim around. This is no way to treat a wild animal, especially ones of their size. Companies like SeaWorld need to be held accountable for their actions, especially once it becomes well known how they treat the animals at their parks. The easiest action that people can take to prevent this from continuing to happen is by not going to

Both the Gringo Trails and Vendemia had a long-lasting impact on the way I viewed traveling. Before watching the movies, I was aware that tourism doesn’t always have a positive impact on some travel destinations, but I was unaware of the extent it disturbed the local economy, ecosystem, culture, or even a combination of the three. There have been many times where I’ve been away on vacation and wondered how these destinations handled the increased trash and littering, such as big spring break destinations. Personally, I don’t know if I’ve ever contributed to some of the problems showcased in the movies, such as littering on the beaches and disturbing wildlife. Moving forward, I plan to be extra cautious to be sure not to support businesses that don’t have the best interest of the community in mind and be certain to do my best to make sure I leave wherever I am as clean, if not cleaner, than when I was there. Reading through the list of “things you can do from your couch” is someth

I think the two biggest driving forces behind people traveling are either to escape whatever is troubling them in hopes to find enlightenment along their journey, or to see part of the world that is different from their normal surrounds. A quote that best sums up this idea is one by Pat Conroy. “Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.” — Pat Conroy This thought could be applied to either of the reasons people travel. Those who leave to escape a deeper part of themselves are searching for just this. Both Alex and Cheryl left their lives behind, aside from Cheryl putting hers on hold, to try to find themselves along their journey. Their purpose for packing their bags and leaving were to escape their past and live for a while on their own terms; open up doors for new experiences, endeavors, and coming to peace with themselves. Others may decide that they want