Being Ethical in Your Travels

You know all about the Mindful Tourist’s tips on how to be a socially conscious traveler.  The Ethical Traveler is an alliance uniting adventurers, tourists, travel agencies, and outfitters — everyone who loves to travel, and sees travel as a positive force in the world. They believe that all travelers are, in effect, freelance ambassadors. We agree, having written about travelers being representatives of the human race.  Ethical Traveler believes that we all have the ability to join our voices, and to use our economic power to strengthen human rights and protect the environment.

Their “13 Tips for the Accidental Ambassador” offers good advice for how to think about travel and behave toward our fellow humans while traveling:

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Calling Poverty Tourism by its True Name

With the popularity of Slumdog Millionaire, we began to see more and more articles about poverty or slum tourism.  Since it left a bad taste in our mouth, we did a little research (also known as sitting on our arse and websurfing) here and there but couldn’t bring ourselves to write a post about it… until now.

Hannah Rubenstein’s blog on poverty tourism (or “poorism,” yuck) raises many interesting and important questions.  Hannah lived in Nicaragua recently and at one point was asked to take a group of American tourists to a nearby village, show them one of the typical houses, while introducing the large family that shared the one-room house to the tourist group.  It sounds like it was an awkward few minutes for several reasons, including no “pre-education” for the tourists, very little in the way of integration of the local family into the “tour,” and no preparation for Hannah herself.  It sounded almost like a zoo experience, the last thing anyone involved needs to associate this type of experience with.

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A Tourist’s Role in Archaeological Ethics

Remember the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan?  This was in spring of 2001, before most people had heard of the Taliban.  We remember it well and were horrified watching video of these incredibly amazing and larger-than-life sculptures that had stood for centuries being blown up by tanks and anti-aircraft weapons.  This is an extreme example of the unethical treatment of archaeological artifacts that are important pieces of our collective human history and culture. 

There are less severe but still serious activities related to antiquities and artifacts that every mindful tourist should be aware of, namely looting and selling. 

We know about this first-hand

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New Word “Staycation” Brainwashing the U.S.

Boy, “staycations” sure are getting a lot of press these days, aren’t they?  Maybe it’s just us, but THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A VACATION!

Yes, we understand the limits people face in this economy and that one of the first things to go will be an expensive trip abroad or across the country.  But calling it a “staycation” doesn’t make it cute and fun.  If I’m allergic to cats, get a cute tabby and call it a guinea pig, I’m still going to be sneezing up a storm because guess what? It’s still a cat.

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Say No to Vacation Cell Phones

Here’s a radical idea: Leave your cell phone at home while on vacation. Think back 10 years; this would not have been a radical idea. But now cell phones are almost surgically attached to some people and they are omnipresent – movies, restaurants, schools, beach, etc.

But we argue that to be truly “present” while experiencing other cultures and places, you must break from your regular routine. To be able to call up your best friend, girlfriend, or mother to check in or chat about the weather is to not experience to the fullest the place you have decided to visit.

Yes, of course they can be useful but they are not necessary. We know because we don’t have a cell phone at all. Yes, it can be done, shocking as it may seem.

You may find it liberating and you will definitely find your vacation more relaxing and yourself more present. Just drop the phone and step slowly away…

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No Bailing Out “Big Tourism”

This recession blows.  We have loved ones who are having to postpone retirement and others who are out of work and desperately looking.  We are ourselves extremely anxious about our own job situations (blogging don’t pay the bills unless you’re Nick Denton or Arianna Huffington), not to mention our shaky prospects for exciting travel in the next year.

That said, there will be interesting silver linings in this cloud.  You have undoubtedly heard about the multiple calls from government leaders to curb the corporate excess. 

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For the Capitalist in All of Us – Ugh.

One of the main reasons I created this blog is because my ultimate dream in life (aside from being a part of and raising a happy and healthy family, blah, blah, blah) is to own a socially responsible, eco-friendly property that aspires to provide travelers with meaningful experiences with other cultures in a beautiful and relaxing setting.  Many Americans have done this and will continue to do this. 

But to be truly successful in a venture like that, first and foremost, you must love the place you go to.  You must be there not only to earn a living, but because you want to live there and you appreciate what it has to offer.  That’s why articles like this one in Today’s Financial News on profiting from mega-resorts really chafes my behind (is that a saying?).

I understand that capitalism is alive and well (Today’s Financial News’s tagline is “For the capitalist in all of us” – ugh) but other countries should not be seen as opportunities to get rich quick.  If you owned a small beach house in the Outer Banks and found out that a bunch of German investors were planning on buying up property in order to sell it to a mega-resort at an extreme profit, would you be happy that your little get-away-from-it-all place is about to be turned on its head?  I think not.

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Representing the Human Race

We all have heard people say things like “be on your best behavior because you are representing the United States” when we go abroad.  While this is a nice sentiment, it puts the emphasis in the wrong place.  As a traveler or tourist, you represent the human race, not just your country of residence.  Indeed, in your dealings with people in your daily life, whether traveling or not, you are representing the human race with our ability to feel and express empathy, tolerance, kindness, patience, joy, curiosity, and exhilaration, other other emotions.

In short, be a good person.  Be this person at home, at work, at school, with friends, with kids, with parents, with colleagues, with store clerks and waitstaff.  And be a good person while traveling.  It sounds simple, right?  But it’s not as easy and carefree as it sounds.

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