Tiptoe Traveling

Is it possible to travel as a relatively affluent person in the developing the world without causing a negative impact? You know all that talk about exploitation, oppression, globalization that is often spoken of in the same breath as tourism. In fact, ironically enough (as a ¨tourist¨), I´ve often commented on tourism´s role in creating boom and bust local economies, fueling the unfair treatment of locals in touristy areas, and have observed blatant dehumanization of the host country´s citizens in tourist mentalities. Bolivia is a very impoverished country by many measures, so it has brought this tourism dynamic to my attention quite strikingly. I´ve thought about tourism´s impact often because I have the travel bug and truly come alive when I encounter people from very different regions and worldviews. Nevertheless, I have this nagging feeling that I´m doing something wrong when I travel in places that have identified themselves as tourist attractions or in places that rarely see a white face, but are seemingly eager to please me, (maybe) because I look like a large dollar bill to them. Of course, it appears that many of the locals view tourism - especially eco- and volun-tourism - as the panacea for poverty (at least in beautiful, relatively ¨pristine¨ regions) and the detrimental aspects of tourism. Obviously, this is the story I get from the locals with whom I interact, and thus my sample is small and likely quite biased because I probably met them in the context of doing something eco-touristy. We, as the privileged class, must acknowledge this desire of the local people and the success many areas have had with such projects, and not decide for ourselves that tourism is wrong because we think it is. This is an oft-neglected, yet integral process, if we intend to enact international development responsibly.

I´ve had many varied experiences in the developing world now, mostly Central America, that demonstrated to me the negative and positive potential for intercultural exchange - especially between two financially disparate cultures. Primarily, I saw how flowing thousands of dollars into a small rural village for a do-gooder scholarship and library fund could cause a controversy among the residents, even with the purest of intentions. Since then, I´ve been much more careful about my financial charity and have thought long and hard about how I can most effectively act as a global citizen and ambassador of my country. I´ve come to the conclusion (far from final) that the best I can do if I intend to spend time in the developing world, is to treat the people like people. This is the problem I see most amongst tourists - not seeking conversations, experience, or interactions with anyone but other tourists - which I believe can cause inadvertent negative impacts on the host country. Mainly, I think it perpetuates the segregation of the classes and emphasizes the untouchable status of the wealthy tourists. Conversely, if I show through my words and actions that I am interested in the people whose place I am visiting, I am demonstrating solidarity with the people there - at least a little bit - and am thus taking a small step towards a more egalitarian world. I have come to acknowledge that having no impact is impossible, so all I can do is attempt to lessen my negative impact and show that I do not view the local people as lesser than me in any sense. I´m sure I am not entirely effective in actualizing this ideal, but it is the energy I try to exude. To be continued.