Tourism

A brief tourism may entail a distancing more than a mutual approach among cultures entering in contact: it contributes to feed stereotypes and leaves without contents many cultural events. Let us take some time to savour the culture we are visiting.

How can we do it

Before and during the travel, let us try to know a little about the culture we are visiting so as to understand it, we should not try to impose either our standards (levels of cleaning, education rules, relations among people, diet, views about time).... Different does not mean better or worse.
Contacting with people of that place will allow them to pass from service to hosting. By sure they will be able to let us know things that are not on the guides or at tours.
Maybe having seen different ways of making everyday's things, of commerce, of going from one place to another... than those we know, will suggest us ideas to make a more conscientious consumption when we come back home.
The difference in the standard of life between the traveller and the people of the hosting country may be the origin of misunderstandings. Let us be discrete in our clothing (cameras, jewels...) and don't be haughty when asking or replying. Gifts or tips too important may even create violent situations; let us be as thankful as we are at home, neither more nor less. If we want to collaborate with resources to resolve lacks we detect, it is better to channel them through some local organization.

Digues la teva

Data d'actualització: 10/06/2010 - 19:25

Keep this in mind!

Travel when you really want to do so, not "when you think you should do it". Sometimes the travel we need is to do everyday's life in a different way.

Train, bus, shared car, bike... Planes, the minimum. When we are going far away, that it be for several days.

Let us look for the services or hosting of local people.

Information sources

Sector enterprises: Barceló, First Choice, Ismalar, Sol Meliá, TUI;

professional organizations: Exceltur, Federación Española de Asociaciones de Agencias de Viajes, Instituto de Turismo Responsable, Organització Mundial del Turisme;

academical centres: Escola Oficial de Turisme de la Universitat d'Alacant;

experts: Joan Amer, Joan Buada, Xavier Font, Jordi Gascón, Angela Giraldo, Ivan Murray, Carles Tudurí, Albert Recio, Ana Rosado;

books: J. Gascón i E. Cañada: Viajar a todo tren, A. Santana: Antropología y turismo. ¿Nuevas hordas, viejas culturas?, Taller V.I.U.: El cielo está enladrillado, F. Jurdao (comp): Los mitos del turismo;

newspapers and magazines: Le Monde Diplomatique, Ecología Política, Archipiélago, Consumer;

organitzacions: Acción por un Turismo Responsable, Acsud-Las Segovias, Echoway, ECPAT, Fernweh, Fundació Autònoma Solidària, Fundació Terra, Greenpeace, Grup Ornitològic Balear, Kate, Plataforma Rural, Survival, Tearfund, Tourism Concern, Turismo Justo, Xarxa de Consum Solidari.