Ecotourism as a political act

When travel writer Rick Steves talks about “Travel as a Political Act,” the title of his new book; to me what he is essentially talking about is incorporating ecotourism principals into a travel experience. As a writer, and producer of the popular television series Rick Steves’ Europe, and through his travel books, he encourages Americans and readers to discover not only major cities, but also cozy villages away from popular tourist routes. In a recent Sacramento Bee interview he said he felt that in some ways ecotourism was a marketing hook; yet making a difference through responsible travel seems like something everyone can do. While it’s sometimes called sustainable, green or even adventure travel, ecotourism seeks to recognize the environmental, economic and social impact travel can have on the traveler as well as with people and places visited.

With respect to his own travel experience Steves says “I fondly remember the confusion I felt when I first met someone who wouldn’t trade passports with me. I thought, “I’ve got more wealth, more freedom, more opportunity than you’ll ever have—why wouldn’t you want what I’ve got?” I assumed anyone with half a brain would aspire to the American Dream. But the vast majority of non-Americans don’t. They have the Bulgarian Dream, or the Sri Lankan Dream, or the Moroccan Dream. Thanks to travel, this no longer surprises me.

RICK STEVES – TRAVEL AS A POLITICAL ACT

In fact, I celebrate it. I was raised thinking the world is a pyramid with us on top and everybody else trying to get there. Well into my adulthood, I actually believed that if another country didn’t understand that they should want to be like us, we had every right to go in and elect a government for them that did.” Steves believes that Americans who approach travel thoughtfully — as a political act — can have the time of their lives and come home with a better understanding of the interconnectedness of today’s world and just how our nation fits in. His book, “Travel as a Political Act” is now available in stores and online. It was  Mark Twain who wrote, “travel is the enemy of bigotry, narrow-mindedness, and prejudice.”

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