Listening Part 4 You hear a podcast discussion in which the travel journalists Angelica Tivoli and Bruce Dwyer are talking about a book called The New Tourist. You will hear the discussion twice. Choose the correct answers. You have one minute to read through the questions below. On this podcast, we're discussing a book entitled The New Tourist. I'm with travel journalists Angelica Tivoli and Bruce Dwyer. The book's introduction nails it. Many of us dislike being labeled a tourist because it's a word often associated with narrow-mindedness and cliched mass market experiences. Angelica. Right, yet the book reminds us we're all tourists when we venture away from home, so should we accept this label? There's so much stigma around the word tourist and the idea of tourism, and that isn't helpful. When we think the tourists are over there and I'm over here, that distance doesn't invite self-reflection. It's too easy to point the finger at those people the ones causing trouble we read about in headlines. Whereas if we actually incorporate this identity of the tourist into our own identities, we implicate ourselves. We are tourists. Wouldn't you say so, Bruce? Well, the book certainly gave me an appreciation for what a powerful phenomenon tourism is. It's not something to look down our noses at. an idea that's been creeping into our subconscious as we hear more about anti-tourism sentiment. Like any powerful force, tourism can do good things, but doesn't always. So, if we acknowledge that we're contributing to this huge force of tourism, we become agents of change within that force. If we continue to think, I'm a traveler, not a tourist, Nothing's going to change because we're not seeing ourselves as part of it. Right. We need to elevate our expectations of what it means to be a tourist. And in doing so, actually change the way it works and its global impact. Sure. The book also tackles what it calls last chance tourism. Bruce. This concerns places threatened by climate change, like glaciers, for example. Tourists are eager to see these places, and indeed, there's evidence that such visits change not just people's behaviour, but also their mindset. Under the right conditions, they can inspire people to adopt a more environmentally friendly stance, but it's all in the how. What's needed is education and an emotional connection. and tour operators need to set up experiences that promote such responses. As tourists spending time in such places, we need to educate ourselves, nurture a sense of protection that'll inspire us long after we move on physically. Right. The book also wrestles with how social media affects tourism. Yes. If we think of social media as the modern form of travel writing, We can become the narrator of our own adventures. Social media's exploded the diversity of voices contributing to travel storytelling. The biggest challenge is to use this tool with care, and that goes for content creators and consumers. Even those with few followers on social media have a huge influence on people who do follow them. Anyone putting content on social media has a responsibility to be a thoughtful storyteller. depicting an honest representation of the reality they encountered, and sharing nuanced content that helps followers gain greater understanding of the location. So, are governments to blame for cities and tourist sites being overrun with sometimes poorly behaved visitors? We're all responsible for our behavior whilst traveling. But a much more nuanced point is that in many places, struggling with difficulties posed by tourism, The government worked hard and spent lots of money in a push to put places on the tourist map. And then what happens is their citizens push back. But many governments did little to regulate the industry and protect citizens from the downsides. So they do have some accountability here. Politicians need to remember who elected them and prioritize those people's needs. There are many voices against tourism. What's the case for it? Can it be a positive thing? Yes, it's a force for peace and connection, and one in 10 people rely on it for employment worldwide. We'll always face big challenges, like climate change, that are blind to borders. So there's never been a moment when it's more important for each of us to be able to empathize with those whose backgrounds are entirely different to our own. Tourism's the biggest mover of people around the globe. If each tourist sees themself as an ambassador for their own culture and comes looking to make authentic human connections with those living in a place, then we're onto something. But if they're just consumers ticking a box or see themselves as superior to the place they're visiting, then we're not. On this podcast, we're discussing a book entitled The New Tourist. I'm with travel journalists Angelica Tivoli and Bruce Dwyer. The book's introduction nails it. Many of us dislike being labeled a tourist because it's a word often associated with narrow-mindedness and cliched mass-market experiences. Angelica. Right, yet the book reminds us we're all tourists when we venture away from home, so should we accept this label? There's so much stigma around the word tourist and the idea of tourism, and that isn't helpful. When we think the tourists are over there and I'm over here, that distance doesn't invite self-reflection. It's too easy to point the finger at those people the ones causing trouble we read about in headlines. Whereas if we actually incorporate this identity of the tourist into our own identities, we implicate ourselves. We are tourists. Wouldn't you say so, Bruce? Well, the book certainly gave me an appreciation for what a powerful phenomenon tourism is. It's not something to look down our noses at. an idea that's been creeping into our subconscious as we hear more about anti-tourism sentiment. Like any powerful force, tourism can do good things, but doesn't always. So, if we acknowledge that we're contributing to this huge force of tourism, we become agents of change within that force. If we continue to think, I'm a traveler, not a tourist, Nothing's going to change because we're not seeing ourselves as part of it. Right. We need to elevate our expectations of what it means to be a tourist. And in doing so, actually change the way it works and its global impact. Sure. The book also tackles what it calls last chance tourism. Bruce. This concerns places threatened by climate change, like glaciers, for example. Tourists are eager to see these places, and indeed, there's evidence that such visits change not just people's behaviour but also their mindset. Under the right conditions, they can inspire people to adopt a more environmentally friendly stance, but it's all in the how. What's needed is education and an emotional connection. and tour operators need to set up experiences that promote such responses. As tourists spending time in such places, we need to educate ourselves, nurture a sense of protection that'll inspire us long after we move on physically. Right. The book also wrestles with how social media affects tourism. Yes. If we think of social media as the modern form of travel writing, We can become the narrator of our own adventures. Social media's exploded the diversity of voices contributing to travel storytelling. The biggest challenge is to use this tool with care, and that goes for content creators and consumers. Even those with few followers on social media have a huge influence on people who do follow them. Anyone putting content on social media has a responsibility to be a thoughtful storyteller. depicting an honest representation of the reality they encountered, and sharing nuanced content that helps followers gain greater understanding of the location. So, are governments to blame for cities and tourist sites being overrun with sometimes poorly behaved visitors? We're all responsible for our behavior whilst traveling. But a much more nuanced point is that in many places, struggling with difficulties posed by tourism, The government worked hard and spent lots of money in a push to put places on the tourist map. And then what happens is their citizens push back. But many governments did little to regulate the industry and protect citizens from the downsides. So they do have some accountability here. Politicians need to remember who elected them and prioritize those people's needs. There are many voices against tourism. What's the case for it? Can it be a positive thing? Yes, it's a force for peace and connection, and one in 10 people rely on it for employment worldwide. We'll always face big challenges, like climate change, that are blind to borders. So there's never been a moment when it's more important for each of us to be able to empathize with those whose backgrounds are entirely different to our own. Tourism's the biggest mover of people around the globe. If each tourist sees themself as an ambassador for their own culture and comes looking to make authentic human connections with those living in a place, then we're onto something. But if they're just consumers ticking a box or see themselves as superior to the place they're visiting, then we're not.