Travelers often focus on their own risk when they set out to explore a new place. What danger am I putting myself in? We ask.What unforeseen risk lurks behind this next corner?
As humans we inherently focus on our own condition. We focus on what will affect us as individuals and often gloss over, if we even pause for a moment at all, upon our own impact on the places we go. Beyond the heaps of crushed water bottles that litter the third world, the most significant impact of travel is the cultural exchange of ideas. But what if exchanging those ideas, or ignoring our differences presents to us a moral danger- the danger of destroying a place?
Would you travel somewhere if you thought your visit could destroy the place?
It is easy to say “no”, but the adventurer in most of us, or at least in me, argues with rational thinking. My visit won’t change anything, I will shine as an example of how to do it right.
Recently Abigail Haworth of the Guardian newspaper wrote and article about the utter destruction of Vang Vieng, Laos. The moral and cultural destruction caused by tourism. She could have written the article about so many places in the world, places that have been negatively impacted by tourism. From the beginning of time tourists have left their mark on the places they visit. Are we any different today than Napoleon’s troops who etched their name into ancient temples in Egypt? I argue, no.
So, does reading an article like Haworth’s make us less inclined to go? Does it make us look beyond the “me” impact of our travels?
It was with anxiety and insecurity that we visited Vang Vieng at the end of our RTW trip. We had heard the stories about Vang Vieng as we traveled through SE Asia, and from the stories it sounded like there was nothing there for us. Some friends convinced us otherwise and soon we found ourselves at the bus station.
The debauchery existed, of course. Everything stated in the article is true. But today, there still is more to Vang Vieng than backpackers eating off of “happy” menus and those aspects of Vang Vieng that made it popular in the first place- the amazing landscapes, the gentle people and the caves remain. Although we completely avoided everything mentioned in the article (and not with much difficulty I might add), I question the greater impact of our trip. Did we somehow lead by example? Did our visible disgust at the behavior change anyone’s mind? The answer of course is probably no.
So what impact did traveling to Vang Vieng have on me? It made me even more conscious of my impact on the places I go. Of the example I lead by being an ambassador not only of my country, but of my culture and that it may be the things that I choose not to do that say more than what I choose to do.
Have you ever felt morally conflicted about traveling to a place? Where have you been that has been “destroyed” by the negative impact of tourism?
Liv says
Hi Jillian – I agree too many places in the world are being ruined by tourism that gets out of hand. Where is the Buddha in your final photo please?
Jillian says
It was taken outside Vang Vieng at the Phu Kham Cave.