deconstructing 'authentic' travel & tourism | Internet Analysis

small channel shout outs!!

TIME STAMPS:
0:00 - intro
1:38 - 'adventurous' travel vs 'passive' tourism
5:18 - the democratization of travel
7:50 - what is "authentic" travel?
13:06 - what a tourist wants
14:19 - today's sponsor, Lingoda!
16:13 - outdated and stereotypical images
18:36 - tourist traps and contrived authenticity
20:38 - the must-sees!
22:04 - photo ops!
23:36 - how catering to foreign tourists can harm locals
26:54 - final thoughts?
29:27 - Small Channel Shoutouts!!
30:25 - shout out to cherry bepsi!
32:07 - shout out to TheLetterFifteen

RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
"The Image" by Daniel J. Boorstin

Tiffany Ferguson (she/her), 26 years old, currently in NYC. Here on Tiffanyferg, my main series is called Internet Analysis, where I research and discuss topics related to social issues and media.

This episode was co-written by Sheriden Smith.

#internetanalysis #authentictravel #tourism


FTC: This video is sponsored by Lingoda. Links with * are affiliate, meaning I am compensated monetarily if you join or make a purchase.

[mags]

I’m born and raised in Hawai’i, and the rise of “authentic travel” has been extremely harmful to our ecosystem. Many tourists come to “find secret beaches” and “not go to the main hotspots” which crowd local beaches. Plus, many of these tourists touch the endangered wildlife, take things from nature like shells, refuse to wear masks, and leave trash everywhere. And since they aren’t doing the things our state has built for tourism (ie educational centers, museums, etc) it doesn’t even help our economy. AND they are traveling in the MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC when our hospitals are already overwhelmed!!

[TaraMooknee]

this idea is so funny to me because everyone says "I don't like doing the touristy things" but then the tourist hotspots are hotspots for a reason so SOMEONE'S doing these things. Very sus.

[Beaverthing]

I live in Copenhagen which has a fair amount of tourists. And to be fair... If you travel here and try to get the "authentic" experience of people living here, let me tell you, my life's pretty dang mundane. Do the touristy stuff! It's there because it's fun and exciting! Go to the museums that I never go to because I have to go to work and clean my apartment and stuff! The authentic experience is trying to haul my groceries up to the fifth floor and wondering why my radiator is hissing at me again. Nobody wants that for their vacation.

[GaliadelaRosa]

In México the whole "authentic travel" can sometimes be pretty harmfull and dangerous.
People wanting to "experience what the locals live" oftenly end up in locations they dont know how to navigate or endangering themselves or others, feeding the 'México is dangerous' beast.
My friend who is a tour guide for a waterfall in a canyon in the Huasteca Potosina FEARS this type of people, they oftenly want to go deeper, see it from different angles, swim closer, take pictures that no one else has taken before and this sometimes end up in having to leave the group unattended to get this people back to safety but the worse case scenario has been retrieving corpes from the river and getting the predio and access closed for 3 months leaving many families without income for all that time.
Not to mention during the pandemic seeing foreigners trying to get close to the locals without any mask and / or completely disregarding if they have access to medical help or vaccines was nerve wracking, to say the least.

[Madetha]

“Living like the locals” is literally impossible. I live in a very touristy town at the Baltic Sea in Germany. Living like the locals would mean to work in tourism when the tourists come.

[dancin.breegan]

There is definitely a person in my life who did a lot of low budget solo travel ~authentically~ using couch surfing apps and hitchhiking across counties in Europe, Asia, and south America. He spoke down on other forms of tourism as if it wasn't super dangerous for a solo female to do the same thing as him.

[kuromini]

As someone who lives in a city that attracts a looot of tourists (Lisbon, Portugal) i can say that these “authentic travelers” are far more annoying than regular tourists. They crowd local areas almost forcing locals to be a part of their “experience” here and i just find them so pretentious and annoying. Like bro, just go to the touristy areas, it’s okay, they’re important landmarks, they’re popular for a reason. Also it’s impossible for you to have an “authentic local experience” in Lisbon because wealthy foreigners are the very reason why locals can’t afford housing in the city anymore

[samz]

The first time I traveled out of the US I thought to myself "oh THIS is what it means to be a tourist" because I went on lots of walking TOURS and it was awesome! Our tour guide always lived in the city, even if they weren't from there, and would show us landmarks, share history, and point out good restaurants and things to do. Ever since I always go on walking tours in American cities too because though it is certainly not "authentic" it feels like the fastest way to get to know a city and then, with the knowledge from the tour, create a really personal and unique itinerary. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in traveling!

[aurora]

I think the non-negotiable part of defining an adventure isn't danger, but uncertainty. I have had *many* adventures down the street to the grocery store. Will someone need help fixing their bike? Will the sidewalks be icy? Will I meet a cat on a leash? The only way to know what an adventure will bring is to journey forth.

[franpolyphemus]

I live in South East Asia. Foreigners "going off the beaten path" often means them complaining when the people don't speak English or endangering themselves by trespassing on protected nature reserves.

Arranged tours aren't a bad thing! I think the biggest problem with tours is that there isn't enough time dedicated per sight, but leisurely (and private!) tours do exist.

[alejandramoreno]

I'm Mexican. Once a Welsh girl told me that enchiladas weren't really Mexican, that nobody in Mexico eats them. Then proceeded to serve wheat flour tortillas covered with sweet tomato sauce and call them enchiladas. I agreed, nobody in Mexico would call that dish "enchiladas".

[evakae]

Honestly saying "I don't want to do touristy stuff" is the most touristy thing ever. As a local I love to visit the places in my city that are primerely attracting tourists because those are interesting and pretty, I mean people go there for a reason. Why on earth would you want to look at trashed subway stations when you're on vacation?

[Victoriasm]

As someone who grew up in a tourist location, you're literally never going to get an "authentic" experience as a visitor, because locals don't live the life someone would on holiday. We go to work, we exercise, we buy food and cook it at home, and then we sit in front of the TV for 3 hours. Sometimes we go out to a restaurant or a bar, or even go to a museum or something, but at that point we are essentially a tourist too.

[kinseybickham]

In my opinion, there's really no way to NOT be a tourist, most especially if you don't know the language of the place you are going to. You cannot just insert yourself into a new location you have no history with or deep knowledge of and expect to experience it the way a local/native does, it's just not going to happen. It doesn't matter if you go to the least-known restaurant in the city, or you drop yourself into a small village with little or no spaces designed for tourists, you are still a person who is experiencing a brand new place, culture, and way of living. On the flip side, even if you're trying to have the least "authentic" experience possible, you will still be somewhat exposed to novelty. even if you go to an American chain restaurant, it is likely to be a different experience from what it's like at home. If you go to McDonald's in India, you won't see any burgers on their menu. I don't think it's worth it to gatekeep how "authentic" someone's travel experience is or isn't, because, to your point, there is no one "authentic" way of life. What if I want to experience the authentic life of a city-dweller in India who eats McDonald's once a week? well, then now it makes sense for me to go eat at McDonald's, and see what that's like.

Edit: I do want to insert here that in my opinion, the reason I would seek "authentic" experiences would be to support locally owned/operated places where I'm visiting. I would prefer to visit a small, local restaurant BOTH for the experience of "authentic" food, but also for the knowledge that I'm not paying a big corporation like McDonald's my money for their workers who are likely locals a low wage. so in that situation, I'm both seeking "authenticity" but also trying to travel as ethically as I can

edit 2: lol you literally addressed this in the last few minutes of your video which I of course didn't wait to listen to before I posted this comment heh

[alanakamaka]

One of the worst parts of being Hawaiian and watching as tourist flock to Hawaii, was watching as they raved about how beautiful and clean it was while simultaneously throwing their garbage on the floor or not cleaning up after themselves, using copious amounts of sunscreen that was harmful to our reefs, stepping all over our lively coral, harassing beach wildlife, and never listening to us when we say not to do something because it was dangerous.

[kristavaillancourt]

I spent two years planning to travel to India and it took me a long time to decide if I wanted to see the Taj Mahal or not. When I went it was a very surreal experience. It looks like a hologram or like it's photoshopped in, too perfect to be real. I've never experienced that feeling before because it is one of the most famous buildings, we've all seen it. I didn't expect to be so blown away by it I guess. That's why I would recommend going to the sights. Sometimes there's more to it than the photos allow.

[raquelinxx]

Edit: Just want to add that there's nothing wrong with doing stereotypical touristy things. Just always try to be mindful and respectful.

As a tourism graduate what I've learned is that :
1) When travelling there's essentially only one thing that matters: be respectful to the place you're visiting, you're a guest.
2) authenticity is (more often than not) manufactured,
3) some people like to put themselves above others when the truth is travelling a lot or often only means one thing: you have disposable income. That's it.
You can travel a ton and learn absolutely nothing about the place you're visiting and grown nothing as a person. People who genuinely like to travel usually (unless they are pretentious) don't care what you call them and don't get upset if you call them tourists because they know that - by definition - they are and there's nothing wrong with it.

[ZhariyaAleice]

i feel like when traveling in the us or in western societies there’s this idea that you can eventually come back whereas going to eastern countries like Japan or Singapore or even like Australia there’s this pressure that you have to do everything because its for most people a once in a lifetime experience and you dont want to miss out

[laurav]

This reminded me of the political disparity currently going on in Venice, Italy. Venice, as you may know, is an ancient city built on wooden pillars in the sea. Recently, with the uprise of travel by cruise ships, the city has been basically overrun by tourists. Even one giant cruise ship brings in thousands of people. As a result, the city has begun to sink into the ground because of the weight of all the people. Now the locals are petitioning to install a limit of how many people are allowed to visit, many are against the cruise ships docking at all.

[anyaklum]

As someone whose family grew up on the navajo reservation, I've yet to meet anyone who fits the stereotype of "native and natural and one with the environment." People are still people and also cultures modernize.