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October 25, 2006
Why "exotic" travel is booming
CNN, the Clinton News Network, doesn't usually have much interesting news in fields like Arts & Leisure. There's currently an article about "exotic" or "adventure travel" that starts like this:
Chuck Carpenter's passport looks more like an exotic guidebook than an official document.He's walked the old stone streets in Gdansk, Poland, wondering at the beautiful architecture; he's sat in the Decemberists Square in St. Petersburg, Russia, admiring the monument to the city's founder, Peter the Great; he's savored sunsets in Zihuatanejo, a quaint Mexican fishing village on the Pacific coast.
Carpenter isn't alone in his desire to visit unusual destinations far from tourist crowds and souvenir-filled shops.
That's swell, but Poland and St. Pete are now fully in the mainstream tourist circuit, easily accessible by cheap airline from virtually anywhere in Europe. The Great Wall is swarmed by souvenir sellers, and all but the most exotic travel destinations have plenty of tourists and souvenir-filled shops. There are a few exceptions, like Montenegro (the less touristy alternative to overcrowded Croatia), Bhutan (the soon-to-be-trendy alternative to Nepal), Azerbaijan (the less-trampled alternative to Istanbul), latvia (the more authentic alternative to Estonia), and maybe Laos (the alternative to Khao San Road).
Some advertising guy adds:
When [people] go to those inevitable social gatherings ... they have to have something to talk about. So there is social pressure to say that we went to save the seals in Labrador ... (that you had an adventure) where you don't act like a tourist or feel like a tourist.
He's got a point. When I screened resumes this year for my employer, it was amazing how many people said they were "extensive world travelers" and had visited "over a dozen countries" at age 24. That's swell; one country every two years. Still, "where have you traveled recently" makes a pretty good icebreaker.
The article gives a variety of explanations for why tourism is booming in less traveled destinations, but it misses the big one. The massive penetration of the internet into even the most remote corners of the world means that just about anyone with a few days of free time can plan a week's vacation just about anywhere in the world and do it at a very reasonable price. The internet makes very readily available the lowest in airfares, like the $320/person Tiffany and I paid to go to Europe earlier this year, or frequent airfares to Southeast Asia for $600 or less. A four-star Bangkok hotel can be had for $50, plus $10/day for food and $3 for a cab from the airport. From there, it's a question of where to go--Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia or Borneo--or just stay in Thailand and get there for $1 on the bus. After 10 days, the whole trip can be had for maybe $1000/person and arranged wholly online. Pre-internet, one would spend hours with a travel agent, accept some overpriced package tour, and do it at a less conenient time based on when the package tour wanted to go. There are tons of cheap adventures out there; it's just a matter of knowing a deal and finding it.
Posted by adrianjo at October 25, 2006 10:02 PM