My husband and I love to travel, particularly in the developing world, which gives us an affordable taste of some of the most breathtaking civilizations, ecosystems and cuisines on the planet—not to mention a welcome break from the cultural homogeneity of our home country.
But cheap travel is cheap for a reason. Indeed, anyone who has ever stepped foot off of a plane into a developing country immediately understands that an inexpensive vacation will happen against a backdrop of heart-wrenching poverty, ceaseless peddling and begging, and that nagging worry that you might be making things worse through your presence.
I wrote this blog to share some general philosophies on travel in the developing world that I have developed over the years in the hopes of giving you a more enriching and more humane experience in your adventures.
#4 Go local. Tourism represents a considerable portion of gross domestic product for many developing nations (in Cambodia, tourism is second only to textiles as a generator of hard currency) and your dollars have the potential to push the economy—and therefore the development process—along. The problem? Foreign investors, aware of cheap land and a booming tourism sector, are swooping in and opening sprawling beach-front resorts and moving the bulk of your tourist dollars offshore. In the case of Jamaica, ocean front property is not part of the public domain and in many parts of the country, Jamaicans cannot go to their own beaches without paying a fee. Though resorts may provide much-needed employment to locals, they compete with locally owned and operated hotels and do not reinvest their profits into the local economy. Before you book, consider taking a few minutes to learn about the owners of your hotel. Do they live in-country? Do they express a commitment to sustainable, local development? The same thing goes with restaurants and tour companies. But don’t be fooled by the proprietor’s nationality: often times expats are more committed to sustainable economic development than émigrés!
#3 Don’t give to begging children. I should open this point by saying that you should absolutely open your heart to these children – but think twice before opening your wallet. Your dollar may make that child’s day easier, but it will not make her life easier. Her parents may pull her from school to make her beg (cute children are much more successful beggars than their elderly parents) or worse, she may be part of an organized begging ring. But don’t exonerate yourself of sympathy and become callous, like so many tourists do…consider buying her a meal if she is hungry, and putting aside the dollar you would have given her into your travel charity fund. Every time your sympathies are aroused enough to open your wallet, set that money aside to donate to a charity that helps street children by supporting education and (for older children) skills training.
#2 Support local artisans. Your vacation might be in July, but it is never too early to start your Christmas shopping. Not only will you please your friends and family by bringing home one-of-a-kind exotic travel gifts, but you will encourage self-sufficiency, entrepreneurship and creativity while celebrating and preserving indigenous handicrafts. This is guilt-free retail therapy at its finest – enjoy it!
#1 Don’t deny the humanity of the locals. It is easy for a tourist to feel overwhelmed by the poverty and just block it out completely. I was shocked during my recent trip to Cambodia when a table of college-aged tourists completely ignored a landmine victim who was selling books on Cambodian history. Not even eye contact and a “no thank you” – they literally pretended that he did not exist. This phenomenon is unfortunately all too common. Tourists do fear—and rightfully so—that if they pay attention to one person that they will be flooded by others seeking similar acknowledgment, whether for a dollar or a sale. But this reality is something that I personally feel is a part of third world travel. You are in their country, enjoying all of its richness and beauty, and you must confront the poverty that makes your cheap travel possible. What message do we send to the people in the countries we visit—about us, and our culture—when we deny the humanity of the local people? Make eye contact, acknowledge their existence, and say “thanks but no thanks” (or better yet, consider buying a book—you might learn something about why such poverty exists). It is true that many locals will see dollar signs when they look at you, but that is because comparatively speaking, you are extremely wealthy while their families are hungry. To pretend this is not a truism is to close yourself off from what I consider to be the most significant and enlightening aspect of third world travel: realizing our common humanity set against a backdrop of tragic disparity in circumstances.
So get adventuring, and maybe even do some good along the way! Here are a few recommended websites to help you plan your next third world odyssey:
http://www.kayak.com/explore/ allows you to check out a variety of destinations by entering your departure city and budget.
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree has experienced travelers on standby to answer questions and give recommendations.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ is the global version of Yelp. Don’t book a hotel without consulting it!
http://www.globalgiving.org/ is your one-stop shop for finding the recipient of your travel charity fund.
Erika and her husband Courtland at Volcano Pacaya in Guatemala
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We had some concerns with this but apparently the owners are normally connected to the school, and in the houses where the girls live alone, the project has good relations with the neighbours and asks them to keep an eye out for any problems.]]>
"To find that we have only one female engineer in Uganda is very embarrassing to me. Very embarrassing. But with education, you find that this thing is going to be solved. And Uganda is going to be as developed as America or any other country."]]>