This Slate story and the accompanying video are pretty interesting. They tell of a remote village in Peru whose people had been living in... »
Grody
Alert: Ecotourists in Peru Leading Birds to Stress Out, Poop
A new study has found that noisy birders in the Peruvian Amazon have been found to have a detrimental effect on the hoatzin birds. “The sound of even a quiet conversation caused the birds to begin clucking and defecating – a common defense response – at longer approach distances than for quiet approaches. The noisiest... »
I’m a (D-list) Celebrity: Let Me Stay Here to Rot
An Open Letter to the Country of Costa Rica: Dear Costa Rica, How’s it going? Things are good here – summer’s coming, yay! Okay, enough with the niceties. I heard that the newest version of the show “I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here” will be hosted by your own pristine jungles. Is it actually true? Oh,... »
Chilean Saying: If Idiots Could Fly, We Wouldn’t See the Sun
True or Fake Question Time: “How do you feel about child sex tourism?” Gee, uh, it’s bad? This comes to us from this very strange website that attracts all manner of bizarre questions purportedly on ecotourism. Christ on a cracker, what do you think we think about child sex tourism? »
Cruise Ship Waste is Literally Crappy
By now those of you who are regular readers know that we’re not huge fans of cruises. Yes, there are those that may attempt to address their impact on the environment but while some eco-friendlier policies may be put in place, cruises will never be entirely socially conscious, if only due to the fact... »
How to Act Like a Rich Person
Aww, these poor little rich kids want to travel guilt-free. Idn’t dat pwethouth? So, there they are, spending $10,800 per person on a luxury African safari where they learned about the Maasai , efforts in reforestation, and something called “AIDS.” Look, if you want to travel and you have the money, do it. Just don’t kid... »
New Word “Staycation” Brainwashing the U.S.
Boy, “staycations” sure are getting a lot of press these days, aren’t they? Maybe it’s just us, but THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A VACATION! Yes, we understand the limits people face in this economy and that one of the first things to go will be an expensive trip abroad or across the country. ... »
Can Space Tourism Survive? God, We Hope Not.
The Space Review asks if space tourism can survive the failing economy. You probably heard about the first layperson in space but apparently this is now a trend among the rich and famous. If this isn’t the antithesis of socially conscious tourism, we don’t know what is. The demise of this type of “tourism” or... »
Real or Fake? African Safari vs. Disney Animal Kingdom
Okay, we’re going to try a new regular feature called Real or Fake? We find hard-to-believe questions purportedly posed by real people and then posted on various forums, magazines, etc. Then we make fun of them (shocker, we know) and decide whether the question is real or fake. First up: a question posted on TravelWeekly, a UK... »
World’s Largest Pool - Just What We Needed
As Borat would say: ……… Not. Come on, Algarrobo, (one of our most favorite places in Chile, coincidentally) is this the best you can do? I mean, yeah, it looks cool, but this level of consumption is a little beyond the pale, no? Of course, this seaside Chilean resort is about to be bested by the... »
Scamming the Tourist: Best Eco-Lodges
Just call us the Woodward and Bernstein of Investigative-Journalism-Related-to-Internet-Based-Claims-of-Socially-Conscious-Travel-and-Ecotourism. You are no doubt familiar with our previous forays (here and here) into unearthing heinous internet crimes against socially conscious tourism. Well, in leaving no stone unturned, we bring you: Best Eco-Lodges. We hate linking to the site because it will get them more visitors but it may be... »
