Globetrotter journalist Paige McClanahan argues that we should acknowledge the powerful social force of travel. In her new book, The New Tourist: A Guide to the Power and Perils of Travel, she highlights how tourism has shaped the world, for better or worse.
She says tourism can either erode a city’s essence or, crucially, breathe new life into it and offer a ray of hope for the future.
ABC News caught up with McClanahan to find out what the impact of people’s desire to travel is.
Video: Author Paige McClanahan on how tourism shapes the world ABCNews.com
ABC News: With summer underway, many people are booking flights to see the world. But with global tourism at an all-time high, should we be understanding more deeply about what our yearning to travel means?
In her book, The New Tourist: Waking up to the Power and Perils of Travel, author and acclaimed journalist Paige McClanahan focuses on the ways tourism has shaped the world, for better and for worse. Paige joins us now to talk about her book.
Nice to meet you. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about your book. You’ve really explored the term “new tourist.” New tourist. First of all, what does that mean?
McClanahan: Yes. I think tourism is something that we’ve been involved in for decades, even centuries, and I think it’s time to really adopt a new approach to this phenomenon. I think of tourism as an industry, but it’s also so much more than that. I mean, tourism is the single most important driver of humankind.
With international tourist arrivals expected to reach 1.5 billion this year, if we can harness the power of tourism for economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits, we can have an enormous positive impact on the world.
But of course tourism can do a lot of damage, which is why it’s so important to take the time to learn about the impacts of travel. And the new tourist I think of is someone who is open to the experiences they have while traveling, and who takes the time to learn about the impacts of their travel aspirations.
ABC News: Can you talk about what we’ve seen over the years? You’ve said that tourism can destroy the soul of a city, or it can give it new life. Both are true. What cities do you cite as examples of both?
McClanahan: That’s great. Thanks for asking that question, Phil. Well, let’s start with a breath of life. I like the example of Liverpool. It’s a city in the north of England. You know, in the ’70s, ’80s and even ’90s, Liverpool was one of the poorest cities in Europe. It was notorious for hard drugs and crime. In the ’80s it was nicknamed Smack City.
It was in the late 1980s that Liverpool local government looked very explicitly to tourism as a way to boost the city’s economy. And it’s worked really well for locals. It’s really boosted Liverpool’s economy, completely rebranded the city on the international stage and given new life to the whole city.
But of course, there are other examples. One of the places I wrote about in the book, and that I visited, is Barcelona. Of course, tourism brought a lot of economic benefits to Barcelona too. It’s a different situation than Liverpool. You could say that things grew a little bit, maybe too quickly. And the government was a little bit slow to implement the regulations that were necessary to make sure that tourism in Barcelona didn’t negatively affect the lives of the residents.
Well, you know, there are extremes, and that’s why it’s really important for us as tourists to understand these nuances.
ABC News: Finally, this question may not be as hard as asking you to pick a favorite child, because we don’t do that. But you’ve traveled to a lot of places around the world. With all that experience, what is your favorite place and why?
McClanahan: Oh my gosh. My favorite place that I’ve ever traveled to – and I might be cheating a little bit because I lived there – is a country called Kenya.
I lived in Nairobi, Kenya for four years. It’s a beautiful country. Of course there’s a lot of wilderness and nature to explore, but it’s also full of rich culture, rich history and heritage, and incredibly welcoming, warm and loving people. Swahili is a beautiful language. And they have some really amazing food, especially along the coast. If you haven’t been to Kenya yet, I highly recommend you do so.
I love that country very much.
ABC NEWS: I’d love to go. And that’s something I definitely want to do. Thank you. And thank you for the book. It’s a great read on an airplane or when you’re traveling somewhere. Thank you so much for joining us. And I just want to let our viewers know that “The New Traveler: Awakening to the Power and Perils of Travel” is available to buy wherever books are sold.
