According to Dr. Aziz, the mass backpacker tourism is due to the proliferation of guidebooks (T2,l.31-37). The travel industry, on the other hand, says that the mass tourism is a natural consequence of the growing numbers of backpackers. The majority of the young people probably spend a few days in each well-established hippy ghetto before moving on. The ghettos give the young inexperienced travellers a change to relax and have fun in a safe environment, sticking in groups until they learn to travel alone (T2,l.39-49).
In text 1 by Don George tourism is described in a complete opposite way. Don George says, that to travel is to learn. He finds every moment together with the locals precious, full of thrilling experiences. He is interested in everything new (T1.l.2-5). He is able to mention every little detail about the French, how they act, how they speak and how they look, and he notices many things around him. He describes Paris as a whole new world (T.1, l.4-5) He compares the new world with a classroom where he will be able to learn for the rest of his life. His life has changed because of his travelling (T1,l.16-24).
Mark Moxon (Text 3) started impulsively to travel because he needed to escape from a future boring suburban life in Great Britain (T3,l.10). He went away to find an alternative lifestyle (T3,l.17-18). The journey made him realise the meaning of life (T3,l.22). He had an eventful travel, he was seeking something else or better and reached the goal of his desires (T3,l.22-25).
Pico Iyer, text 4, says that we change the places we visit. We Westerners seek authentic Eastern villages, and after a while, the villages are neither authentic nor Eastern. We seek peace but bring agitation. No place remains peaceful and isolated if tourists come by (T4,l.1-11). We Westerners want the places to remain “unspoiled”, however the inhabitants often long for progress and profit. The Westerners believe that money won’t bring happiness to the inhabitants. If so, will poverty? (T4,l.21-30)
Simon Armitage compares in text 5 travelling with attentive observations in everyday life. He is not much of a traveller but gets the same feeling of happiness when he observes people and things around him at home. He doesn’t need to travel abroad, instead he gets a sense of something else, a feeling inside him(T5,l.19-20), a intensity that makes him feel alive.
Comment on the use of symbols in one or more of the texts:
Wanderlust: Don George compares Paris with a classroom. When he travels he learns a lot about the meaning of life. He finds every outing an extraordinary lesson in a new culture. He thought he would spend the most of his life in classrooms, but suddenly he realised, that he would spend the rest of his life in another classroom instead, learning lessons in new cultures. He has a lust to wander.
Why I Travel: Mark Moxon is escaping from peach-coloured bathrooms with pot pourri. That is, he is escaping from a boring suburban life. He wants to live more intensively and the way he succeeds is to travel.
The title Video Night in Kathmandu helps us to understand, that we are changing the East. Not many people own videos in Kathmandu, they want to but can’t afford to. We on the other hand don’t want changes, we like the East as it is. One day we will accept that nothing is what it used to be.
The title It Ain’t What You do, It’s What It Does To You says it all. once wrote a famous song called “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it”. However Simon Armitage has changed the end of the title into “…, it’s what it does to you”. If you like to travel you will experience unbearably precious moments. You feel this joy inside. You don’t necessarily have to travel to experience this happiness. But the feeling is a gift for ever.
Discuss who benefits from backpacker tourism
Before focusing on the benefits from backpacker tourism, I admit there are many disadvantages as well.
Backpackers often go by busses or trains instead of renting cars, which is god for the environment. Usually they don’t live in big hotels, which also is an environmental advantage. They spend money and bring capital to the locals. The locals make a living from the backpackers. They might not get rich from tourism but some can make an honest living from it. Perhaps some locals will learn something about us Westerners as well. We get to know each other a little bit better and hopefully therefore also understand one another.
