Is tourism destroying the world?
January 04, 2014  01:58

A new documentary suggests tourism is out of control in parts of the world, irreversibly damaging the environment and indigenous cultures. "Gringo Trails," a film more than a decade in the making by American anthropologist Pegi Vail, looks at the effect of the unplanned or mismanaged growth of the tourism industry in developing countries.

 

Using dramatic examples from different continents, such as the devastating impact of hedonistic full moon beach parties on Thailand's Koh Pha Ngan island, the film is moving and informative, if sometimes elementary.

 

The story starts and ends in Bolivia, focusing on the impact of the autobiographical book "Lost in the Jungle" by Israeli traveler Yossi Ghinsberg. In 1981, Ghinsberg headed into the Bolivian rainforest and soon got lost, but miraculously survived for three weeks despite near-death experiences.

 

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