Tim Leffel – always willing to point out the obvious when others seem to overlook it – makes a great point about the “new” travel trend known as geotourism:
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Most of us who have been around a bit would just call that “traveling,” but get ready for a new term for it: “geotourism.”
That’s the gist of this AP article, “No tourist traps – geotourism gains popularity.” Stories like this always make me laugh, but that’s partly because I’m a travel writer and I know that there’s nothing editors like more than to look like they’re on top of some hot new trend. Of course there’s nothing new about wanting a more authentic experience.
Well, I suppose there is something new about tourists wanting a more authentic experience. Perhaps this is really the new trend: tourists comparing the authenticity, rather than the perceived luxury and decadence, of their trips; eschewing the Ritz Carlton and accompanying three daily massages to instead built treehouses with the natives in Papua New Guinea.
Not likely, but it’s a nice thought.