When it Comes to Fragile Places, ‘Don’t Go’
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 06.02.08 | 1:06 PM ET
Think Machu Picchu, the Galapagos, Palawan in the Philippines. Writes Dan Neil in the Los Angeles Times Magazine’s travel edition: “Travel conscientiously wherever—Paris, Bangkok, Banff—but when it comes to the most delicate and imperiled places, resist the urge to see them before they, or you, are gone. The fact is, most places in the world cannot withstand retail tourism.”
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
Wayne Bernhardson 06.02.08 | 11:48 PM ET
The author means well, but I think we need to be more pragmatic than to accept such an absolute statement. I can think of many exceptions, but I’ll focus on one that appears in my own blog at http://southernconeguidebooks.blogspot.com/2008/06/whale-of-continent.html. In this case, a small, remote island in the Strait of Magellan - a major international shipping route - is home to whale-watching camp run by professional biologists. Given the steady monitoring that will take place here, the camp is likely to be a major player in helping conserve humpback feeding grounds.