“Tourism is that rare industry whose ‘product’ is a country.” Everything from the historical architecture to hikes through the natural landscape are important in ensuring a country’s appeal to tourists. But the industry did not start this way. To best understand how the tourism industry became the holistic experience it is today, it would require a trip around the world.
My trip around the world came in the form of a book. Elizabeth Becker’s Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism traces the historical roots of international travel, with side trips to France, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, Zambia, Costa Rica, China and the United States.
Why Elizabeth Becker and not Marco Polo? Becker boasts an award-winning journalistic background with four decades of experience covering international affairs. Her connections compare well to those of a globe-trotting government official, all of which she uses to weave the informative, yet deeply personal, narrative of her travels.
Whether the person is a local guide or a country’s minister of tourism, she expertly introduces them to the reader and gives us a seat at the table. While on a cruise ship to Belize, Becker meets Hagar, an Indian college graduate who was working as a server. She is only paid $50 per month, but “sees her job on the ship as an adventure.”
Becker personalizes each country and their major tourist experiences in the same way. A Zambian safari tour introduces readers to ecotourism. Becker explains the importance of such trips in local wildlife conservation efforts. While a (window) shopping trip in the UAE introduces consumer tourism. Becker reminds readers that migrant labor was required to build the city-like malls.
Overbooked is not meant to be an encyclopedic text on tourism. It is a collection of case studies that interweaves history and its impact in modern practices (early 2010s) within respective countries.
Still, none of Becker’s case studies would be complete without history. No matter if it involves the horrors of the Khmer Rouge (the Communist Party that took control of Cambodia between 1975-1979) or the initial popularization of pandas in Europe for their cuteness, she is sure to inform readers of their impacts on the development of the industry in each country.
But Becker is not always prepared. Before she undertook her safari adventures, Becker admits to having avoided the African continent. Her reluctance only changed when she started writing her book and had a realization. “[O]ne of the pillars of the global tourism industry is the African safari, with cameras or rifles, in search of those animals I saw in the zoo.”
While safaris play a major role in tourism, Becker’s framing is misleading. Zambia is about more than safaris. It is also about cultural richness. According to the Zambian Tourism board, over 70 different tribes call the country home and more than 20 festivals are hosted annually, each representing different cultural traditions and practices. But Becker seems to think only the wildlife is worth exploring.
Tourism is a lucrative industry with far-reaching impacts. Through Overbooked, Becker hopes to help travelers better understand the impacts of their actions, and how tourism also impacts their own country of residence. Her book is certainly a good starting point, but with how tourism has expanded since, readers will have to be even more proactive in their choice of travel.