Travel promotes freedom and understanding, but human beings being what they are, all too often politics and conflict can get in the way. What do you think about the relationship between politics and travel, and how to reconcile them?

Cover photo: The Interfaith Observer.

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Travel boycotts: They feel satisfying, but in a world full of injustice, can they really change anything?

Just_Super Refusing to visit a particular country has become a popular form of protest in recent years. Don’t go to Russia because of its brutal unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Don’t visit Israel because of its also brutal treatment of Gaza and the West Bank and the mass slaughter and displacement of its people. Stay away from China because of its oppression of Tibetans and of Uigurs in its western Xinjiang province. And most high-profile of all (and injurious to many tourism and…

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Started by David Paul Appell
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Politics is on the menu in ´ Sicily, Where What’s Not on the Tour Itinerary Is as Important as What Is´

Vito Manzari Contibutor Fyllis Hoffman writes, "it happend all the time with the tour operator Overseas Adventure Travel. I start out expecting to write about the trip itself – in this case, Sicily's Ancient Landscapes & Timeless Traditions"-- and I end up writing about all the things that aren't on the itinerary – what OAT refers to as "learning and discovery." Sure, I wanted to focus on the extensive ruins of the Greeks and Romans from the 8th century BCE; the city market initiated by the…

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Started by Tripatini
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How should travelers/travel industry respond to Brunei's barbarism against gays?

Many voices in the civilized world have been speaking out in horrified outrage at Brunei's new edict  decreeing death by stoning for gay sex, and numerous individuals and institutions joining a boycott. Should travelers and the travel industry/media join as well by not traveling to, working with, or covering Brunei, nor other entities associated with it such as the nine luxury hotels in the West owned by its sultan, such as London's Dorchester, the Plaza Athénée in Paris, and the Beverly Hills…

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Started by David Paul Appell
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  • José Balido May 28, 2023 at 12:27pm
    As a recovering Floridian, I was interested to catch this just yesterday, taking a look at how the fascist policies of Governor DeSantis may or may not be affecting Florida's most powerful industry - tourism - and its potential to do so over the coming months and years: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-tourism-travel-advisories
    https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/florida-tourism-travel-advisories
  • Jeffrey Kunst November 8, 2022 at 9:05pm
    This is from a few years ago (2016, to be precise), but it's still worth a watch - a speech at the Global Tourism Forum by European Commission president José Manuel Borroso on how politics affects the tourism sector:
    https://youtu.be/9TCeFZsSTCU
  • David Paul Appell April 5, 2022 at 10:55am
    The Daily Beast recently published a frightening look at the gay/lesbian predicament in Hungary under the authoritarian régime of Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party - this past weekend re-elected for a fourth term. A longtime fan of Vladimir Putin, like Putin Orbán introduced several laws that intensified the pressure on the LGBT+ community and considers homosexuality incompatible with "Christian" values. This pressure is likely to get even stronger going forward, and as much as I enjoyed visiting Hungay many years ago, I couldn't see going back as long as this illiberal régime is in power: https://www.thedailybeast.com/lgbt-rights-are-big-issue-in-hungary-...
    LGBT+ Rights Are Big Issue in Hungary Elections as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán Erodes Gay Protectio…
  • José Balido March 5, 2022 at 11:55am
    Over the years there has of course been unending debate about the nexus of politics and travel, but never in memory has there been such a drastic and sudden realignment of the travel industry as what is going on today with regard to Russia as fallout from its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, including closure of North American and Western European airspace to Aeroflot and other Russian aviation as well as cancellation of cruise line calls in St. Petersburg and river cruises in Russia and the Ukraine. More details at:
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/article/more-cruise-lines-cancel-r...
    https://eu.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2022/03/01/how-ru...
    More cruise lines cancel Russia calls in wake of Ukraine invasion
    Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises have joined the growing number of cruise lines canceling Russia calls in the wake of the cou…
  • Ed Wetschler January 18, 2012 at 3:29pm

    Cruise ship disaster in the Mediterranean, tourists killed Ethiopia, higher prices for airline tickets -- but now, some good news for the travel biz: Jihadi tourism is thriving in Somalia. Think they'll build a new W Hotel? 

  • Ed Wetschler January 5, 2012 at 4:27pm

    One week after the government of the Maldives shut down all spas at high-end resorts in order to conform with Sharia, the government has beaten a hasty retreat and allowed the spas to reopen. But how much p.r. damage has been done? 

  • Ed Wetschler January 1, 2012 at 12:16am

    Will it, or will wiser heads convince the hard-liners that this is self-destructive?  (On a related note, I will drink alcohol tonight, God help me.)

  • Darryl Musick December 31, 2011 at 10:19pm

    I hope it hits them hard.

  • Ed Wetschler December 31, 2011 at 4:18pm

    The government of the Maldives has shut down spas at high-end resorts because their practices do not conform to sharia. How badly will this hit Maldives tourism?

  • Darryl Musick November 16, 2011 at 9:49pm

    It would seem the marijuana ban would drive it back underground, which is why I thought pot was tolerated there in the first place.

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