The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Power and Perils of Travel

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars | 61 ratings

Price: 13.12

Last update: 12-21-2024


About this item

A brilliantly evocative, surprising, and thrilling exploration of how tourism has shaped the world, for better and for worse—essential listening for anyone looking for a deeper understanding of the implications of their wanderlust.

Through deep and perceptive dispatches from tourist spots around the globe—from Hawaii to Saudi Arabia, Amsterdam to Angkor Wat—The New Tourist lifts the veil on an industry that accounts for one in ten jobs worldwide and generates nearly ten percent of global GDP. How did a once-niche activity become the world’s most important means of contact across cultures? When does tourism destroy the soul of a city, and when does it offer a place a new lease on life? Is “last chance tourism” prompting a powerful change in perspective, or driving places we love further into the ground?

Filled with revelations about an industry that shapes how we view the world, The New Tourist spotlights painful truths but also delivers a message of hope: that the right kind of tourism—and the right kind of tourist—can be a powerful force for good.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Alden Globe
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wort the trip. Get this book and Travel with Open Eyes and Ears
    Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2024
    An important and timely reflection on our travels. The book caused me to sit up and take notice of what I’m all about when stepping out of my own comfort zone. Worth the trip. An update on impact of social media and uncontrolled tourism on popular destinations. Eye opening and timely.
  • Jeffrey M Ostrowski
    4.0 out of 5 stars Is responsible travel even possible?
    Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2024
    In Barcelona, residents are fed up with the throngs of tourists traipsing through their neighborhoods. Near Yellowstone National Park, local officials felt compelled to warn visitors not to get too close to wildlife after a careless selfie-seeker was injured by a bison. The revenge travel boom of 2023 and 2024 has underscored the costs of overtourism, which is the theme of this study by travel writer Paige McClanahan. The author has little patience for tourist trap visitors behaving badly. But she draws a distinction between that brand of “old tourism,” in which the tourist travels to confirm preconceived notions, and “new tourism,” which finds travelers confronting their own biases and expanding their minds. To her credit, McClahanan isn’t doctrinaire – she acknowledges that even well-meaning travelers can blur the lines between responsible and exploitive travel.
  • H. George Parsons
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent experience
    Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2024
    This item was exactly as advertised. It arrived in perfect condition because it was well-packaged. I highly recommend this company as a great company with whom to do business. FIVE STARS!!
  • Tom S.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful comversation
    Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2024
    Reading this book from Ms. McClanahan feels like a thought provoking conversation over good drinks with a true friend. One who isn’t afraid and won’t pander but will help you think more deeply about yourself and how you move through the world. This read has certainly informed my travels and how I will teach my children to embrace travel and cultures….
  • Madrugada Mistral
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thorough and up-to-date
    Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2024
    A quick read but very thorough and well-researched look at tourism today. It focused on problems of some overtouristed areas today (Amsterdam, Barcelona) and contained some solutions (Kerala).
  • Tardigrade
    4.0 out of 5 stars For anyone who loves to travel
    Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2024
    I like armchair travel almost as much as real ones, so I read a lot of books about various journeys and expeditions - but this is something different. It focuses not on personal experiences or specific places (although the author visits many popular destinations and writes vividly about them), but on the tourism industry itself. Although I am an active participant in it, I had no idea of the size and scope of this part of the economy, so I found it very informative. Paige McClanah describes how this huge industry came to be and how it is now changing – and how, despite Instagram and influencers, this change may be for the better.

    A useful and eye-opening book for anyone who loves to travel – after all, as the author writes, you can “call yourself a traveler, but never forget that you’re a tourist, too”.

    Thanks to the publisher, Scribner, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.
  • John
    3.0 out of 5 stars Rambling and unorganized, with no real focus on solutions.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2024
    After an interesting start, with the history of Lonely Planet, the book devolved into an unorganized ramble, basically defending tourism and proclaiming that most tourists these days either are or would like to become "new tourists," with actual social consciences. I simply don't see this as being the reality at all; it is more a hope that the author holds. This book was written from the perspective of a travel writer, not from that of a traveler.

    There doesn't seem to be any real focus or any action plan. How, for example, does the tourist tax money derived in such places as Amsterdam's Red Light District actually help the quality of life of that District's residents? The same is true with Barcelona or Santorini or Lauterbrunnen or hundreds of other places. The author could have decried Saudi Arabia's unfettered goal of reaching 100 million tourists, a level only France has (infamously) reached, in what could easily be dubbed "tourism washing."

    Altogether, there was just too much name-dropping and reporting from the perspective of an entitled travel writer, traveling in mostly an official capacity. I still believe there is a huge differece between a tourist in pursuit of that Instagram post (like the author's very own at Angkor Wat) and a traveler just innocently experiencing an unexpected great discovery. As Paul Theroux aptly noted, "Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they are going." We should all aspire to be travelers and go discover places no one's ever heard of. Unfortunately, this idea is never discussed.
  • Seth Thomas Pietras
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for those who really aim to explore the world. "Influencers" take note!
    Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2024
    Very well written, thoughtful, and anecdote rich. I travel a lot, as do my family and friends, and "The New Tourist" has led to an endless number of conversations about how to travel. I recommend this book to anyone who looking to understand the world and their place in it.

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