Scripts
Lara: Hello and good evening. You are listening to Going There, a radio segment on travel ethics with Lara Bockenstedt and Andee Erickson.
Andee: This week we are going to talk about the declining travel interest to the United States in the age of Trump’s travel ban goals as well as the limbo-land that is airports.
A: Lara and I are fresh out of the airports after a quick trip to D.C. last weekend and while we were waiting around we discussed how airports act like an in-between-world where we seem to not exist as our full selves. It’s like we left part of ourselves back home and another part is already off to where we are on our way to. But it’s important to remember that so many make their living working in the airports everyday and I think we forget to consider that while we’re frantically rushing or maybe moping around during a red-eye or maybe you’re a parent just trying to keep your curious child from venturing off. We all have a right to stick to ourselves.
L: It’s a surreal situation -- airports across the globe look exactly the same, but they’re also a gateway into these diverse and complex experiences ...
As a liminal space, you pass people whose worldviews stem from cultures entirely different from your own. Yet, we all subscribe to this situation of: I’m rushed, tired, excited and waiting. I grab an overpriced bite to eat, pile into the plain with the right group, and will mentally war with the person next to me over the armrest for the duration of the flight.
A: It’s also interesting how in airports, we are surrounded by people from all over and it’s like the world is right in front of us yet we often don’t even share a conversation with anyone new, let alone want to share our armrest on the plane. And I know this behavior is partially out of respect for the individual's space and privacy, but also most of us are just waiting around anyway.
L: Let’s talk about the decrease united states airports are expected to see of international travelers.
A: Thanks for that transition Lara
L: According to a tourism economics study the country could suffer a potential three-year loss of 800,000 international visitors, or $736 million in tourism spending after President Trump announced his travel ban in January barring travelers from 7 Muslim majority countries.
A: Yeah so let’s talk about that travel ban. Ultimately the executive order was halted by a federal court judge in Washington state, a decision that was then supported by 3 judges of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but Trump is expected to sign a revised version of the order tomorrow. So while the ban has seen resistance it’s effects on travel are still looming. The Chicago Sun-Times just released an article this afternoon saying lawyers and interpreters are already prepared to provide free services again at O’Hare airport tomorrow due to the uncertainty of what might follow this new executive order.
A: And if you’re just tuning in this is Andee Erickson and Lara Bockenstedt with Going There on the third hour of Blugold Radio Sunday.
It’s unclear what the new order will entail, but the previous ban created some serious damage on human lives. Many of us are familiar with the countless stories of refugees who were not able to leave their war-torn homes, families were divided. Others were kept from career opportunities and simply prevented from returning home to the states. And these are just a couple examples.
L: While the potent impacts created by the travel ban certainly take precedence, it’s also worth discussing the message of instability and anti-Muslim rhetoric this sends abroad to potential United States visitors and the impact this could have on the U.S. economy. As I said earlier, the U.S. can expect a substantial decrease in international tourists over the next three years and it’s important to recognize the hold tourism has on the economy within our borders.
A: We can begin to understand the gravity of this hold with a few statistics. For instance, in 2015 international travel supported about 1.1 million jobs and provided $28.4 billion in wages, this is according to a U.S. Travel answer sheet.
L: Each U.S. household would pay $1,192 more in taxes without the tax revenue generated by travel and tourism. These numbers indicate that the ban, along with its problematic anti-Muslim rhetoric does have a monetary impact, upon each person paying taxes in the U.S.
L: With that, we have a question to consider …
If we indulge in hospitality abroad and recognize that it’s a part of the traveling experience, how do we continue that institutionally here in the states? Andee what are your thoughts?
A: If we are talking about what we can do institutionally, I think we need evaluate the messages we create as a nation. The American media is quite large and much of the world does pay close attention to our politics so they are going to see the conversations we are having with each other and that’s going to leave an impression of them. In a sense, we are at war with each other. Of course creating policies that tell certain groups they aren’t welcome and make their entrance more difficult is going to threaten any sense of hospitality. In terms of what we can do in our everyday lives, I think we can better appreciate visitors and international tourists
What about you Lara?
L: As an aspiring reporter, it’s critical that we continue to cover stories of when security questions and detainment go too far. I also want to say that beyond institutionally, we can act thoughtfully. As a citizen and person who finds airports to be infectious with the excitement of traveling somewhere, reaching out and conversing with others who may be visiting the states can be a soft way to enact hospitality. This message is included with the song you heard at the beginning of our segment today and will hear again at the end -- “This Land was made for you and me” covered by Sharon Jones and the the Dap-Kings, which has been used recently as a political statement
A: I agree Lara, I’m glad you mentioned that we as aspiring journalists contribute to the institution and wear a responsibility in this mission toward hospitality and holding our politicians accountable for their actions, and exploring in-depthly the effects these policies have on a diverse range of identities.
Thank you for listening to Going There with Andee Erickson and Lara Bockenstedt during the third hour of Blugold Radio Sunday.
Airports, Trump's travel ban
Cruises: their cultural and environmental impact
Andee: Good evening, you’re listening to “Going There” on the third hour of Blugold Radio Sunday. I’m Andee Erickson and I’m Lara Bockenstedt.
Lara: They’re popular, they’re enormous and they often seem like the perfect getaway.
A: Today we are going to be talking about the cons and pros of cruises, in regards to culture, the economy and the environment. Before we started researching the impacts and ethics of cruises what were your thoughts on this mode of travel Lara? Were cruises something you thought you would enjoy?
L: I hadn’t thought of cruises and their impact critically until around a year ago Andee. Originally I saw them as pleasurable and as a pretty great way to get around and have fun. It made traveling as families possible for people who may have been limited otherwise, and provides jobs for thousands of people. But since reading articles and talking about cruises in courses, I began to see how they can be detrimental, and we’ll touch on that later. As a way of traveling I think of situation drawn in the book Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance where traveling like that creates a bubble. It’s like going cross-country in a tour bus compared to a motorcycle. On a motorcycle you have the chance to feel and be in touch with the environment around you, whereas in a bus, it’s more like the windows are tv’s, it becomes less accessible.
A: I’ve never been on a cruise, but I have friends and family who have greatly enjoyed them for different reasons. At this stage in my life I don’t think I would appreciate a cruise. I don’t know about you but when I travel it’s primarily for a few reasons and of them is pretty common -- to gain a sense of place about a part of the world and to fill in gaps of knowledge. And I don’t really think that this would be satisfied while cruising around on a created, artificial world, while making a couple quick stops in places where a sudden surge of visitors often drives all local life from the central districts. This all amounts to placeless experiences to me. Which leads us to our first point, the cultural impacts tourists create.
L: There’s an article, “Cruise tourism: economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts” which cites the effect cruise ships have upon some popular destinations. The article cited that some caribbean destinations have lost their regional language . . . residents began to take on tourists’ customs.
Furthermore, the article addressed how in some port destinations, tourists literally drive out locals from the public transportation. It’s a lot of people in a short period of time, and in smaller or villages, there isn’t space for the locals themselves on public transportation. These are some of the cultural and social impacts cruises create and enforce.
A: The effect a cruise stop can have on a port city depends on the size. I was introduced to a transportation scholar’s idea in a CityLab Article that helps break this down, his name is Jean-Paul Rodrigue and defines port cities in three categories: destination, gateway and balanced. And a destination site is somewhere like Miami and Barcelona where an influx of tourists isn’t really going to impact the culture of the place. These cities are established and big enough. Then there’s the gateway, and this one especially spikes my curiosity because they serve as the coastal gateway to a bigger city not on the coast. These places don’t reap the economic benefit, they just feel the impact, whether it’s environmental degradation on their coast or . Lastly, there’s the balanced port which is a combination of the other two.
But there are still smaller destination ports where the number of visitors can outnumber the locals. In a popular Nova Scotia destination this can mean the locals are driven out of their central district during sudden and artificial influxes of cruise tourists who suddenly populate that space.
L: I have an example of a well-known city in northern italy, where tourists outnumber locals, and this is venice. It’s caused cultural changes, such as the comic like recreation of carneval and rising rent prices which send locals packing even more. In an article from NPR, they interviewed Matteo Casini, a professor of history, who said that the presence of cruise ships in the city are comparable to a science fiction movie, causing windowpanes to shake and further damaging the city causing cracks in older building’s walls.
In Venice, more than 650 ships arrive annually with 1.8 million. If we compare that to the local population of 55,000, that’s a distorting ratio. At a protest the reporter witnessed, one woman mourned the pollutants and used the word destruction to describe the cruise ships’ presence.
A: And if you’re just tuning in this the third hour of Blugold Radio Sunday. You’re listening to “Going There,” a segment on travel ethics and this weeks topic is cruises.
A: transition...let’s talk about the environmental impacts we researched. An organization called Friends of the Earth used to release annual report cards on the sustainability practices of the different cruise lines. Then in 2014 the cruise industry stopped providing their data to FOE, so now there’s this lack of transparency as to how these cruises are operating in terms of how they impact the environment.
L: In 2011, these numbers were released by Oceana, that the average cruiseships releases daily :
– 25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets
– 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys, and showers
– seven tons of garbage and solid waste
– 15 gallons of toxic chemicals
Furthermore, the cruise ships are allowed to release this sewage, untreated, 12 miles away from shore. Any closer and it has to be treated, but still it’s discomforting.
A: And what about the economic impacts. I think here is where there’s potential for the pros to outweigh the cons. I read another article done by The Atlantic’s CityLab and Caribbean cruises, which make up more than 40 percent of the industry have created 56,000 jobs while the Mediterranean cruises, about a quarter of the industry have led to more than 225,000 jobs.
L: Further along in the article, they found that because souvenirs, food, beverages and rental of aquatic equipment are offered on board, people have less incentive to the chains of local tourism. It is unpredictable and uncontrolled.
A: To be sure we explore all of our options what are some of the advantages to cruise tourism, why are they popular?
L: My grandmother is disabled and frequently travels alone. Cruise ships allow her the chance to still see the world with security in mind. She doesn’t have to worry about hotels that only offer stairs or trying to navigate bigger city life. Cruises are predictable and safe in a lot of ways.
A: Yes, the accessibility is definitely an advantage for many.
I also think It’s the itinerary that people love. Having a predetermined and full list of things to do. But isn’t there something lost in that. (roommate in Utah had to teach me how to plan a trip).
The consistency of cruises is an asset for many travelers, they have a sense of home and community and it’s predictable. People can build new relationships with other cruise tourists.
L: Thank you for joining us on the third hour of Blugold Radio Sunday. This was the weekly radio segment on travel ethics called “Going There” with Lara Bockenstedt and Andee Erickson.