Bianca Graulau is a Puerto Rican journalist who has written extensively (muckrack.com/bianca-graulau) on marginalised communities and the environment with a focus on the Americas. This video (by and of her) looks at the impact of tourism in Oaxaca Mexico, and is a really deft piece of work highlighting the challenges writers can face reporting comprehensively on some of the issues around tourism.
While I can’t speak to the situation specific to Oaxaca, though take my word for it they’re a big deal in Southeast Asia lol, but these challenges are global, and sometimes I don’t think general readers really understand just how much self-censorship is required by the writer to avoid issues such as harassment, arrest, and deportation—even when writing about a supposed soft issue like tourism.
Anyways, if you have an interest in this kinda thing, it is definitely worth the 20 minutes of your time you’ll need to watch it.
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Thanks for sharing, Stuart.
I guess the lesson learned here is that you need to do due diligence on your media partners when making films like this. Perhaps the collaborators were naive and thought they'd get a fluff piece of PR for their clients.
On the flipside, the narrative of "locals get screwed by big tourism companies" seems to be almost a universal story in any place with a tourism economy. It's still an important story to tell — so it's a shame that people's voices weren't heard after all of Bianca's efforts.
Very interesting,.
Yes, as someone who has lived in Oaxaca for 8 years, and operating positive-impact tours here with local guides, I can vouch for her research and experience, that sadly it is true with so much of the old tourism practices here. High-end hotels and restaurants paying below liveable (and sometimes below minimum) wages to personnel - minivan scam-tourism tactics paying little to nothing to the local hosts of artisanal and ancestral practices, trying to pump through as many people in a day as possible, with plans of enforced upsells and pressure sales at various stops along the way.
It's a hard system to break and reform, but certainly one we've been fighting up-stream against for years... and changes are happening. Some tour companies getting B-Corp ratings, some hotels which are giving back proceeds to local projects and fair liveable wages to staff, some community driven enterprises in the tourism space, women-owned and empowered businesses... change is slow, but progress is being made :)
What an intelligent, thoughtful and provocative presentation that focuses on the inherent problem with the economic, dysfunctional nature of tourism. From massive ships that disgorge hundreds of people for a day, to opulent resorts planted in impoverished landscapes, there seems to be noticeable feedback of voices raised to complain. This seems to be a trend that is gaining momentum these days and I think it just might shake up the essence of travel in many unpredictable ways.
Thank you for sharing
Thanks for sharing this. When tourists are educated about the impact their presence has on local communities, they can make informed choices about where they spend their money.
I enjoyed watching this video and the integrity of her journalism. She inspired me to keep sustainability on the forefront of what I build in the travel space and I hope more people follow her and think more about how we all travel.
Good job Bianca. Keep doing your work with calculated boldness! Would love to host you at our Women’s circles in South Africa.