tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/travel-472/articlesTravel – The Conversation2024-03-15T12:10:30Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2258572024-03-15T12:10:30Z2024-03-15T12:10:30ZWhy do airlines charge so much for checked bags? This obscure rule helps explain why<p>Five out of the six <a href="https://www.oag.com/blog/biggest-airlines-in-the-us">biggest U.S. airlines</a> have <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/05/delta-is-the-latest-airline-to-raise-its-checked-bag-fee.html">raised their checked bag fees</a> since January 2024.</p>
<p>Take American Airlines. In 2023, it cost US$30 to check a standard bag in with the airline; <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2024/02/20/american-airlines-bag-fees-mileage-earning/72669245007/">today, as of March 2024, it costs $40</a> at a U.S. airport – a whopping 33% increase.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/">business school</a> <a href="https://www.bu.edu/questrom/profile/jay-zagorsky/">professor who studies travel</a>, I’m often asked why airlines alienate their customers with baggage fees instead of bundling all charges together. <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/4/16/8431465/airlines-carry-on-bags">There are</a> <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/columnist/2023/06/21/bag-fees-will-stay-a-while-cruising-altitude/70338849007/">many reasons</a>, but an important, often overlooked cause is buried in the U.S. tax code.</p>
<h2>A tax-law loophole</h2>
<p>Airlines pay the federal government <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-49/subpart-D">7.5% of the ticket price</a> when <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/tax/library/aircraft-club-nov-2023-air-transport-excise-tax-rates-for-2024.html">flying people domestically, alongside other fees</a>. The airlines dislike these charges, with their <a href="https://www.airlines.org/dataset/government-imposed-taxes-on-air-transportation/">trade association arguing</a> that they boost the cost to the consumer of a typical air ticket by around one-fifth.</p>
<p>However, the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-49/subpart-D/section-49.4261-8">specifically excludes baggage</a> from the 7.5% transportation tax as long as “the charge is separable from the payment for the transportation of a person and is shown in the exact amount.”</p>
<p>This means if an airline charges a combined $300 to fly you and a bag round-trip within the U.S., it owes $22.50 in tax. If the airline charges $220 to fly you plus separately charges $40 each way for the bag, then your total cost is the same — but the airline only owes the government $16.50 in taxes. Splitting out baggage charges saves the airline $6.</p>
<p>Now $6 might not seem like much, but it can add up. Last year, passengers took <a href="https://www.transtats.bts.gov/Data_Elements.aspx?Data=1">more than 800 million trips on major airlines</a>. Even if only a fraction of them check their bags, that means large savings for the industry.</p>
<p>How large? The government has <a href="https://www.bts.dot.gov/topics/airlines-and-airports/baggage-fees-airline-2023">tracked revenue from bag fees</a> for decades. In 2002, airlines charged passengers a total of $180 million to check bags, which worked out to around 33 cents per passenger. </p>
<p>Today, as any flyer can attest, bag fees are a lot higher. Airlines collected over 40 times more money in bag fees last year than they did in 2002.</p>
<p>When the full data is in for 2023, <a href="https://www.bts.dot.gov/baggage-fees">total bag fees</a> will likely top $7 billion, which is about $9 for the average domestic passenger. <a href="https://viewfromthewing.com/the-real-reason-airlines-charge-checked-bag-fees-and-its-not-what-you-think">By splitting out the cost of bags</a>, airlines avoided paying about half a billion dollars in taxes just last year.</p>
<p>In the two decades since 2002, flyers paid a total of about $70 billion in bag fees. This means separately charging for bags saved airlines about $5 billion in taxes.</p>
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<p>It seems clear to me that tax savings are one driver of the unbundling of baggage fees because of a quirk in the law.</p>
<p>The U.S. government doesn’t apply the 7.5% tax to <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-49/subpart-D/section-49.4261-3">international flights that go more than 225 miles</a> beyond the nation’s borders. Instead, there are fixed <a href="https://www.airlines.org/dataset/government-imposed-taxes-on-air-transportation">international departure and arrival taxes</a>. This is why major airlines charge $35 to $40 <a href="https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/baggage/checked-baggage-policy.jsp">for bags if you’re flying domestically</a>, but don’t charge a bag fee when you’re flying to Europe or Asia.</p>
<h2>Do travelers get anything for that money?</h2>
<p>This system raises an interesting question: Do baggage fees force airlines to be more careful with bags, since customers who pay more expect better service? To find out, I checked with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which has been <a href="https://www.bts.gov/content/mishandled-baggage-reports-filed-passengers-largest-us-air-carriersa">tracking lost luggage for decades</a>. </p>
<p>For many years, it calculated the number of mishandled-baggage reports per thousand airline passengers. The government’s data showed mishandled bags peaked in 2007 with about seven reports of lost or damaged luggage for every thousand passengers. That means you could expect your luggage to go on a different trip than the one you are taking about once every 140 or so flights. By 2018, that estimate had fallen to once every 350 flights.</p>
<p>In 2019, the government <a href="https://www.bts.gov/topics/airlines-and-airports/number-30a-technical-directive-mishandled-baggage-amended-effective-jan">changed how it tracks</a> mishandled bags, calculating figures based on the total number of bags checked, rather than the total number of passengers. The new data show about six bags per thousand checked get lost or damaged, which is less than 1% of checked bags. Unfortunately, the data doesn’t show improvement since 2019.</p>
<p>Is there anything that you can do about higher bag fees? Complaining to politicians probably won’t help. In 2010, two senators <a href="https://www.nj.com/business/2010/04/us_senators_present_bill_to_ba.html">tried to ban bag fees</a>, and their bill went nowhere.</p>
<p>Given that congressional action failed, there’s a simple way to avoid higher bag fees: <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/packing-expert-travel-world-handbag/index.html">travel light</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/08/opinion/carry-on-packing-airlines-lost-luggage.html">don’t check any luggage</a>. It may sound tough not to have all your belongings when traveling, but it might be the best option as bag fees take off.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The answer lies in the tax code.Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256752024-03-14T05:47:43Z2024-03-14T05:47:43ZShould you be concerned about flying on Boeing planes?<p>The American aerospace giant Boeing has been synonymous with safe air travel for decades. Since the 1990s, Boeing and its European competitor Airbus have dominated the market for large passenger jets. </p>
<p>But this year, Boeing has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In January, an emergency door plug <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/alaska-airlines-let-boeing-max-fly-despite-warning-signals">blew off a Boeing 737 MAX</a> in mid flight, triggering an investigation from United States federal regulators. </p>
<p>More recently, we have seen a Boeing plane lose a tyre while taking off, another flight turned back as the plane was leaking fluid, an apparent engine fire, a landing gear collapse, a stuck rudder pedal, and a plane “dropping” in flight and <a href="https://theconversation.com/latam-flight-800-just-dropped-in-mid-flight-injuring-dozens-an-expert-explores-what-happened-and-how-to-keep-yourself-safe-225554">injuring dozens of passengers</a>. A Boeing engineer who had raised concerns regarding quality control during the manufacturing process on the company’s 787 and 737 MAX planes also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68534703">died earlier this week</a>, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. </p>
<p>As members of the travelling public, should we be concerned? Well, yes and no.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/boeing-door-plug-blowout-highlights-a-possible-crisis-of-competence-an-aircraft-safety-expert-explains-221069">Boeing door plug blowout highlights a possible crisis of competence − an aircraft safety expert explains</a>
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<h2>Many problems, but not all can be blamed on Boeing</h2>
<p>The recent parade of events has certainly been dramatic – but not all of them can be blamed on Boeing. Five incidents occurred on aircraft owned and operated by United Airlines and were related to factors outside the manufacturer’s control, like maintenance issues, potential foreign object debris, and possible human error. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/united-airlines-plane-tire-blowout-boeing-b2509241.html">United Airlines 777</a> flying from San Francisco to Japan lost a tyre on takeoff, a maintenance issue not related to Boeing. The aircraft landed safely in Los Angeles. </p>
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<p>A <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/03/12/united-airlines-reports-fifth-flight-incident-in-a-week-as-jet-turns-back-due-to-maintenance-issue/">United Airlines flight from Sydney</a> to Los Angeles had to return to Sydney due to a “maintenance issue” after a fluid was seen leaking from the aircraft on departure. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/passenger-video-shows-flames-shoot-united-airlines-engine-midflight-rcna142217">United Airlines 737-900</a> flying from Texas to Florida ended up with some plastic bubble wrap in the engine, causing a suspected <a href="https://skybrary.aero/articles/compressor-stall#:%7E:text=Compressor%20stalls%20cause%20the%20air,dirty%20or%20contaminated%20compressor%20components">compressor stall</a>. This is a disruption of air flow to an operating engine, making it “backfire” and emit flames. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://simpleflying.com/united-boeing-737-max-houston-runway-incident/">United Airlines 737 Max</a> flying from Tennessee to Texas suffered a gear collapse after a normal landing. The pilot continued to the end of the runway before exiting onto a taxiway – possibly at too high a speed – and the aircraft ended up in the grass and the left main landing gear collapsed. </p>
<p>The fifth event occurred on a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/another-boeing-max-mishap-ntsb-probes-stuck-rudder-pedals-united-airli-rcna142286">United Airlines 737-8</a> flight from the Bahamas to New Jersey. The pilots reported that the rudder pedals, which control the left and right movement of the aircraft in flight, were stuck in the neutral position during landing.</p>
<h2>Manufacturing quality concerns</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/alaska-airlines-let-boeing-max-fly-despite-warning-signals">exit door plug failure in January</a> occurred on an Alaska Airlines flight. US regulators are currently investigating Boeing’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/24052245/boeing-corporate-culture-737-airplane-safety-door-plug">manufacturing quality assurance</a> as a result. </p>
<p>The door plug was installed by a Boeing subcontractor called Spirit AeroSystem. The door plug bolts were not properly secured and the plug door fell off in flight. The same aircraft had a series of pressurisation alarms on two previous flights, and was scheduled for a maintenance inspection at the completion of the flight. </p>
<p>Spirit got its start after Boeing shut down its own manufacturing operations in Kansas and Oklahoma, and Boeing is now in the process of <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/01/spirit-aerosystems-boeing.html">buying the company</a> to improve quality oversight. Spirit currently works with Airbus, as well, though that may change.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-did-alaska-airlines-flight-1282-have-a-sealed-off-emergency-exit-in-the-first-place-the-answer-comes-down-to-money-221263">Why did Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 have a sealed-off emergency exit in the first place? The answer comes down to money</a>
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<h2>What changed at Boeing</h2>
<p>Critics say the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/12/boeing-whistleblower-death-plane-issues/">culture at Boeing has changed</a> since Airbus became a major competitor in the early 2000s. The company has been accused of shifting its focus to profit at the expense of quality engineering. </p>
<p>Former staff have raised concerns over tight production schedules, which increased the pressure on employees to finish the aircraft. This caused many engineers to question the process, and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fine Boeing for lapses in quality oversight after tools and debris were found on aircraft being inspected. </p>
<p>Several employees have testified before US Congress on the production issues regarding quality control. Based on the congressional findings, the FAA began to inspect Boeing’s processes more closely.</p>
<p>Several Boeing employees noted there was a high staff turnover rate during the COVID pandemic. This is not unique to Boeing, as all manufacturing processes and airline maintenance facilities around the globe were also hit with high turnover. </p>
<p>As a result, there is an acute shortage of qualified maintenance engineers, as well as pilots. These shortages have created several issues with the airline industry successfully returning to the <a href="https://www.aviationbusinessnews.com/mro/critical-shortage-of-engineers-means-looming-crisis-for-aviation-warns-aeroprofessional/">pre-pandemic levels</a> of 2019. Airlines and maintenance training centres around the globe are working hard to train replacements, but this takes time as one cannot become a qualified engineer or airline pilot overnight.</p>
<p>So, is it still safe to fly on Boeing planes? Yes it is. Despite dramatic incidents in the news and social media posts <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveMcNamee3000/status/1767636549288824990">poking fun at the company</a>, air travel is still extremely safe, and that includes Boeing.</p>
<p>We can expect these issues with Boeing planes now will be corrected. The financial impact has been significant – so even a profit-driven company will demand change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225675/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Doug Drury does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The American aerospace company Boeing has been synonymous with safe air travel for decades, but recent weeks have seen it plagued by a series of issues.Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2231732024-03-03T14:27:09Z2024-03-03T14:27:09ZWhat Lynx Air’s failure tells us about the state of the Canadian airline industry<p>Lynx Air is the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10319776/lynx-air-shutdown-low-cost-airline-failures/">latest in a long line of low-cost airlines</a> to fail in Canada. The airline ceased operations on Feb. 26, four days after <a href="https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/lynx-air-files-for-creditor-protection-final-flight-scheduled-for-feb-26-1.6780174">announcing it had entered creditor protection</a> on Feb. 22.</p>
<p>This scenario is not novel in Canadian commercial aviation; Canada has had its fair share of discount carrier failings due to poor financial health. </p>
<p>Over the last 30 years, carriers such as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-3000-timeline-1.298111">Canada 3000</a>, <a href="https://simpleflying.com/nationair-canada-what-happened/">Nationair</a>, <a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/Greyhound-Air-to-Shut-Down">Greyhound Air</a>, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/remember-roots-airline-a-list-of-canadian-discount-airlines-that-have-left-the-skies-1.6785045">Roots Air</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/skyservice-airline-goes-under-1.733598">SkyService</a> have all succumbed to some form of financial duress and have disappeared from the Canadian discount carrier scene. </p>
<p>The closure of Lynx provides us with an opportune time to review the state of Canadian commercial air travel and identify the challenges and opportunities Canada has in maintaining, and possibly improving, the sustainability of the sector.</p>
<h2>Why did Lynx fail?</h2>
<p>For several weeks earlier this year, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/discount-carriers-flair-airlines-and-lynx-air-in-merger-talks-industry-insiders-say/article_66cc1896-cb7b-11ee-9c2e-3b0d7489ee49.html">speculation was rampant that a merger between Flair Airlines and Lynx was close</a>. This would have meant Canadian air travellers seeking low airfares would face an uncertain future with one fewer ultra-low-cost carrier.</p>
<p>Neither carrier publicly acknowledged the existence of such an agreement, simply stating they <a href="https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/ynx-air-flair-airlines-merger-talks">would not comment on market speculation</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/lynx-flair-canadian-airlines-calgary-1.7127454">circumstances surrounding the financial state of Lynx</a> — a private company not required to publicly disclose its operating and financial performance — were cited as the principal drivers of the Lynx situation. </p>
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<img alt="Flair Airlines check-in counters seen in an airport" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579031/original/file-20240229-20-2lth77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579031/original/file-20240229-20-2lth77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579031/original/file-20240229-20-2lth77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579031/original/file-20240229-20-2lth77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579031/original/file-20240229-20-2lth77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579031/original/file-20240229-20-2lth77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579031/original/file-20240229-20-2lth77.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Flair Airlines check-in counters at Edmonton International Airport in March 2020. There was speculation in early 2024 that a merger between Flair and Lynx was going to take place.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>One would normally expect the firm <a href="https://www.travelpulse.ca/news/airlines-airports/reports-say-a-flair-airlines/lynx-air-merger-is-imminent">that was rumoured to be</a> acquiring Lynx to be able to address any and all financial considerations of the merger. But Flair seemed to have financial and legal issues of its own, ranging from <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/ceo-says-flair-has-resolved-foreign-ownership-issue-mostly-amid-regulatory-probe/article_2643890f-051d-5f4f-8627-a147681560f4.html">corporate governance</a> to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/flair-airlines-unpaid-taxes-cra-seizure-order-1.7098045">finances</a>.</p>
<p>The merger failed to be consummated, with <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10321582/lynx-air-debt-flair-airlines-purchase/">numerous claims contained in the Lynx court documents</a> pointing to the need to repay one of Lynx’s shareholders’ debt.</p>
<p>In short, there were two financially weak airlines attempting to consolidate, with neither having sufficient financial strength to complete the merger. Lynx prepared its bankruptcy filing in short order, as it was also experiencing significant financial stress.</p>
<h2>Why haven’t airlines learned from these failures?</h2>
<p>Airline entrepreneurs that launch discount carriers are driven by the belief that the success of their airlines is closely tied to their ability to attract a substantial number of passengers. They aim to <a href="https://aeroxplorer.com/articles/a-quick-reference-guide-to-starting-your-own-airline.php">stimulate travel demand and maintain their competitive stance in the markets they serve</a>.</p>
<p>A common element among most of these entrepreneurial-focused airlines has been to use pricing as a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/airline-pricing-secrets/index.html">key tactic for market stimulation and capture</a>.</p>
<p>Throughout most of 2022 and early 2023, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8973662/how-to-find-cheaper-flights-canada-airfare/">Lynx and Flair were price leaders in North America, sometimes by significant margins</a>. They primarily competed with one another, introducing new services across Canada and the United States, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-price-of-flights-fall-2022-travel/">providing airfare savings to Canadians and creating demand</a>. </p>
<p>But this price competition did not create enough revenue to generate even marginal profitability. The established airline duopoly in Canada — Air Canada and WestJet — did not actively respond to these price initiatives, as they were occupied with <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8338817/canada-airlines-restoring-capacity-flights/">rebuilding their capacities following COVID-related layoffs</a>.</p>
<p>In the fall of 2023, after the absorption of both Swoop and Sunwing into the WestJet family, both WestJet an Air Canada undertook a number of pricing actions. They began offering competitive routes overlapping with Flair and Lynx, which <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-airlines-ramp-up-growth-plans-amid-increased-competition-setting-stage/">narrowed the price gap among Canadian carriers</a>.</p>
<p>The countdown had begun on the longevity of discount carriers. Lynx ran out of time and money in February 2024 and the clock is most likely ticking on Flair’s ability to remain viable.</p>
<h2>Is the duopoly once again to blame?</h2>
<p>The pricing actions undertaken in fall 2023 seem to point to very specific initiatives designed to lessen the attraction of discount carriers, particularly among WestJet and Air Canada’s customers. </p>
<p>Despite the power of frequent flyer reward programs and the inclusion of travel elements that are considered ancillary to discount carrier fare offerings, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8983216/canada-recession-inflation-leger-poll/">the fear of a recession has significantly lessened the demand for air travel</a> in Canada. Corresponding pricing actions have followed.</p>
<p>The pricing allure of discount carriers faded rapidly and forced them to further reduce airfares to <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10282017/flair-airlines-2024-travel-forecast/">maintain their position in the marketplace</a>. </p>
<p>The Canadian government has steadfastly maintained its belief that the air carrier marketplace should be free of government oversight and that carrier survivability is best <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9409483/poilievre-conservatives-safety-inflation-travel/">judged by air travellers themselves</a>.</p>
<h2>A new approach is needed</h2>
<p>The time might now be ripe to consider a new regime for managing pricing behaviour among airlines that are pricing below a profitable return. There is also a need to address the actions of WestJet and Air Canada, which have been engaging in aggressive pricing actions aimed at undermining discount carrier sustainability.</p>
<p>An ever-increasing number of potential amendments to the Canadian commercial air travel model have been suggested, most notably those that look to the creation of a civil aviation agency similar to the <a href="https://www.faa.gov/about">Federal Aviation Administration in the United States</a> and the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-aviation-authority">Civil Aviation Authority in the United Kingdom</a>. This would separate the commercial oversight from the regulatory actions, both of which are currently administered by Transport Canada.</p>
<p>Another opportunity would be to create a regulated airfare pricing regime that would establish floor pricing for discount carriers, as well as pricing limits for larger scheduled carriers competing with discount carriers. This would allow discount carriers the breathing room to offer fares without threat from aggressive pricing actions. </p>
<p>The lessons of discount carriers’ failures and the subsequent angst felt by both air travellers and airline staff must be recognized and action taken to change course. The reputation of the Canadian air travel marketplace deserves better.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Gradek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The closure of Lynx is an opportune time to review the state of Canadian commercial air travel and identify the challenges and opportunities Canada has in improving the sector.John Gradek, Faculty Lecturer and Academic Program Co-ordinator, Supply Network and Aviation Management, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224732024-02-21T13:22:53Z2024-02-21T13:22:53ZAre our fears of saying ‘no’ overblown?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576255/original/file-20240216-28-feso3m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C8%2C5540%2C3724&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We can be unduly hard on ourselves as we grapple with the implications of declining an invitation.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/man-using-cell-phone-behind-translucent-glass-royalty-free-image/1015918742?phrase=typing%2Bno%2Bthank%2Byou%2Binto%2Bphone">Yifei Fang/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Everyone has been there. You get invited to something that you absolutely do not want to attend – a holiday party, a family cookout, an expensive trip. But doubts and anxieties creep into your head as you weigh whether to decline.</p>
<p>You might wonder if you’ll upset the person who invited you. Maybe it’ll harm the friendship, or they won’t extend an invite to the next get-together.</p>
<p>Should you just grit your teeth and go? Or are you worrying more than you should about saying “no”? </p>
<h2>An imaginary faux pas</h2>
<p>We explored these questions <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000443">in a recently published study</a>.</p>
<p>In a pilot study that we ran ahead of the main studies, we found that 77% of our 51 respondents had accepted an invitation to an event that they didn’t want to attend, fearing blowback if they were to decline. They worried that saying no might upset, anger or sadden the person who invited them. They also worried that they wouldn’t be invited to events down the road and that their own invitations would be rebuffed.</p>
<p>We then ran a series of studies in which we asked some people to imagine declining an invitation, and then report their assumptions about how the person extending the invite would feel. We asked other participants to imagine that someone had declined invitations they had extended themselves. Then we asked them how they felt about the rejection. </p>
<p>We ended up finding quite the mismatch. People tend to assume others will react poorly when an invitation isn’t accepted. But they’re relatively unaffected when someone turns down an invite they’ve extended.</p>
<p>In fact, people extending invites were much more understanding – and less upset, angry or sad – than invitees anticipated. They also said they would be rather unlikely to let a single declined invitation keep them from offering or accepting invitations in the future.</p>
<p>We found that the asymmetry between people extending and receiving invites occurred regardless of whether it involved two friends, a new couple or two people who had been in a relationship for a long time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="One speech bubble with a question mark in it, and another with an ellipses, indicating contemplation or a brief moment of speechlessness." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576254/original/file-20240216-16-93bp3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People are pretty understanding when their invitations are rebuffed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/question-bubble-and-chatting-bubble-royalty-free-image/1448380909?phrase=saying+No&adppopup=true">Carol Yepes/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Why does this happen? </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that when someone declines an invitation, they think the person who invited them will focus on the cold, hard rejection. But in reality, the person extending the invite is more likely to focus on the thoughts and deliberations that ran through the head of the person who declined. They’ll tend to assume that the invitee gave due consideration to the prospect of accepting, and this generally leaves them less bothered than might be expected.</p>
<p>Interestingly, while our research examined invitations to fun events – dinners out to restaurants with a visiting celebrity chef and trips to quirky museum exhibits – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/xap0000457">other studies</a> have found that the same pattern emerges when someone is asked to do a favor and they decline. </p>
<p>Even with these less enjoyable requests, people overestimate the negative implications of saying no.</p>
<h2>Lay the groundwork for future invites</h2>
<p>There are a few things you can do to make things easier on yourself as you grapple with whether to decline an invitation.</p>
<p>First, imagine that you were the one extending the invitation. Our research shows that people are less likely to overestimate the negative implications of declining an invitation after they envision how they would feel if someone turned down their invite.</p>
<p>Second, if money is a reason you’re considering passing on a dinner or a trip, share that with the person who invited you – as long as you feel comfortable doing so, of course. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1226">Other research</a> has found that people are especially understanding when people cite finances as their reason for declining.</p>
<p>Third, consider the “no but” strategy <a href="https://www.self.com/story/saying-no-to-invitations">that some therapists suggest</a>. Decline the invitation, but offer to do something else with the person who invited you.</p>
<p>With this method, you’re making it clear to the person who invited you that you’re not rejecting them; rather, you’re declining the activity. A bonus with this strategy is that you have the opportunity to suggest doing something that you actually want to do. </p>
<p>Of course, there’s a caveat to all of this: If you decline every invitation sent your way, at some point they’ll probably stop coming.</p>
<p>But assuming you aren’t a habitual naysayer, don’t beat yourself up if you end up declining an invitation every now and then. Chances are that the person who invited you will be less bothered than you think.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222473/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nearly 80% of people have accepted invitations to events they didn’t want to attend.Julian Givi, Assistant Professor of Marketing, West Virginia UniversityColleen P. Kirk, Assistant Professor of Marketing, New York Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217062024-02-14T13:23:27Z2024-02-14T13:23:27ZRevving up tourism: Formula One and other big events look set to drive growth in the hospitality industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570748/original/file-20240122-21-hh4b9t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=95%2C59%2C7871%2C5160&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sergio Perez of Oracle Red Bull Racing, right, and Charles Leclerc of the Scuderia Ferrari team compete in the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Nov. 19, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sergio-perez-of-oracle-red-bull-racing-f1-team-and-charles-news-photo/1790416613">Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In late 2023, I embarked on my first Formula One race experience, attending the first-ever <a href="https://www.f1lasvegasgp.com">Las Vegas Grand Prix</a>. I had never been to an F1 race; my interest was sparked during the pandemic, largely through the Netflix series “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80204890">Formula 1: Drive to Survive</a>.”</p>
<p>But I wasn’t just attending as a fan. As <a href="http://hhp.ufl.edu/about/faculty-staff/rachel_fu/">the inaugural chair</a> of the University of Florida’s <a href="https://hhp.ufl.edu/about/departments/them/">department of tourism, hospitality and event management</a>, I saw this as an opportunity. Big events and festivals represent <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJEFM-10-2019-080/full/pdf?title=event-and-festival-research-a-review-and-research-directions">a growing share</a> of the tourism market – as an educator, I want to prepare future leaders to manage them. </p>
<p>And what better place to learn how to do that than in the stands of the Las Vegas Grand Prix? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A smiling professor is illuminated by bright lights in a nighttime photo taken at a Formula 1 event in Nevada." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574695/original/file-20240209-30-b8vl6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Katherine Fu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The future of tourism is in events and experiences</h2>
<p>Tourism is fun, but it’s also big business: In the <a href="https://www.ustravel.org/research/industry-impact">U.S.</a> alone, it’s a US$2.6 trillion industry employing 15 million people. And with travelers increasingly planning their trips around events rather than places, both <a href="https://www.ifea.com">industry leaders</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.07.017">academics are paying attention</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/07/25/from-lollapalooza-to-nfl-draft-high-profile-events-paying-off-for-chicago/">Event tourism is also key</a> to many cities’ economic development strategies – think Chicago and its annual Lollapalooza music festival, which has been hosted in Grant Park since 2005. In 2023, Lollapalooza generated <a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/politics/lollapalooza-boosts-chicago-economy-422-million-2023-impact-study-says">an estimated $422 million</a> for the local economy and drew <a href="https://www.chicagobusiness.com/tourism/lollapalooza-2023-attendance-pays-hotels-restaurants">record-breaking crowds</a> to the city’s hotels.</p>
<p>That’s why when Formula One announced it would be <a href="https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/35612895/las-vegas-approves-plan-hold-f1-race-2032">making a 10-year commitment</a> to host races in Las Vegas, the region’s tourism agency was <a href="https://press.lvcva.com/news-releases/formula-1-will-race-in-las-vegas-from-2023/s/766a27f9-57f8-48a2-a369-74ffeaf98e0f">eager to spread the news</a>. The 2023 grand prix eventually generated <a href="https://theathletic.com/5081391/2023/11/22/las-vegas-grand-prix-attendance-viewership-numbers/#">$100 million in tax revenue</a>, the head of that agency later announced.</p>
<h2>Why Formula One?</h2>
<p>Formula One offers a prime example of the economic importance of event tourism. In 2022, Formula One generated <a href="https://www.libertymedia.com/news/detail/485/liberty-media-corporation-reports-fourth-quarter-and-year">about $2.6 billion</a> in total revenues, according to the latest full-year data from its parent company. That’s up 20% from 2021 and <a href="https://www.libertymedia.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/42/liberty-media-corporation-reports-fourth-quarter-and-year">27% from 2019</a>, the last pre-COVID year. A record 5.7 million fans attended Formula One races in 2022, up 36% from 2019. </p>
<p>This surge in interest can be attributed to expanded broadcasting rights, sponsorship deals and a growing global fan base. And, of course, the in-person events make a lot of money – the cheapest tickets to the Las Vegas Grand Prix were $500. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two brightly colored race cars are seen speeding down a track in a blur." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570745/original/file-20240122-25-xaj1jo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Turn 1 at the first Las Vegas Grand Prix.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachel Fu</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s why I think of Formula One as more than just a pastime: It’s emblematic of a major shift in the tourism industry that offers substantial job opportunities. And it takes more than drivers and pit crews to make Formula One run – it takes a diverse range of professionals in fields such as event management, marketing, engineering and beyond. </p>
<p>This rapid industry growth indicates an opportune moment for universities to adapt their hospitality and business curricula and prepare students for careers in this profitable field.</p>
<h2>How hospitality and business programs should prepare students</h2>
<p>To align with the evolving landscape of mega-events like Formula One races, hospitality schools should, I believe, integrate specialized training in event management, luxury hospitality and international business. Courses focusing on large-scale event planning, VIP client management and cross-cultural communication are essential. </p>
<p>Another area for curriculum enhancement is sustainability and innovation in hospitality. Formula One, like many other companies, has increased its emphasis on <a href="https://theathletic.com/4950077/2023/10/11/f1-sustainability-climate-change/">environmental responsibility</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/nov/26/climate-emergency-accelerates-f1-efforts-to-clean-up-image">in recent years</a>. While some critics <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/may/21/after-the-flood-storms-lie-ahead-for-formula-one-in-race-to-hit-carbon-zero">have been skeptical</a> of this push, I think it makes sense. After all, the event tourism industry both <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2021.100393">contributes to climate change and is threatened by it</a>. So, programs may consider incorporating courses in sustainable event management, eco-friendly hospitality practices and innovations in sustainable event and tourism. </p>
<p>Additionally, business programs may consider emphasizing strategic marketing, brand management and digital media strategies for F1 and for the larger event-tourism space. As both continue to evolve, understanding how to leverage digital platforms, engage global audiences and create compelling brand narratives becomes increasingly important. </p>
<p>Beyond hospitality and business, other disciplines such as material sciences, engineering and data analytics can also integrate F1 into their curricula. Given the <a href="https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-fans-becoming-younger-and-more-diverse-say-global-survey-results-/6696732/">younger generation’s growing interest</a> in motor sports, embedding F1 case studies and projects in these programs can enhance student engagement and provide practical applications of theoretical concepts. </p>
<h2>Racing into the future: Formula One today and tomorrow</h2>
<p>F1 has boosted its outreach to younger audiences in recent years and has also acted to strengthen its presence in the U.S., a market with major potential for the sport. The 2023 Las Vegas race was a <a href="https://www.ktnv.com/news/vegas-grand-prix/las-vegas-grand-prix-ceo-boasts-attendance-of-315k-claims-race-will-have-1-2b-economic-impact">strategic move</a> in this direction. These decisions, along with the continued growth of the sport’s fan base and sponsorship deals, underscore F1’s economic significance and future potential.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/racing/2024.html">Looking ahead in 2024</a>, Formula One seems ripe for further expansion. New races, continued advancements in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/sports/autoracing/formula-1-broadcast-technology.html">broadcasting technology</a> and <a href="https://formulapedia.com/the-evolution-of-f1-sponsorship-deals-a-historic-overview/">evolving sponsorship models</a> are expected to drive revenue growth. And Season 6 of “Drive to Survive” will be released on <a href="https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.drive-to-survive-season-6-release-date-announced-by-netflix.6ZS1GdHlVRpNc9dxA9kZ8F.html">Feb. 23</a>, 2024. We already know that was effective marketing – after all, it inspired me to check out the Las Vegas Grand Prix.</p>
<p>I’m more sure than ever that big events like this will play a major role in the future of tourism – a message I’ll be imparting to my students. And in my free time, I’m planning to enhance my quality of life in 2024 by synchronizing my vacations with the F1 calendar. After all, nothing says “relaxing getaway” quite like the roar of engines and excitement of the racetrack.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221706/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel J.C. Fu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With big events drawing a growing share of of tourism dollars, F1 offers a potential glimpse of the travel industry’s future.Rachel J.C. Fu, Chair & Professor of Dept. of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management | Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute | Affiliate Professor of Dept. of Information Systems and Operations Management, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2136972024-02-06T13:30:01Z2024-02-06T13:30:01ZBlack travelers want authentic engagement, not checkboxes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571338/original/file-20240125-19-jhtqbj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Black travelers want to see the travel industry embrace their full identities.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-woman-with-smartphone-vacationing-in-tokyo-royalty-free-image/1155295723?phrase=black+tourists&adppopup=true">AzmanL/ Getty</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, when <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/06/26/travel-brands-rushed-post-blacklivesmatter-are-slow-share-how-theyre-taking-action/">travel brands</a> – including Delta Air Lines, Hilton and Enterprise – pronounced their support for diversity and the Black Lives Matter movement, our research group was motivated to conduct a study that collected data of the travel experiences of more than 5,000 Black people and people of color. </p>
<p>Our work, published in <a href="https://www.afar.com/magazine/black-travel-is-not-a-monolith">Afar magazine</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2022.2149848">Tourism Geographies</a>, found that Black travelers expressed dissatisfaction with how the travel industry promotes itself as inclusive.</p>
<h2>Authenticity matters</h2>
<p>Black travelers want more genuine and authentic engagement and representation, we found, that showcases an investment in the Black community by partnering with Black-owned travel businesses, guides and experiences. </p>
<p>We conducted in-depth interviews with several of the people who provided data to us. Those we interviewed told us plainly that they are weary of being perceived as a single, uniform entity. They want more attention paid to their <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-does-intersectionality-mean-104937">intersecting identities</a>. First coined by Law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw back in 1989, intersectionality has come to mean that all oppression is linked to people’s complex identities related to their gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability and more.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/urbanistamom/?hl=en">Joshlyn Crystal Adams</a>, CEO of Urbanista Travel, told us, “It’s definitely more than being Black. It’s also as a woman, where do I feel safe going … if you go to this country as a gay person, just be mindful that if you’re caught doing this or that, you can be arrested. So it spins far beyond race. It’s definitely about gender and sexuality.” </p>
<p>We also found that Black travelers notice the small things that add up to an experience of feeling valued and seen – or not.</p>
<p>Some companies support Black-owned businesses by buying their products in limited amounts. For example, <a href="https://travelnoire.com/black-skincare-line-owner-partners-with-marriott-hotels">JW Marriott</a> sells <a href="https://travelnoire.com/black-skincare-line-owner-partners-with-marriott-hotels">Diamond’s Body Care</a> in their spas. But the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2022.2149848">people in our study emphasized</a> the need for brands and destinations to make a greater effort. </p>
<p>“<a href="https://www.theroot.com/is-hotel-shampoo-kind-of-racist-1790876376">What do you know about my hair</a>? Nothing,” travel media personality, pilot and avid adventurer <a href="https://www.kelleesetgo.com/">Kellee Edwards</a> said about hotel shampoo. “Until they go ahead and mix that pot up and sprinkle some salt and pepper in it … this is what we’re going to be dealing with.” </p>
<h2>Diversity is not a box to check</h2>
<p>In the <a href="https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/traveling-through-jim-crow-america">Jim Crow era</a>, Black travelers were regularly denied access to crucial services such as gas, food, restrooms and lodging. Stopping in unfamiliar locations posed the threat of humiliation, threats or worse. </p>
<p>While it’s true that race relations and access to travel by Black people have improved in the United States since <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964">the Civil Rights Act of 1964</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750">generational trauma</a> has left a mark on Black travelers, affecting how and why <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2019.1630671">they choose to travel</a>. </p>
<p>Edwards shared that identifying as a Black woman in a <a href="https://www.unwto.org/gender-and-tourism">traditionally male-dominated industry</a> is “exhausting.” </p>
<p>“Diversity is a lot of things, but … as women, we are very much underrepresented,” Edwards said. “While we need to focus on inclusion when it comes to race, we also must focus on gender.” </p>
<p>Travel often reinforces entrenched power dynamics, noted Christopher Carr, one of our study participants and an associate dean at George Mason University. </p>
<p>Carr said that destinations often engage in “<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/lgbtq-pride-consumerism/">rainbow washing</a>” – superficial LGBTQ-friendly gestures meant to elicit positive feelings about a brand in order to sell something – with no real support going to the community, such as promoting pride flags while passing <a href="https://vogue.sg/rainbow-washing-pride-month/">anti-LGBTQIA corporate policies</a>. </p>
<p>That leaves him to wonder if “the attention that I’m receiving is genuine or is it because I’m somebody’s box to tick?” </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2022.2149848">interviewees</a> called for actions beyond symbolic gestures and real effort to engage the community.</p>
<p>“If companies want to understand how to be appeasing to our communities, they should go directly to us,” study participant and AfroBuenaventura Transformative Travel founder <a href="https://www.afrobuenaventura.com/">Ronnell Perry</a> said.</p>
<h2>Change the industry from within</h2>
<p>Black individuals hold fewer than 1% of top leadership roles – C-suite, director, CEO/president – in the U.S. hospitality industry, according to a <a href="https://www.ahla.com/sites/default/files/2022blackrepresentationinhospitalityindustryleadership_final_0.pdf">report by Castell Project</a>. </p>
<p>Over the past decade, consultancies such as <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/why-diversity-matters">McKinsey</a> have made it increasingly clear that companies with more diverse workforces perform better financially.</p>
<p>In our recent publication “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2022.2149848">Black Travel Is Not Monolithic</a>,” we proposed a road map to help guide the travel sector toward authentic inclusion. However, change requires taking power from the hands of dominant white, heterosexual, nondisabled and first-world nation groups. </p>
<p>One of our top suggestions is to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.864043">diversify human resource departments</a> so that individuals from diverse identities and backgrounds can actively participate in the hiring process. From there, they can address culturally sensitive issues on a daily basis. Of course, this is true not just in travel but across industries.</p>
<p>Fostering an inclusive workplace also requires nurturing diverse leaders, inclusive of intersecting marginalized identities. </p>
<p>“Until you get people in who can represent us to say, ‘Hey, this is my community and I know something about this and we can represent this,’” Edwards said, “it’s not going to change.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Black travelers want the tourism industry to recognize their full identity. That will require more than procedural checkboxes and targeted advertising.Alana Dillette, Assistant Professor. L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Tourism RESET, San Diego State UniversityStefanie Benjamin, Associate Professor of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management; Co-Founder of CODE, University of TennesseeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2194292024-01-24T14:37:01Z2024-01-24T14:37:01Z‘Tryvertising’: testing new products in holiday homes could be a win for local brands and cautious customers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570386/original/file-20240119-19-9xz0mb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C120%2C7201%2C4749&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/espresso-machine-making-coffee-capsules-on-433268935">Davizro Photography/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After a recent city break to Paris, one of our colleagues told us about how much she’d enjoyed some excellent coffee during her trip. But it hadn’t been served in a restaurant or a cafe – she had made it herself at the apartment she was staying in using one of those capsule coffee machines. </p>
<p>When she returned home, she genuinely missed the quality of the drink she had been able to make so effortlessly. So she ended up buying the machine for her own home – same brand, same model, same colour as the one she had been using on holiday. </p>
<p>Her experience illustrates the effectiveness of a concept known as “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331982590_Tryvertising_What_Makes_Consumers_Share_Product_Innovations_With_Others">tryvertising</a>”. Over the course of her weekend away, she had become familiar with – and extremely fond of – a new product by having the freedom to try it out repeatedly in her temporary holiday apartment. </p>
<p>As a marketing strategy, tryvertising is quite familiar in hotels, where extra comfy pillows or a particular fragrance or shampoo may be available for guests to use during their stay – and then offered for sale to take home. </p>
<p>Overall, it’s an easy win for manufacturers and hotel owners – as well as the customers who get the chance to take a piece of their holiday home with them.</p>
<h2>Feelings of ownership</h2>
<p>But our <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738323000683">research</a> suggests that tryvertising is actually more effective in self-catering accommodation than it is in hotels. This is partly because renting an apartment or cottage for a break provides a more natural environment for customers than the more unusual setting of a hotel. </p>
<p>They are able to feel more at home and in control – what we refer to as a heightened sense of “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/territoriality">territoriality</a>” – and are more likely to fully immerse themselves in their surroundings and the products at their disposal. Overall, self-catered accommodation elicits stronger feelings of ownership towards the accommodation space, and potential ownership of the the amenities it contains.</p>
<p>This means tryvertising through self-catered holiday accommodation could provide an excellent opportunity for companies. </p>
<p>Those companies – which could be everything from electronic manufacturers to local artisan businesses – could select suitable hosts with whom to place their products, either for free or with a discount. A QR code could then be attached to the tryvertised goods, directing customers to extra information and purchasing details. </p>
<p>Those businesses could even issue discount codes to those guests. The accommodation platforms themselves wouldn’t need to be involved (they may wish to be at some level, but their input would not be necessary). It would mainly be a beneficial arrangement directly between manufacturers and hosts.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman relaxing in hammock in garden." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/570387/original/file-20240119-15-azef2l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Try hammock, buy hammock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/booking-airbnb-pleace-rest-lake-forest-2376758765">Mateusz_Kaminski_Foto/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For consumers too, tryvertising makes perfect sense. Rather than looking at images on online, or observing an item in person at a store, they get a real-life user experience before they commit to a purchase. </p>
<h2>Mutual benefits</h2>
<p>Of course, it can work the other way too. One person told us that he had decided against buying a gadget after having the opportunity to use one on holiday.</p>
<p>He recalled:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The presence of the AI assistant in my last Airbnb getaway really made the entire stay overwhelming. I didn’t understand how to use it effectively. It kept misinterpreting our commands, and falsely activating due to background noise. This really made us [feel] stressful and uncomfortable. We had considered buying a similar AI assisted smart speaker at home before, but now we would definitely postpone the decision.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But again, that was beneficial. That particular client was given a chance to try something, and decided it wasn’t for him. He saved money.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, our colleague decided to spend her money on a machine she had enjoyed using, and which now provides her with delicious coffee on a daily basis.</p>
<p>But it’s not only about buying things for your home. Tryvertising can also enhance a traveller’s experience by allowing them to get an authentic taste of the culture through products sponsored by local businesses. And it could contribute to sustainable tourism by encouraging both hosts and visitors to engage with their community and the produce on offer. </p>
<p>Overall, our research suggests that everyone stands to benefit. Hosts, local businesses and travellers should all give it a try.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219429/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your next holiday could be a chance for some retail research.Jialin (Snow) Wu, Reader in Sustainable and Digitalised Service Economy, University of HuddersfieldChen Zheng, Senior Lecturer at School of Event, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Leeds Beckett UniversityHongbo (Daisy) Liu, Senior Lecturer, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217402024-01-24T05:21:08Z2024-01-24T05:21:08ZTravellers with disability often face discrimination. What should change and how to complain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571006/original/file-20240123-19-w4r6v9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C0%2C5251%2C3506&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rear-view-man-on-wheelchair-airport-2253945023">Shutterstock/Halfpoint</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s former disability discrimination commissioner, Graeme Innes, has settled his dispute <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-23/adelaide-airport-graeme-innes-disability-discrimination-dispute/103375068">with Adelaide Airport</a>. His complaint to the Human Rights Commission was lodged after being denied access to a body scanner with his assistance dog in <a href="https://graemeinnes.com/2022/05/17/airport-discrimination-dash-i-am-angry-as-hell-and-im-not-going-to-take-it-anymore/">May 2022</a>. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, Innes’ experience will resonate widely with Australia’s <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/disability/people-with-disability-in-australia/contents/people-with-disability/prevalence-of-disability">4.4 million people with disability</a>. </p>
<p>“People with disability know how challenging air travel can be, and that experience needs to be more inclusive,” said Innes, who was disability discrimination commissioner for nine years and is on the board of the <a href="https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us/governance/board/board-profiles">National Disability Insurance Agency</a>.</p>
<p>Experiences like Innes’ have been widely <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/03/australias-airlines-and-airports-urged-to-improve-treatment-of-travellers-with-disabilities">reported</a> and have happened to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/graeme-innes-fights-to-change-how-disabled-people-are-treated-when-they-fly-20220516-p5alqs.html">prominent Australians with disability</a>. The everyday experience of air travel is likely even more shocking. Change is happening, but it is moving slowly.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-a-building-need-to-call-itself-accessible-and-is-that-enough-217278">What does a building need to call itself 'accessible' – and is that enough?</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Airport and airline ableism</h2>
<p>The Human Rights Commission received more than <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/awptor2023-submission-a16-australian-human-rights-commission.pdf">100 disability discrimination complaints against airlines</a> in the six years to 2022, including the period in which COVID restrictions saw air travel severely limited. </p>
<p>Issues included: </p>
<ul>
<li>assistance animal refusals</li>
<li>inaccessible facilities</li>
<li>inaccessible ticketing arrangements for people with vision impairments</li>
<li>taxis and rideshare providers not turning up, long delays or
refusing passengers with disability aids and/or assistance animals.</li>
</ul>
<p>These issues highlight a system underpinned by unchallenged <a href="https://theconversation.com/ableism-and-disablism-how-to-spot-them-and-how-we-can-all-do-better-204541">ableism</a> – discrimination that favours people without disability. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1030308548490584064"}"></div></p>
<h2>Freedom of movement</h2>
<p>An important right under the <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/article-20-personal-mobility.html">United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</a> is freedom of movement. This right seeks to enable all people to be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2023.2203307">included in society in ways they self-determine</a>. </p>
<p>Ableism in air travel is a fundamental denial of independence and freedom of movement. Discrimination can be even more blatant and offensive. People have been removed from flights or denied boarding because there are <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/awptor2023-submission-a16-australian-human-rights-commission.pdf">limits on the number of wheelchair users who can access an aircraft</a> or because they require additional support to access facilities. </p>
<p>People with disability report the removal of, or damage to, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-31/virgin-airline-wheelchair-damage-broken-compensation/103010472">personal mobility equipment</a>, and lack of suitable equipment. In the most severe cases, people have been <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australians-with-disabilities-suffer-dehumanising-treatment-at-airports-travel-news/b7de6139-258a-4e86-a615-031eb0e89074">injured during travel</a> or left stranded in dangerous circumstances.</p>
<h2>Inconsistency can fuel ableism</h2>
<p>Inconsistent policies and practices significantly impact travellers with disability. This is made worse by the fact that individual airlines and airports are encouraged by government to develop their own <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/aviation/aviation-access-forum-aaf/dafp">Disability Access Facilitation Plans</a>. </p>
<p>So, it is not surprising when news reports highlight instances of assistance dogs being denied travel <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-15/jetstar-assistance-dog-policy-criticised/103221894">domestically</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/travel/jetblue-service-animal-dot-open-form.html">internationally</a>, even when they’ve <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-20/qantas-sued-over-assistance-dog/103223736">previously been approved</a> by other airlines. </p>
<p>Lack of consistency, negative attitudes, stereotypes and prejudices in the air travel industry have resulted in <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/singapore-airlines-disability-discrimination-amputee-b2301471.html">reportedly aggressive eviction of passengers</a> with disability from exit rows. Others report being told to “<a href="https://qdn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Voice-of-Queenslanders-with-Disability-report.pdf">catheterise</a>” (to insert a tube through the urethra to the bladder) to avoid needing toilet facilities on an overseas flight. Many people with disability experience situations like Innes’ where they are subjected to alternative, sometimes undignified, processes. </p>
<p>Ongoing experiences of ableism not only deny people with disability their rights to travel but can also <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09687599.2023.2203307">damage their dignity</a>. Anticipation of discrimination can increase anxiety and stress for travellers with disability or prevent them travelling altogether. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-why-we-need-a-disability-rights-act-not-just-a-disability-discrimination-one-214715">Here's why we need a disability rights act – not just a disability discrimination one</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Slow reform</h2>
<p>These stories and many others point to the need for urgent reform. </p>
<p>Stories shared by more than 60 participants in a special Disability Royal Commission session prompted its chair to <a href="https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au/news-and-media/media-releases/chair-writes-ceos-airlines-and-airports#:%7E:text=The%20Chair%20of%20the%20Disability,their%20experiences%20with%20air%20travel">write directly to the CEOs</a> of Australian airlines and airports, urging them to work on solutions.<br>
The review and modernisation of the <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/transport-accessibility/transport-disability-standards">2002 Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport</a> along with the upcoming release of the Australian government’s <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/aviation/aviation-white-paper">Aviation White Paper</a> could be key mechanisms to address systemic discrimination. But only if key recommendations from disability organisations and advocacy centres are adopted. They include: </p>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/agp2023-submission-c170-australian-federation-of-disability-organisations-and-national-inclusive-transport-advocacy-network.pdf">specific standards</a> for air travel co-designed with people with disability and representative organisations. <a href="https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-04/Universal-Design-for-Transport-TAs-discussion-paper-20220421.pdf">Universal design</a> aims to make products and environments usable by all people, without adaptation. It can play an important role in overcoming the systemic barriers in infrastructure and service design to create more seamless and inclusive transport and air travel experiences </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://piac.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/PIAC-Submission-to-Aviation-Green-Paper.pdf">reportable and enforceable standards</a> and independent oversight, such as funding the Human Rights Commission to oversee compliance. </p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-new-year-means-new-fitness-goals-but-options-for-people-with-disability-are-few-and-far-between-220143">A new year means new fitness goals. But options for people with disability are few and far between</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Complaints are just one route</h2>
<p>The exclusion of people with disability from seamless airline travel is a violation of their fundamental right to freedom of movement. </p>
<p>Decades of travel horror stories in the media, continuing legislative reviews and national enquiries should bring change. Everyone should be able to make journeys with dignity and autonomy. People with disability deserve the same travel privileges as non-disabled Australians. </p>
<p>Governments and the aviation industry will need to collaborate to implement comprehensive accessibility measures, ranging from wheelchair-friendly facilities to trained staff capable of providing appropriate assistance. Embracing inclusivity in air travel not only aligns with the principles of equity but also contributes to a society that celebrates diversity.</p>
<p>For now, there are a number of ways to raise complaints, including with the individual airline or with the <a href="https://humanrights.gov.au/complaints/make-complaint">Human Rights Commission</a>. Raising complaints with the Human Rights Commission can be completed by anyone who experiences discrimination. Legal support and advice may also be sought from some state-based legal aid organisations.</p>
<p>While complaints are one mechanism for change, more proactive methods for change include the disability royal commission’s recommendation for the design and implementation of a <a href="https://teamdsc.com.au/resources/inside-the-disability-royal-commission-s-final-report">Disability Rights Act</a>, which would see human rights enshrined in legislation and facilitate barrier-free travel.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1617374079673339906"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-want-to-get-bogged-at-a-beach-in-my-wheelchair-and-know-people-will-help-micheline-lee-on-the-way-forward-for-the-ndis-213348">'I want to get bogged at a beach in my wheelchair and know people will help'. Micheline Lee on the way forward for the NDIS</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelsey Chapman receives research funding from the Queensland Government. She is a member of the Metro South Health Disability Community Advisory Committee and Health Translation Queensland.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Kendall receives funding from Australian Research Council, Motor Accident Insurance Commission, National Health and Medical Research Council and Medical Research Futures Fund. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Stafford receives funding from Australian Research Council and MRRF. She is affiliated with Transport Australia society (member), Planning Institute of Australia (member) and Disability Leadership Institute (member). This article is mine and my colleagues views only, and is not representing any of these organisations.</span></em></p>If a former disability discrimination commissioner can be subjected to humiliating treatment at an airport, it’s likely the travel experiences of ‘everyday’ Australians with disability are even worse.Kelsey Chapman, Research Fellow Dignity Project, Griffith UniversityElizabeth Kendall, Professor, Director, Griffith Inclusive Futures, Griffith University, Griffith UniversityLisa Stafford, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Inclusive Futures Centre, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146812023-12-27T09:11:10Z2023-12-27T09:11:10ZSelfies and social media: how tourists indulge their influencer fantasies<p>A town in the US state of Vermont <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/vermont-town-banning-influencers-tourists-visiting-fall-foliage-rcna117413">closed its roads to tourists</a> in September 2023 after a social media tag sparked a swarm of visitors that overwhelmed the rural destination.</p>
<p>Videos on TikTok were seen by thousands and the hashtag #sleepyhollowfarm went viral, prompting a tourist rush to the pretty New England town of Pomfret, where visitors tried to take photos of themselves against the countryside backdrop. The town, famous for its fall foliage, criticised this as problematic and “influencer tourism”, part of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738320300426">a travel trend</a> where a social media phenomenon can spark an overwhelming and unexpected rise in visitor numbers.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0002764292036002005?casa_token=gQo4-8jeYdIAAAAA:Oq3Nf5gTtAFK7N00D1NgPO7_zl9ONlOEnzFZnojX6fX1nKXQWJZ4ERn52MlV3abn4fDN4_C4hJjq">Traditionally</a>, we think of tourists as travelling to gain new experiences. They look at sites, take photographs and collect souvenirs. However, this relationship between the tourist and touring is changing.</p>
<p>Driven by <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/how-instagram-changed-the-tourism-industry/a-65348690">24-hour access to social media</a>, some tourists now travel primarily to have an experience that <a href="https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/travel/discover/get-inspired/Global-Travel-Trends">looks good online</a>. Around 75% of people in a recent American Express survey said they had been inspired to visit somewhere by social media. Some tourists may be prompted to choose a destination by seeing a <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/travel-food/a27561982/best-instagram-spots/">backdrop that is popular on social media or on television</a>, in order to create a high-status photo.</p>
<p>The expansion of social media and ubiquity of smartphone cameras has had a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7312">major impact on tourists’ behaviour</a>. This has also led to what’s been called a <a href="https://www.traveldailynews.com/column/articles/who-are-the-selfie-gaze-tourists/">selfie “tourist gaze”</a>, creating photos where the traveller is at the forefront of images rather than the destination.</p>
<p>Indeed, according to my research, increasingly, some tourists go somewhere <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738320300426">to be spotted</a> – to be observed by others both online and in person at these destinations. </p>
<h2>Looking for drama</h2>
<p>Studies have highlighted how tourists <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517715300388?casa_token=W51WkDKJSK8AAAAA:DG99dEWkyYKWIe6hNcLXR4KRApXV24QksHIzrRNcjVY3FngukDgIv9HLHG4o3NV4rqNJtdet">head for</a> particularly dramatic or luxurious destinations because of their social media links. Dubai, for example, with its bling culture and high-end shopping, has become a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/17/in-this-world-social-media-is-everything-how-dubai-became-the-planets-influencer-capital">playground for influencers</a> looking for a luxury backdrop to add to their celebrity-style image. </p>
<p>Some tourists aim to photograph themselves in prestigious locations, rather than taking shots of their <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/13567667221113079?casa_token=xbdUjWECQvMAAAAA:mc4rqleOqgjazW9DAYduW7LaPTu4KEw1DIfbPbWF0vl0efwNPC_GQ0U-HjltguwsIsCoO4ycXgyW7Q">travel surroundings</a>. Others choose to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738320300426">act like mini-celebrities</a> and perform for the camera, expecting and wanting to be looked at by those they encounter – or even narrating their participation in extreme events.</p>
<p>One of these is the <a href="https://www.theadventurists.com/rickshaw-run/">Rickshaw Run</a>, a 2,000km race across India. This adventure tourism event encourages participants to dress up, act eccentrically and get noticed. Driving tuk-tuks around India, from Kerala to Darjeeling, vehicles are personalised with eye-catching designs. Many participants film themselves and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p3wd0ii2oQ">upload the results</a> to social media, and the events tend to create a significant following. For instance, this YouTube video series created by Rickshaw Run participants drew 3.6m subscribers:</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2p3wd0ii2oQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Taking part in the Rickshaw Run.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, some of these tourist “performances” can cause controversy. For instance, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/mexico-tourist-beaten-with-stick-for-climbing-chichen-itza-pyramid/EL5KGLB4CNC5ZONNZCKAMX3LLE/">climbing over</a> fragile archaeological sites in search of social media content might damage them. <a href="https://www.unilad.com/news/russian-tourist-deported-nude-photo-bali-064402-20230330">Posing for laughs</a> in areas considered sacred can offend. The reducing of cultures to <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/selfie-tourists-get-up-easter-islanders-noses-sgfxdtkj7">backdrops for social media content</a> can suggest a lack of interest in or respect for hosts by tourists. </p>
<p>My research points to a growth in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09669582.2016.1263309">narcissism in society</a>, and connects this with what tourists desire from travel and how they act when travelling. This may be reflected in increased sense of entitlement and exhibitionism by tourists who aim to take photos in more difficult to reach locations or off-limit areas, for instance.</p>
<p>Selfie culture arguably promotes <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09528822.2015.1082339?casa_token=tbsXw1drBAEAAAAA:qfSfJBbHWi3x8MSVeoyHBIceP7W_8C55rVctylf-2zRBzx-aG_EeFwvTmHHsOdjQpMd8LVaUrjSo">self-involvement rather than social responsibility</a>. It is well established that tourists <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/1368350050408668198?casa_token=K4p5aZCN8t4AAAAA:96p7f3qNu2WndpE-C-D0rs5mJaOlnJ5F6P4iXQlWQopseMGWuJ_5TiaFmRggxFsEjrMCoAr14Kn4">can be selfish</a>, putting their own comfort and entertainment ahead of concerns about local issues. This is especially true of the super-rich. Private jet users <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/private-jets-can-the-super-rich-supercharge-zero-emission-aviation/">are responsible for</a> half of global aviation emissions.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-tourism-needs-to-be-built-with-the-help-of-locals-211296">Sustainable tourism needs to be built with the help of locals</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>However, the desire to promote the individual and their values could be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09669582.2016.1263309">harnessed to promote</a> more sustainable tourism. Those volunteering abroad might be motivated by the image enhancement opportunities of doing good, but they often offer something back to the social and natural environments of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09669580903395030?casa_token=NvJorz8d1F4AAAAA:AXXTdW7ePimqFkWNg1W5w8umGCBwXIjus0WICRIoNZH_gsdr1hHomvMAQV21PYA2HkLwBGsO_Qus8g">their host destinations</a> in the process.</p>
<p>There are signs that there’s another tourism trend, with travellers looking for deep and meaningful experiences, and ecotourism could help provide those. The act of travelling in a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09669582.2020.1825458">more environmentally friendly way</a> could also be seen as a way to show off, and still provide selfie material. </p>
<p>The environmental pros and cons of tourist self-obsession might be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09669582.2016.1263309">debatable</a>. However, self-fixation is arguably not good for tourists themselves. For example, the desire to “perform” on camera could affect people’s mental health, according to one <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10253866.2018.1467318?casa_token=wI7sETKEKJAAAAAA:ebds6fykbyHAGSXIk9iv6-tyziFSIvganp32S65hiX8KeWlaQDwhPxF_2tWEgkNqssqd-SCE-w_3Eg">study</a>.</p>
<p>Research has shown that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616688.2012.762691?casa_token=Jb9SzAGXBD0AAAAA:L5Q-HhPs9jWtfm0Zq4nB0uFHrZ3W8N7o1Liq0KAIRqC4ivEhKyEexEZN-ACoz1qzm7CMqD96zXOm">unexpected encounters help tourists to gain self-insight</a>. In addition, getting out of your comfort zone can lead to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213078020300074?casa_token=MkMbkdyr_cMAAAAA:LLu44kUbbsP5e-iW-kDdI7iSEo3WkLgH5IvKqb2txZA504q74J4OAhTuXIx8m90oDMSvuiq4Mg">rewarding personal growth</a>.</p>
<h2>A disconnect between self and place</h2>
<p>Taking yet more selfies could cut people off from their surroundings. In doing so, they could be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016073831730097X?casa_token=tOaqrhfVQ-wAAAAA:uxb7djQMWjifvjjgPMZzbq2IQqlgoaGHzWoJkkGbQYQqkbZoeuOqLD91zqwBuWs1SfY7dcK4">less present in the travel experience itself</a>. Indeed, the <a href="https://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-10-29/rise-of-selfie-deaths-leads-experts-to-talk-about-a-public-health-problem.html">growing number</a> of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/15/asia/french-man-selfie-death-intl-scli/index.html">selfie-related tourist deaths</a> might attest to a disconnect between self and place. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6131996/#:%7E:text=selfie-related%20deaths.-,From%20October%202011%20to%20November%202017%2C%20there%20have%20been%20259,respectively%2C%20in%202016%20and%202017">2018 report</a> estimated 259 deaths to have occurred while taking selfies between 2011-2017. </p>
<p>Other research suggests that individuals who are motivated by the desire to present a particular online image may be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211973620301458?casa_token=-HkTUB7WC7cAAAAA:455BE0L2jP-CL1nD18__Ey3fj5GsLmYfKL_EB_P7IWa7lDddpJYIW3UIo5fUjg68e7Nvm7PUlTA#s0050">more likely to take risks</a> with their travel selfies, with potentially fatal consequences. </p>
<p>Tourists have always been somewhat self-obsessed. The 18th-century <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0160738385900027">Grand Tour</a>, a leisurely trip around Europe, allowed the wealthy to <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/what-was-the-grand-tour/">indulge themselves</a> in <a href="https://www.salon.com/2002/05/31/sultry/">ways</a> that might not have been socially acceptable back home. And at the beginning of the 21st century, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738301000305?casa_token=C5eb2NJQvGsAAAAA:YrdY-xjJwBrUE9RjwyOJ3kRBS4-o7e5Jni5sluTCuZOrgnCULybO8EgJtQqsuSL7B5nZJwiH3Q#BIB37">academics worried about</a> self-involved backpacker communities in southeast Asia having little interest in mixing with local people. </p>
<p>What is different about smartphones and social media is that these allow some tourists to present such self-indulgent, and sometimes insensitive, tourism traits immediately. Wifi and mobile data mean that these tourists can travel with one eye on finding the perfect selfie backdrop – filtering and sharing their travel as it happens, responding to likes and comments.</p>
<p>For better or worse, living this influencer fantasy may have become an integral part of tourism for some time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Canavan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The expansion of social media and ubiquity of smartphone cameras has had a major impact on tourists’ behaviour.Brendan Canavan, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189962023-12-07T21:52:07Z2023-12-07T21:52:07ZThe sky’s the limit: A brief history of in-flight entertainment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563048/original/file-20231201-21-2dzmmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C4%2C3105%2C2069&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The in-flight entertainment and connectivity market grew to US$5.9 billion in 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-skys-the-limit-a-brief-history-of-in-flight-entertainment" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As the winter holidays draw near, many of us are already booking flights to see friends and family or vacation in warmer climates. Nowadays, air travel is synonymous with some form of in-flight entertainment, encompassing everything from the reception offered by the aircrew to the food choices and digital content.</p>
<p>These services all add value to flying for customers. Passengers are now so familiar with in-flight entertainment that to travel without it is unthinkable.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/10/19/2762903/0/en/In-Flight-Entertainment-Connectivity-Market-to-Worth-21-03-Bn-by-2030-Exhibiting-With-a-15-9-CAGR.html">The in-flight entertainment and connectivity market grew to US$5.9 billion as of 2019</a>, a testament to its economic impact on both the airlines and the GDP of countries with airline carriers.</p>
<p>In-flight entertainment is so ubiquitous that, even if all other airline services were offered, <a href="https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/19427/will-airlines-compensate-me-if-my-entertainment-system-is-not-working">the airline ensures a refund is made to the passenger affected</a> if television content cannot be accessed.</p>
<h2>A brief history</h2>
<p>In-flight entertainment has evolved significantly over the years. Before in-flight entertainment media was introduced, passengers entertained themselves by reading books or with food and drink services.</p>
<p>The original aim of bringing in-flight entertainment into cabins was to attract more customers, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, including the theatrical and domestic media environments. It was not initially for the comfort and ease of travelling, as it is today. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/5023683/A_History_of_INFLIGHT_ENTERTAINMENT">Inflight entertainment began as an experiment</a> in 1921, when 11 Aeromarine Airways passengers were shown the film <em>Howdy Chicago!</em> on a screen hung in the cabin during the flight. Four years later, another experiment was carried out in 1925 when 12 passengers on board an Imperial Airlines flight from London were shown the film <em>The Lost World</em>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black-and-white photo of a group of men watching a movie projection from behind" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first in-flight movie was shown on board an Aeromarine Airways plane that flew at the Chicago Pageant of Progress in 1921.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Motion Picture News)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/when-did-inflight-movies-become-standard-on-airlines-180955566/">It wasn’t until the 1960s</a> that in-flight movies became mainstream for airlines. Trans World Airlines became the first carrier to regularly offer feature films during flights, using a unique film system developed by <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/06/02/inflight">David Flexer, then-president of Inflight Motion Pictures</a>.</p>
<p>Starting in 1964, in-flight entertainment evolved to include various media types like 16-mm film, closed-circuit television, live television broadcasts and magnetic tape. In the 1970s, for example, airplanes might feature a large screen with a 16-mm projector in one part of the plane, while small screens hung overhead in another section.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/when-did-airlines-install-seatback-entertainment-20190711-h1g51b.html">Seatback screens were introduced in 1988</a> when Airvision installed 6.9-centimetre screens on the backs of airline seats for Northwest Airlines. They have since morphed into the larger screens we are familiar with today, which are found on nearly every airline.</p>
<h2>In-flight entertainment today</h2>
<p>Most airlines nowadays have personal televisions for every passenger on long-haul flights. On-demand streaming and internet access are also now the norm. Despite initial concerns about speed and cost, in-flight services are becoming faster and more affordable.</p>
<p>In-flight entertainment now includes movies, music, radio talk shows, TV talk shows, documentaries, magazines, stand-up comedy, culinary shows, sports shows and kids’ shows.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/inflight-wi-fi-highlights-challenges-of-satellite-broadband-delivery-on-land-and-in-the-sky-75381">Inflight Wi-Fi highlights challenges of satellite broadband delivery on land and in the sky</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>However, the rise of personal devices, like tablets and smartphones, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/the-weird-and-wonderful-history-of-in-flight-entertainment/">could spell the end for seatback screens</a>. A number of U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Alaska Air, have <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/airline-seatback-screens-may-soon-become-an-endangered-species">removed seatback screens from their domestic planes</a>.</p>
<p>This decline is par for the course. To arrive at the complex system used by aircraft today, in-flight entertainment went through a number of different stages, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0641-1_10">as identified by aviation scholar D.A. Reed</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person, seen from behind, looking at a screen mounted on the back of an airplane seat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With the widespread usage of personal electronic devices, seatback screens are on the decline.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It started with an idea phase, which saw the conception of the idea, followed by an arms race phase where most airlines adopted some form of it. Currently, airlines are facing challenges in the final — and current — phase of evolution, and are dealing with failures linked to business concept flaws or low revenue.</p>
<p>Now that most air travellers carry electronic devices, fewer airlines are installing seatback screens. From an economic standpoint, this makes sense for airlines: removing seatback screens <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/business/airlines-travel-entertainment.html">improves fuel costs</a> and allows airlines to <a href="https://www.flightglobal.com/systems-and-interiors/united-ups-757-density-with-new-slimline-seats/126574.article">install slimmer seats</a>, allowing for more passengers.</p>
<h2>More than entertainment</h2>
<p>At some point in the evolution of in-flight entertainment, it started to serve as more than just a form of entertainment or comfort. Now, it’s also a competitive tool for airline advertisements, and a form of cultural production.</p>
<p>In-flight entertainment has become an economic platform for investors, business people, manufacturers and entertainment providers, especially Hollywood. It also plays a key role in promoting the national culture of destination countries.</p>
<p>However, the evolution of in-flight entertainment hasn’t been without its challenges. As a form of cultural production, it often reflects the interests of advertisers, governments and business entities. It also follows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0641-1_10">certain ideas, products and cultures are sold to passengers</a> via in-flight entertainment. </p>
<p>The lucrative practice of capturing and selling passengers’ attention to advertisers was not limited to screens, either. In-flight magazines have always been packed with advertisements, and by the late 1980s, these advertisements had spread to napkins and the audio channels.</p>
<p>Despite its shortcomings and precarious future, in-flight entertainment still offers passengers a sense of comfort, alleviating concerns about being suspended over 30,000 feet above sea level. If you end up flying during the holidays, remember your comfort is partly thanks to this innovation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218996/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olusola Adewumi John does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In-flight entertainment has evolved significantly over the years, from a one-off experiment to the on-demand streaming services many of us are now used to.Olusola Adewumi John, Visiting Researcher, Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2165032023-11-03T17:29:56Z2023-11-03T17:29:56ZIt’s time to limit how often we can travel abroad – ‘carbon passports’ may be the answer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556887/original/file-20231031-15-1auro3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=64%2C0%2C7128%2C4748&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-carries-luggage-airport-terminal-403443151">Shine Nucha/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The summer of 2023 has been very significant for the travel industry. By the end of July, international tourist arrivals globally <a href="https://www.unwto.org/news/international-tourism-swiftly-overcoming-pandemic-downturn">reached 84% of pre-pandemic levels</a>. In <a href="https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/eu-tourism-almost-full-recovery-pre-pandemic-levels-2023-10-23_en">some European countries</a>, such as France, Denmark and Ireland, tourism demand even surpassed its pre-pandemic level.</p>
<p>This may be great <a href="https://skift.com/insight/state-of-travel/">news economically</a>, but there’s concern that a return to the status quo is already showing dire environmental and social consequences. </p>
<p>The summer saw record-breaking heatwaves across many parts of the world. People
were forced to flee <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/24/greece-wildfires-corfu-evia-rhodes-heatwave-northern-hemisphere-extreme-weather-temperatures-europe">wildfires in Greece</a> and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/hawaii-fires-update-biden-b2393188.html">Hawaii</a>, and extreme <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/world-news/foreign-office-issues-spain-weather-27339111">weather warnings</a> were issued in many popular holiday destinations like Portugal, Spain and Turkey. Experts <a href="https://theconversation.com/european-heatwave-whats-causing-it-and-is-climate-change-to-blame-209653">attributed these extreme conditions</a> to climate change.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/european-heatwave-whats-causing-it-and-is-climate-change-to-blame-209653">European heatwave: what’s causing it and is climate change to blame?</a>
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<p>Tourism is part of the problem. The tourism sector <a href="https://wttc.org/Portals/0/Documents/Reports/2021/WTTC_Net_Zero_Roadmap.pdf">generates around one-tenth</a> of the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving the climate crisis.</p>
<p>The negative impacts of tourism on the environment have become so severe that some are suggesting drastic changes to our travel habits are inevitable. In a <a href="https://www.intrepidtravel.com/sites/intrepid/files/basic_page/files/A%20Sustainable%20Future%20For%20Travel%20From%20Crisis%20To%20Transformation-231016-02.pdf">report</a> from 2023 that analysed the future of sustainable travel, tour operator Intrepid Travel proposed that “carbon passports” will soon become a reality if the tourism industry hopes to survive. </p>
<h2>What is a carbon passport?</h2>
<p>The idea of a carbon passport centres on each traveller being assigned a yearly carbon allowance that they cannot exceed. These allowances can then “ration” travel. </p>
<p>This concept may seem extreme. But the idea of personal carbon allowances is not new. A <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmenvaud/565/565.pdf">similar concept</a> (called “personal carbon trading”) was discussed in the House of Commons in 2008, before being shut down due to its perceived complexity and the possibility of public resistance. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/#:%7E:text=A%20carbon%20footprint%20is%20the,is%20closer%20to%204%20tons.">average annual carbon footprint</a> for a person in the US is 16 tonnes – one of the highest rates in the world. In the UK this figure sits at 11.7 tonnes, still more than five times the figure recommended by the <a href="https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/the-average-british-carbon-footprint-is-five-times-over-paris-agreement-recommendations/152669/#:%7E:text=Despite%20rising%20environmental%20awareness%20across,equivalent%20(tCO2e)%20per%20year.">Paris Agreement</a> to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. </p>
<p>Globally, the average annual carbon footprint of a person is closer to 4 tonnes. But, to have the best chance of preventing temperature rise from overshooting 2°C, the average global carbon footprint <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/#:%7E:text=Globally%2C%20the%20average%20carbon%20footprint,tons%20doesn't%20happen%20overnight!">needs to drop</a> to under 2 tonnes by 2050. This figure equates to around <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2019/jul/19/carbon-calculator-how-taking-one-flight-emits-as-much-as-many-people-do-in-a-year">two return flights</a> between London and New York. </p>
<p>Intrepid Travel’s report predicts that we will see carbon passports in action by 2040. However, <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/travel-short-haul-flights-europe-under-fire-climate-change-cop26/">several laws and restrictions</a> have been put in place over the past year that suggest our travel habits may already be on the verge of change.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Boeing 777 with Manhattan in the background lining up on at JFK airport in New York." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556889/original/file-20231031-23-kfakh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Taking a flight from London to New York generates about 986kg of CO₂ per passenger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-january-2-boeing-777-93592174">Eliyahu Yosef Parypa/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Targeting air travel</h2>
<p>Between 2013 and 2018, the amount of CO₂ emitted by commercial aircrafts worldwide <a href="https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/ICCT_CO2-commercl-aviation-2018_20190918.pdf">increased by 32%</a>. Improvements in fuel efficiency are slowly reducing per passenger emissions. But <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231014004889">research</a> from 2014 found that whatever the industry’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions, they will be outweighed by the growth in air traffic. </p>
<p>For emission reductions to have any meaningful effect, ticket prices would have to rise by 1.4% each year, discouraging some people from flying. However, in reality, <a href="https://www.climatecentral.org/news/increase-in-flights-will-outweigh-carbon-cuts-17875">ticket prices are falling</a>.</p>
<p>Some European countries are beginning to take measures to reduce air travel. As of April 1 2023, passengers on short-haul flights and older aircraft in Belgium have been <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/12/12/private-jets-and-short-haul-flights-face-pollution-busting-tax-increases-in-belgium">subject to increased taxes</a> to encourage alternative forms of travel.</p>
<p>Less than two months later France banned <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65687665">short-haul domestic flights</a> where the same trip can be made by train in two-and-a-half hours or less. <a href="https://businesstravelerusa.com/news/spain-to-follow-frances-lead-plans-to-ban-short-haul-domestic-flights/">Spain</a> is expected to follow suit. </p>
<p>A similar scheme could also be on the horizon for Germany. In 2021, a <a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/seventy-percent-germans-favour-banning-short-haul-flights-survey">YouGov poll</a> found that 70% of Germans would support such measures to fight climate change if alternative transport routes like trains or ships were available. </p>
<h2>Cruises and carbon</h2>
<p>It’s not just air travel that’s being criticised. An <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/The-return-of-the-cruise-June-2023.pdf">investigation</a> by the European Federation for Transport and Environment in 2023 found that cruise ships pump four times as many sulphuric gases (which are proven to cause acid rain and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/04/26/cruise-ship-pollution-is-causing-serious-health-and-environmental-problems/?sh=468ee2f637db">several respiratory conditions</a>) into the atmosphere than all of Europe’s 291 million cars combined. </p>
<p>Statistics like these have forced European destinations to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8727387d-590d-43bd-a305-b5ec208a4dfe">take action</a> against the cruise industry. In July, Amsterdam’s council <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66264226">banned cruise ships</a> from docking in the city centre in a bid to reduce tourism and pollution – an initiative that has shown success elsewhere.</p>
<p>In 2019 Venice was the most polluted European port, due to large numbers of cruise ship visits. But it dropped to 41st place in 2022 after a ban on large cruise ships entering the city’s waters <a href="https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/europes-luxury-cruise-ships-emit-as-much-toxic-sulphur-as-1bn-cars-study/">reduced air pollutants from ships</a> in Venice by 80%.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Gondolas in the foreground of a huge cruise ship in Venice." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556894/original/file-20231031-23-krj8r8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2022, Venice imposed a ban on large cruise ships entering the city’s waters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gondolas-on-background-huge-cruise-ship-243221659">Ugis Riba/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Changing destinations</h2>
<p>Intrepid Travel’s report also highlights that not only how we travel, but <a href="https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu/jrc-news-and-updates/global-warming-reshuffle-europes-tourism-demand-particularly-coastal-areas-2023-07-28_en">where we travel</a> will soon be impacted by climate change. Boiling temperatures will probably diminish the allure of traditional beach destinations, prompting European tourists to search for cooler destinations such as Belgium, Slovenia and Poland for their summer holidays. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/Travelers-seek-cooler-destinations-this-summer">Several travel agencies</a> reported seeing noticeable increases in holiday bookings to cooler European destinations like Scandinavia, Ireland and the UK during 2023’s peak summer travel months.</p>
<p>Whatever the solution may be, changes to our travel habits look inevitable. Destinations across the globe, from <a href="https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/barcelonas-war-on-tourism-ada-colau/">Barcelona</a> to the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/italy-tourism-bans-controls-fees-restrictions/a-66453047">Italian riveria</a> and even <a href="https://theconversation.com/death-on-everest-the-boom-in-climbing-tourism-is-dangerous-and-unsustainable-114033">Mount Everest</a> are already calling for limits on tourist numbers as they struggle to cope with crowds and pollution. </p>
<p>Holidaymakers should prepare to change their travel habits now, before this change is forced upon them. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 20,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216503/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ross Bennett-Cook does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The clock could be ticking for the travel industry unless action is taken to change our travel habits.Ross Bennett-Cook, Visiting Lecturer, School of Architecture + Cities, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2164342023-11-01T02:47:29Z2023-11-01T02:47:29ZUsing social media for your holiday ‘inspo’ can be risky and even dangerous – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556969/original/file-20231031-25-mj1uy2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C20%2C4332%2C2566&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Figure Eight Pools in NSW.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/figure-8-pools-holiday-773525620">nakarin.ch7/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How do you choose your next travel destination? Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are handy tools for holiday research, full of #inspo for new and beautiful places to go.</p>
<p>However, behind those mesmerising selfies, highlights and reels, there’s often a stark reality that isn’t shared. Our <a href="https://www.jmir.org/2023/1/e47202">ongoing research</a> shows that dangers abound from social media related misadventures. These include the hidden dangers of getting to the location, as well as the ecological strains on sites that get overcrowded with tourists.</p>
<p>Australia, with its breathtaking natural wonders, is no stranger to the downsides of social media tourism. Many people have been injured, needed rescue or even perished when visiting trendy places. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trampling-plants-damaging-rock-art-risking-your-life-taking-selfies-in-nature-has-a-cost-211901">Trampling plants, damaging rock art, risking your life: taking selfies in nature has a cost</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The illusion of safety</h2>
<p>Influencers are in the business of presenting the best version of their experiences – not necessarily the safest. Our interviews with influencers who make content of beautiful places in nature, reveal that they see themselves as entertainers more than guides.</p>
<p>When it comes to the risks associated with the places they promote, they don’t view safety communication as their responsibility.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/lookouts/figure-eight-pools">Figure Eight Pools</a> in New South Wales’ Royal National Park are one potent reminder of how online portrayals and reality don’t always match up. The photos showcase tranquil pools with glistening waters. But many visitors, enticed by these images, have faced the peril of sudden large waves washing over the rock shelf and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-28/call-to-close-access-to-social-media-favourite-figure-8-pools/10853854">even causing injuries</a>.</p>
<p>Babinda Boulders, near Cairns in Queensland, is another such location. Wrapped in lush rainforests, this waterhole might seem inviting, but its <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/calls-for-change-aussie-tourist-spot-qld-21-deaths-babinda-boulders-060358597.html">tragic history of drownings</a> speaks volumes – 21 drownings since 1965, and three since 2020.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-962" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/962/4183438c91d92e8e594f9a0700092002547b3c60/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Despite this, the pull of picturesque posts lures visitors into prohibited and <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/warnings/grim-truth-about-deadly-queensland-waterhole/news-story/5f02dfcc25edb2978022d41eebed03ca">dangerous areas</a>.</p>
<p>Josephine Falls in Queensland has also <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/aussies-fume-over-dangerous-mistake-at-deadly-waterfall-theres-always-one-064337596.html">experienced numerous incidents</a>, all requiring resource-intensive rescues. Unfortunately, for many visitors, the warnings provided by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service are to no avail – the lure of social media content is simply too strong.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556970/original/file-20231031-23-r4q08r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A picturesque waterfall with a natural azure pool in front of it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556970/original/file-20231031-23-r4q08r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556970/original/file-20231031-23-r4q08r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556970/original/file-20231031-23-r4q08r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556970/original/file-20231031-23-r4q08r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556970/original/file-20231031-23-r4q08r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556970/original/file-20231031-23-r4q08r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556970/original/file-20231031-23-r4q08r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Josephine Falls in Wooroonooran National Park, Queensland, can be subject to flash flooding at any time of year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/trip-josephine-falls-queensland-australia-1911495436">JuliaHermann/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A burden on local infrastructure</h2>
<p>Aesthetically pleasing, curated tourism content sets unrealistic expectations. Visitors who want to see the “insta-famous” scenery often find themselves underprepared for the actual experiences, sometimes leading to unsafe choices.</p>
<p>Drone shots can be particularly misleading. While they capture expansive vistas from above, they mask the ground-level challenges and dangers.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.grampiansguide.com.au/explore-location/37/the-balconies/">The Balconies</a> in the Grampians National Park in Victoria is another infamous spot for taking risky photos for Instagram. To get the photo they came for, tourists must traverse a barrier. The viral content has led ever-increasing numbers of people to these rocks for a shot – risking their lives for the same photo hundreds of others have posted.</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-963" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/963/b612524d8c78779f930243d11b92356d3902097e/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Additionally, geotagging (attaching metadata, such as latitude and longitude coordinates, to a photo) has its merits, offering travellers directions to exact locations. However, it’s a double-edged sword.</p>
<p>When a location becomes popular on social media, the influx of visitors can strain local infrastructure. As <a href="https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/south-coast/jervis-bay-and-shoalhaven/hyams-beach">Hyams Beach</a> in NSW went viral on various platforms, the once-peaceful coastal village grappled with traffic congestion and overwhelmed local resources.</p>
<p>Lincoln’s Rock in the Blue Mountains in NSW, once a little-known spot, was transformed by geotagged posts into a magnet for tourists and influencers. Some would engage in risky behaviours at the cliff edge. It’s one of many lookouts that once had few footprints, and is now a popular vista with little infrastructure. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="TiktokEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.tiktok.com/@viewswithdav/video/7278942718376660231?q=lincolns%20rock%20australia\u0026t=1698291641680"}"></div></p>
<p>Some regional areas simply don’t have the infrastructure or capacity to handle a large influx of tourists. As social media algorithms <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3356">push trending posts even further</a>, once-secluded gems face threats of overtourism.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dangerous-selfies-arent-just-foolish-we-need-to-treat-them-like-the-public-health-hazard-they-really-are-200645">Dangerous selfies aren't just foolish. We need to treat them like the public health hazard they really are</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Be a responsible tourist</h2>
<p>While it’s easy to fall prey to the siren call of viral destinations, it’s essential to approach with caution and do proper research before you set out.</p>
<p>It’s important to stay aware of your surroundings, especially in natural areas, and not get tunnel vision, or “<a href="https://theconversation.com/metourism-the-hidden-costs-of-selfie-tourism-87865">tourist gaze</a>”.</p>
<p>Fortunately, in Australia, national parks provide detailed information about popular locations. They can be relied upon to give accurate information and a true representation of the area, including safety information and guides for great hikes and the best lookouts.</p>
<p>All states in Australia have parks agencies that provide this information online (and they’re on social media, too).</p>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-964" class="tc-infographic" height="400px" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/964/b56b02bd5c1accfd6f19f18a6e549b4f667c66bf/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Things to keep in mind</h2>
<ol>
<li><p>Social media is a highlight reel. Before diving into that enticing pool or hiking that mountain, do thorough research. Don’t let it be your last swim</p></li>
<li><p>engage with locals, understand the history, the culture, and importantly, respect the environment </p></li>
<li><p>it’s also essential to challenge the content we consume and share. By geotagging responsibly and authentically portraying experiences, we can safeguard Australia’s treasures</p></li>
<li><p>social media is a powerful tool but needs to be wielded wisely. Australia’s natural wonders are worth more than just a fleeting snapshot; they deserve our utmost respect and care.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, as you scroll through your feed, dreaming of your next escape, remember that every location has a story beyond its pixels. Dive deep, explore responsibly, and treasure the real over the reel. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/your-first-emotion-is-panic-rips-cause-many-beach-drownings-but-we-can-learn-from-the-survivors-210982">'Your first emotion is panic': rips cause many beach drownings, but we can learn from the survivors</a>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=115&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498128/original/file-20221129-22-imtnz0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=144&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>The Conversation is commissioning articles by academics across the world who are researching how society is being shaped by our digital interactions with each other. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/social-media-and-society-125586">Read more here</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216434/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Cornell receives funding from Meta Platforms, Inc. His research is also supported by a UNSW University Postgraduate Award, as well as project funding from the Royal Life Saving Society - Australia. He is affiliated with Surf Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving NSW.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Peden receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Meta Platforms, Royal Life Saving Society - Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia. She holds an honorary affiliated with Royal Life Saving Society - Australia. </span></em></p>The content on social media platforms doesn’t always portray the locations accurately, setting unrealistic expectations and even luring tourists into trouble.Samuel Cornell, PhD Candidate, School of Population Health, UNSW SydneyAmy Peden, NHMRC Research Fellow, School of Population Health & co-founder UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125932023-09-13T08:07:31Z2023-09-13T08:07:31ZWhy China’s real estate crisis should make the global travel industry nervous<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547128/original/file-20230908-23-4t57w9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=66%2C0%2C10671%2C4464&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The global tourism industry is rebounding – but cautious Chinese consumers are choosing to stay closer to home.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/shanghai-royalty-free-image/859753342">DuKai photographer/Moment/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Once upon a time – in 2019 – tourists from China were among the best-traveled in the world. They collectively spent <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/worlds-biggest-tourism-spenders-arent-travelingand-may-not-for-years-3195de39">more than US$250 billion</a> abroad – nearly twice as much as their nearest competitors, the Americans – and <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-11/11/c_139509342.htm">logged more than 150 million departures</a> on international flights that year.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/13548166211041209">shook the Chinese travel industry</a>, as it did the world’s. But despite the easing of pandemic restrictions – and a <a href="https://www.unwto.org/news/tourism-on-track-for-full-recovery-as-new-data-shows-strong-start-to-2023">global tourism rebound</a> – Chinese tourists have been <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/0d27a68c-7ca0-4069-a401-a5522755d9d1">slow to return</a> to the global skies. The reason, interestingly enough, could be found in the very land and houses Chinese planes fly over.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GG5p4TkAAAAJ&hl=en">a professor of marketing</a> who specializes in consumer psychology, I’m interested in how China’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/20/business/china-property-crisis-country-garden.html">struggling real estate sector</a> is dragging down consumer spending – and having an effect on tourist destinations around the world.</p>
<h2>Real property, real problems</h2>
<p>To understand the issue, first you need to understand China’s current real estate crisis. Just how bad is it? China’s largest developer, Country Garden, lost <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/business/china-country-garden-share-sell.html">$7.1 billion</a> in the first six months of 2023; investors concerned about <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/default-dodged-country-gardens-upcoming-debt-payments-stir-worries-2023-09-07/">potential debt default</a> have sent its stock plummeting. </p>
<p>Another major developer, the troubled China Evergrande Group, posted a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66636359">$4.5 billion loss</a> over the same period and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-evergrande-files-protection-us-court-part-32-bln-debt-overhaul-2023-08-18/">sought bankruptcy protection</a> in the U.S. last month. It gained international attention in 2021 after it <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/10/business/evergrande-government-intervention-intl-hnk/index.html">defaulted on $300 billion</a> of debt, sparking the current crisis. </p>
<p><iframe id="mMvLx" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/mMvLx/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>One major – if indirect – reason China’s real estate industry is so shaky is that local governments are <a href="https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_13283501">heavily dependent</a> on tax revenue from land sales, as well as property taxes and real estate development fees. At the same time, about 70% of the general population’s assets are <a href="https://www.sohu.com/a/665428422_121123889">invested in real estate</a>.</p>
<p>Those facts enticed developers and local governments alike to borrow excessively to fund new development. When the central government started to implement <a href="https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H301_AP202305101586440193_1.pdf">more stringent regulations</a> to curb speculation and control prices, the market predictably cooled – and has kept cooling. In July 2023, new home sales from China’s top 100 developers were down 33% from the previous year. Prices are slumping, too.</p>
<p>This has had a cascade of effects on the Chinese economy. Most immediately, as demand for construction materials and labor has fallen, hiring has cooled and consumers are <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinas-economy-shows-fresh-signs-of-weakness-in-factories-consumer-spending-ad46fa8a">tightening their belts</a>. Local governments are also struggling to stay afloat with less revenue, with some provinces being forced to <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/civil-service-pay-cuts-reflect-china-s-economic-struggles-/7202609.html">slash government salaries and benefits</a>.</p>
<h2>Why staycations suddenly appeal</h2>
<p>The situation is especially challenging for homeowners, who are burdened with shrinking wealth as housing prices fall. This has had a ripple effect on spending, as cautious consumers increasingly prioritize their savings – worsening the economic challenge for businesses across the country.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly – at least to anyone who’s paid attention to the world economy – what happens in China doesn’t stay in China. And the global tourism industry has been hit particularly hard as newly budget-conscious Chinese homeowners pare back their spending. </p>
<p>As of April 2023, Chinese tourism to Japan <a href="https://www.163.com/dy/article/I5GR1FB40544QVMF.html">was down some 85% since 2019</a>, even though overall visits to Japan had rebounded to 70% of pre-pandemic levels. Chinese tourism to popular European destinations such as France, Switzerland, Greece and Spain <a href="https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/reisebranche-europa-wartet-sehnsuechtig-auf-touristen-aus-china/29020102.html">has also fallen sharply</a>. All in all, China’s outbound travel spending is forecast to be <a href="http://travel.china.com.cn/txt/2023-06/05/content_86374824.shtml">down nearly 70%</a> this year from its pre-pandemic peak.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547612/original/file-20230911-23-ppbxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Beneath a sign reading Sal Tours, a man and woman behind a desk show paperwork to a woman in front of the desk." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547612/original/file-20230911-23-ppbxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547612/original/file-20230911-23-ppbxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547612/original/file-20230911-23-ppbxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547612/original/file-20230911-23-ppbxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547612/original/file-20230911-23-ppbxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547612/original/file-20230911-23-ppbxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547612/original/file-20230911-23-ppbxez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A customer discusses overseas travel opportunities with two employees at an agency in Chengdu, China, on Feb. 10, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/citizen-consults-about-overseas-travel-products-at-a-travel-news-photo/1247045092">Tang Wenhao/Xinhua via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>To be fair, tourism within China is bouncing back – to a degree – as frugal travelers increasingly opt to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/26/china-travel-boom-happen-but-recovery-is-underway.html">vacation closer to home</a>. The China Tourism Academy predicts that domestic tourism will hit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-28/china-s-domestic-tourism-to-hit-90-of-pre-covid-levels-in-2023">90% of pre-pandemic levels</a> in 2023. But that alone won’t offset the impact of lower consumer confidence. Part of the reason is that the amount of money <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-domestic-travel-recovery-marred-by-anti-spending-special-forces-2023-05-17/">travelers are willing to spend</a> is down.</p>
<p>And faced with demand challenges as well as the effects of COVID-19 and geopolitical strife, Chinese travel agencies have been shuttering en masse in recent years. From January to April 2022, some 8,500 tourism agents and firms <a href="https://finance.sina.com.cn/chanjing/cyxw/2022-05-12/doc-imcwiwst7042907.shtml">declared bankruptcy</a>. Even assuming some reopen, that churn and disruption bode ill for the sector.</p>
<p>Global tourism has faced a challenging few years, with the pandemic and increased fuel costs putting off would-be travelers. With Chinese consumers feeling down in the dumps over the economy and opting for modest vacations, a recovery will be that much harder.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212593/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zhiyong Yang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Big-spending Chinese tourists once buoyed the global travel industry. But with Chinese economy looking a little shaky, more are staying at home.Zhiyong Yang, Professor of Marketing, Miami UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2118212023-08-31T03:41:34Z2023-08-31T03:41:34ZHow can I get better sleep on long-haul flights?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545666/original/file-20230831-16733-lxnmp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=784%2C95%2C1212%2C901&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/vladivostok-russia-september-08-2013-passengers-312891566">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For most of us, the prospect of a long-haul flight is exciting, mixed with a few nerves. We’re off somewhere different – perhaps a holiday, maybe to catch up with friends or family. Even work can be more interesting when you’re in a new location.</p>
<p>Of course, you want to arrive fully rested and ready to go. But by its very definition, a long-haul flight involves travelling for a long period of time, often more than 12 hours. If you’re on a flight from New York to Singapore, it can be close to 19 hours.</p>
<p>All that time you’re confined in a seat that’s <em>supposed</em> to recline but feels like it hardly moves, while the seat in front seems to recline ten times lower than yours.</p>
<p>So, what can you do to get a a decent rest?</p>
<h2>Accept the situation</h2>
<p>The first tip for sleep in this setting is to relax your expectations a little.</p>
<p>Humans are just not well designed to sleep in an almost upright position. Unless you’re lucky to fly in a class with a lie-flat seat, you’re very unlikely to step off a long-haul flight having had a solid eight hours of sleep.</p>
<p>Research by colleagues and myself <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/36/1/109/2656896">has shown</a> pilots – who get a bunk to sleep in during their in-flight rest breaks – have light and fragmented sleep. Despite not having great quality sleep, you can be assured <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jsr.12071?casa_token=S_3bRlU31x8AAAAA:BDeXhWwlMUXfDvtz59M0eSRGfXiK2jm45Tsr5uzMM02t3hktXfEEzU9OjSdGwbVZ_YuCIoUvnpDaKO0">our research</a> <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem/2014/00000085/00000012/art00007">also shows</a> pilots remain very good at their job throughout a long-haul flight. This, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/07420528.2012.719957?casa_token=zoFj2qt5RPMAAAAA%3ANeXdd1ALMMv9zxRJF3GhpoCS3u3eT8Q_kmNqFpsWh7oz1dLyVJgDpU3vo547iGotvX5d9CCiTfi62g">plus findings</a> from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780444537027000099">many other lab-based studies</a>, tells us that even a short amount of light sleep has benefits.</p>
<p>So, even if you can’t get your usual eight hours during the flight, <em>any</em> sleep you do get will help you feel and function better at your destination.</p>
<p>Also, we’re not great at judging how much sleep we’ve had, particularly if our sleep is light and broken. So you’re likely to have slept more than you think.</p>
<h2>Time your sleep and drinks</h2>
<p>The timing of your flight, and consumption of alcohol and caffeine will directly impact your ability to sleep on an aircraft.</p>
<p>Assuming you’re adjusted to the time zone the flight departs from, daytime flights will make sleep on board much harder, whereas nighttime flights make sleep easier.</p>
<p>All humans have a circadian (24-hour) time-keeping system, which programs us for sleep at night and wakefulness during the day. Sleeping (or waking) against this biological time-keeping system poses significant challenges.</p>
<p>We do have a natural decrease of alertness in the middle of the afternoon, which makes this a good time to try for sleep on a daytime flight. On nighttime flights it will be easier to sleep once the dinner service is finished, otherwise you will be battling noise, light and the movement of people around you.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-can-you-pay-off-your-sleep-debt-11618">Explainer: can you pay off your 'sleep debt'?</a>
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<p>As a stimulant, caffeine helps us stay alert. Even if you’re a regular coffee drinker and can fall asleep after drinking caffeine, your sleep will be lighter and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2016.01.006">you’ll be more easily woken</a>.</p>
<p>On the other hand, alcohol makes us feel sleepy, but it interferes with our brains’ ability to have REM sleep (also known as dreaming sleep). Although you may fall asleep more easily after consuming alcohol, your sleep will be more disturbed once your body metabolises the alcohol and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5821259/">attempts to catch up</a> on the REM sleep it’s missed out on.</p>
<h2>What about taking melatonin or other drugs?</h2>
<p>Some people find taking a sleeping tablet or melatonin can help on a plane. This is a very personal choice.</p>
<p>Before taking sleeping medication or melatonin you should see your doctor, and only take what’s prescribed for you. Many sleeping medications <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cnsnddt/2023/00000022/00000002/art00006">do not allow perfectly normal sleep to occur</a> and can make you feel <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3657033">groggy and drowsy</a> after waking.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-cant-sleep-what-drugs-can-i-safely-take-102343">I can't sleep. What drugs can I (safely) take?</a>
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<p>Importantly, melatonin is a hormone our brains use to tell us it’s nighttime. Melatonin can assist with sleep, but depending on when and how much you take, it can also shift your circadian clock. This could shift you further away from being aligned with the destination time zone.</p>
<p>Taking melatonin in your biological afternoon and evening will shift your circadian time-keeping system east (or earlier) and taking it toward the end of your biological night and in your biological morning will shift the circadian time-keeping system west (or later). It gets complicated very quickly!</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with long hair folded over on an airplane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Our muscles naturally relax when we’re asleep, making it difficult to keep the head supported.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nanjing-china-june-19-2018-people-1130883641">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Prepare your clothes and accessories</h2>
<p>Be prepared so you can create the best possible sleep situation within the constraints of an aircraft seat.</p>
<p>Wear comfy layers, so you can take things off if you get too hot or put things on when you cool down, and hang on to that blanket instead of losing it under your seat.</p>
<p>Light and noise disturb sleep, so pack eye shades and earplugs (or a noise cancelling headset) to block these out. Practice with eye shades and earplugs at home, as it can take a few sleeps to get used to them.</p>
<p>A normal and necessary part of the falling asleep process is relaxation, including our neck muscles. When sitting up, this means our heavy heads will no longer be well supported, resulting in that horrible head-dropping experience most of us have had. Try supporting your head with a neck pillow or, if you have a window seat, against the aircraft wall. (Unless you know the person in the next seat well, they are probably not a good option to prop you up.)</p>
<h2>Don’t try to force it</h2>
<p>Finally, if you wake up and are struggling to go back to sleep, don’t fight it. </p>
<p>Take advantage of the in-flight entertainment. This is one of the few times sleep scientists will tell you it’s okay to turn on the technology – watch a movie, binge-watch a TV series, or if you prefer, listen to music or read a good book.</p>
<p>When you feel sleepy, you can try going back to sleep, but don’t get stressed or worried about getting enough sleep. Our brains are very good at sleeping – trust that your body will catch you up when it can.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jetlag-hits-differently-depending-on-your-travel-direction-here-are-6-tips-to-get-over-it-196730">Jetlag hits differently depending on your travel direction. Here are 6 tips to get over it</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211821/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leigh Signal, or the research team she is a member of, have received funding from Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Royal Society of New Zealand, South African Airways, Air New Zealand, Delta Air Lines, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research.</span></em></p>A sleep scientist explains how to maximise your chances of getting decent rest while trapped on a plane.Leigh Signal, Professor in Fatigue Management and Sleep Health/Associate Dean, Research, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2122382023-08-30T21:56:05Z2023-08-30T21:56:05ZCanada warns LGBTQ+ travellers about the U.S., but those seeking refuge here aren’t always welcomed<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/canada-warns-lgbtq-travellers-about-the-us-but-those-seeking-refuge-here-arent-always-welcomed" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The Canadian government recently issued a <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/global-affairs-canada-issues-lgbtq2s-travel-advisory-for-united-states-1.6539763">travel advisory</a> warning LGBTQ+ people about travel south of the border. </p>
<p>Global Affairs Canada updated its travel advice for the United States to warn LGBTQ+ travellers about state laws that may affect them. <a href="https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/roundup-of-anti-lgbtq-legislation-advancing-in-states-across-the-country">Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in U.S. state legislatures and dozens have been enacted</a>. </p>
<p>Many LGBTQ+ people around the world still face abuse and discrimination, whether it’s from official state policies, family members, peer groups or faith communities. Canada is often seen as a more welcoming country and has become an <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/canada-role/2slgbtqi-plus.html">attractive destination for many seeking to emigrate</a>. </p>
<p>Canada recognizes same-sex marriage and has laws that protect <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection-R/LoPBdP/CIR/921-e.htm">gender and sexual minorities</a>. However, this does not result in a warm welcome. The lived experiences of LGBTQ+ newcomers tell a story that, despite the image of being welcoming, Canada has not made enough progress to protect and welcome LGBTQ+ refugees. </p>
<h2>Challenges for LGBTQ+ newcomers</h2>
<p>Hopes are high that LGBTQ+ refugee transition to Canada will be much safer with the recent announcement of a <a href="https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2023/06/08/providing-lgbtqi-people-safe-home-canada">partnership between the federal government and Rainbow Railroad</a> — an organization that helps LGBTQ+ people fleeing persecution. </p>
<p>Canada presents itself as a nation that offers a warm welcome to individuals of any background. Unfortunately, there is a lot more work needed to make the transition of LGBTQ+ refugees safe and welcoming. Heteronormative ideas dominate social relations in Canada and this influences how refugees are treated.</p>
<p>Say an LGBTQ+ person comes to Canada seeking asylum. They disclose their sexual identity and reasons why they fear returning home to immigration officials. They will gain entry into Canada once officials are satisfied their request for asylum is legitimate. </p>
<p>However, the individual who makes the claim must <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/after-lifetime-of-hiding-gay-refugees-to-canada-expected-to-prove-theiridentity/article34858343/">somehow prove their sexual identity</a> and live up to western stereotypes of LGBTQ+ communities. Doing so can be very difficult. Refugees may likely have had to keep their sexual identity hidden for fear of being persecuted. In addition, they may not identify with western preconceptions of what LGBTQ+ identities should look like. </p>
<p>They also face the added stress of an immigration system that limits the number of refugees admitted. <a href="https://upstreamjournal.org/coming-out-as-an-lgbt-refugee-in-canada/">They run the risk of being returned to a country where they fear being persecuted</a>. </p>
<p>Additionally, Canadian society continues to have a strong element of homophobia and transphobia despite the legal protections. LGBTQ+ Canadians face challenges in society that other groups do not. LGBTQ+ youth are <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/population-specific/lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-transsexual-queer">over-represented among the homeless population</a> and face more family and peer rejection than others. <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-record-jump-in-lgbtq-religious-hate-crimes-cases-reported-to-police/">Hate crimes due to sexual identity continue to rise</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00940798.2022.2090263">Research notes</a> that LGBTQ+ refugees experience a lack of access to resources such as health agencies and living arrangements that are specific to their community. They risk losing social support if they live as their authentic selves. LGBTQ+ newcomers often face the choice between living their true identity or hiding it in order to find acceptance.</p>
<p>Newcomers often rely on relatives who are already established in Canada. Yet unaccepting family members can be a source of abuse for LGBTQ+ individuals.</p>
<p>While the transition to another country is difficult for all newcomers, support from an ethnic or religious community can make it easier. However, an LGBTQ+ individual can be in a difficult position if their community is hostile to their identity. Many might experience rejection by faith communities and be fearful of approaching any once they arrive in Canada. </p>
<h2>Creating a supportive environment</h2>
<p>LGBTQ+ refugees can experience a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17525098.2017.1300354">less than welcoming reception</a> in Canada. Racism, homophobia and transphobia are part of the lived experiences of newcomers. The portrayal of Canada as a warm and welcoming country is not always the reality for those who come here. However, there are steps the government can take to make the transition safer. </p>
<p>First, ensure that the refugee process is more LGBTQ+ friendly and is not based off of western stereotypes. Immigration agents need to recognize the difficulty for individuals to prove an identity they’ve spent their entire lives hiding.</p>
<p>Second, Canada can make more of an effort to connect individuals with communities that support the rights of sexual minorities. For instance, there are some efforts among faith communities to be <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/2slgbt-faith-religion-1.6489746">affirming of LGBTQ+ individuals</a>. This has great potential as individuals can find a community that provides the support they may lose from others. </p>
<p>Canada should design and support developing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13691058.2017.1298843">resources</a> with the LGBTQ+ community in mind. These can include group counselling sessions, health clinics and doctors trained to work with LGBTQ+ people and supporting social groups where LGBTQ+ individuals can be open and comfortable with others.</p>
<p>Third, governments and experts must continue to teach the public about the need for all individuals to be treated with respect and welcome. Canadian society should not be of the opinion that because official policy has been set then everything has been settled. The general public needs consistent messaging that challenges anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.</p>
<p>By taking these steps, Canada could live up to the image that all people of all backgrounds are truly welcome here.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212238/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Chapados does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Canada has taken positive steps in recognizing and supporting LGBTQ+ communities. However, that support does not always extend to people seeking asylum.Andrew Chapados, PhD Student, Philosophy, Sociology, Social Justice, University of WindsorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2104662023-08-23T20:07:47Z2023-08-23T20:07:47ZHigh interest rates are not bad news for everyone. Just ask savers, importers and Australians heading overseas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541857/original/file-20230809-28-od1v06.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=327%2C0%2C9134%2C6260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/solar-panel-money-investment-house-roof-2214389269">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining Australia’s cost of living crisis. You can read the other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cost-of-living-series-144357">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>It is a universally acknowledged truth that interest-rate rises are always a bad thing for the average Australian household.</p>
<p>They are just a punitive form of economic medicine we have to take from time to time, on the say-so of the Reserve Bank of Australia - but nobody enjoys it. Except perhaps the sadistic central bankers.</p>
<p>And this is probably true for anybody with a mortgage. That might describe the majority of economic commentators, but it is not true of all Australians.</p>
<p>While higher interest rates are bad for borrowers, and therefore good for savers, there are in fact many ways higher interest rates directly help (a subset of) Australian households.</p>
<h2>Higher cash rates means lower house prices</h2>
<p>One of the most direct effects of the higher cash rate is its impact on households’ ability to finance the purchase of a new house. Whether you are a first home buyer, a repeat buyer or an investor, a higher interest rate will limit what you can borrow and therefore the amount you’re able to pay.</p>
<p>Accordingly, a higher cash rate leads to lower house prices. This is great news for young Australians yet to buy their first home.</p>
<p>Buying into the property market is especially hard in Australia these days, and lower housing prices is great news for these households who have up until now been locked out of owning a home.</p>
<p>A higher cash rate means they will pay more on their mortgage if they are successful. But the Reserve Bank’s calculations suggest that in the medium term home buyers are better off when higher rates lower house prices.</p>
<h2>The higher the rate, the healthier the returns</h2>
<p>Whether you are saving to buy a car, a house or just for retirement, a higher interest rate will mean you get more bang for your buck on your deposits at the bank. For anyone who has yet to take on a mortgage or has already paid theirs off, higher interest rates mean they will be better placed to build their savings.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/rdp/2016/2016-12.html">Analysis of HILDA data</a> by the Reserve Bank suggests these net-savers are less likely to own a home, less likely to be employed, and consume far less than their debt-ridden cousins.</p>
<p>While there is a lot of heterogeneity in the broad category of “savers”, we should welcome the extra income to young households who haven’t yet been fortunate enough to be burdened with a million-dollar mortgage.</p>
<p>While a lot of Australians invest their savings in the stock market either directly or indirectly via their superannuation funds, many retirees transfer their assets to less volatile forms of savings such as term deposits or cash savings. A higher interest rate greatly increases the return that retirees and pensioners receive on both these sources of savings.</p>
<p>Rate rises haven’t received nearly as much press as the increase in mortgage rates, but interest rates for savings accounts have also risen over the past year.</p>
<h2>Higher interest rates are great for travellers</h2>
<p>Whenever the Reserve Bank increases the cash rate, the dollar is directly affected. A higher interest rate means a <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/rdp/2019/2019-07.html">stronger Australian dollar</a>. This is a boon to anybody who wants to travel overseas.</p>
<p>The stronger Australian dollar means that whether you are buying a pint of beer in London or a piña colada in Puerto Rico, it will be cheaper for you to spend your money overseas, and your holidays will be more affordable as a result.</p>
<p>The combination of a strong Australian dollar and a weak pound means there has never been a better time to visit the United Kingdom and enjoy some warm beer and mushy peas!</p>
<h2>High interest rates are great for anyone who drives</h2>
<p>Just as a stronger Australian dollar makes overseas travel cheaper, it also keeps the price of imports down. And Australia imports a lot of important goods.</p>
<p>Our biggest single import is cars. Australia imports all its cars, ever since the demise of the local car manufacturing industry. The second biggest import is refined petroleum. Given that cars, and the fuel that runs them, is a non-discretionary good for most households, keeping their price low is important for most consumers.</p>
<p>Higher interest rates help do exactly that, keeping our dollar strong and the price of new cars and petrol down.</p>
<h2>But what about my mortgage?</h2>
<p>This is not to say that the conventional wisdom - that higher rates are a net negative for the modal household - is wrong. Obviously anyone who is paying off a mortgage debt of hundreds of thousands of dollars is going to be financially disadvantaged by higher interest rates.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-interest-rates-are-not-bad-news-for-everyone-just-ask-savers-importers-and-australians-heading-overseas-210466">High interest rates are not bad news for everyone. Just ask savers, importers and Australians heading overseas</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>But it’s important to keep in mind that not all Australian households are net-borrowers, and that there is nothing inherently evil about higher interest rates.</p>
<p>There are many reasons why a higher interest rate is a good outcome, far better than a world in which rates are trapped at 0 per cent forever. High interest rates may not be here forever. We should enjoy them while we can.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210466/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Isaac Gross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We hear a lot about the negative impact of rate rises on mortgage repayments while little is made of the benefits of high interest rates.Isaac Gross, Lecturer in Economics, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1807152023-08-18T13:30:45Z2023-08-18T13:30:45ZHow the tourism industry – and other travellers – can help families of autistic children get the break they deserve<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543246/original/file-20230817-17-qp0zf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=100%2C84%2C5506%2C3648&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-family-jumping-together-on-beach-286469927">Tom Wang/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Going on a family holiday is <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261216568_Backer_E_Schanzel_H_2012_The_stress_of_the_family_holiday_in_H_Schanzel_I_Yeoman_E_Backer_Eds_Family_Tourism_Multi_Disciplinary_Perspectives_Channel_View_Publications">not always a relaxing</a> experience. It can involve traffic jams, airport queues and stress. Even so, most of us look forward to going away for the change of scenery and break from our everyday routines. </p>
<p>For autistic children, though, these changes in environment and routine can be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269983758_Holiday_What_Holiday_Vacation_Experiences_of_Children_with_Autism_and_Their_Families">difficult to cope with</a>. And <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13683500.2023.2233040">our research</a> suggests that this can make their family holidays extremely fraught affairs.</p>
<p>Some of the British parents we spoke to said the challenges of taking their autistic children away on holiday were so great that they would only go on short trips (35% only ever spent one or two nights away). Many did their best to avoid peak travel times and other situations in which their child might become overstimulated. </p>
<p>A large majority (over 80%) only ever took their holidays in the UK, rather than going abroad. Some said they chose not to go away on holiday at all, and took day trips instead to avoid overnight stays.</p>
<p>Many told us that having an autistic child had a significant effect on when, where and how they took family holidays. One parent commented: “I need a holiday myself by the time I get back from having my son full-time on my own.” </p>
<p>Another said their latest holiday was so “traumatic [that it] made us cancel a future holiday and put us off trying to go again”.</p>
<h2>Reactions of other holidaymakers</h2>
<p>Overall, our research found several common reasons why parents found it difficult to take their autistic children away on a family holiday. We were surprised to learn that the biggest factor was the reactions of other holidaymakers to their child’s behaviour. </p>
<p>Autistic children can often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361311431703">become anxious</a> when they encounter new and unfamiliar stimuli, which of course come thick and fast on holiday. And when an autistic child becomes overwhelmed by anxiety, they may become visibly upset or engage in something known as <a href="https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/behaviour/stimming/all-audiences">self-stimulating behaviour</a>, or “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362361319829628">stimming</a>”, which can involve things like rocking in a seat, flapping hands, banging toys together, or pacing up and down.</p>
<p>Some parents (from a sample of 295 families with autistic children) told us this was often interpreted by others as “bad behaviour”, and that they felt judged for not being able to control their offspring. </p>
<p>Nearly half of the parents in our survey considered interactions with other holidaymakers to be a difficult aspect of travelling with an autistic child. Many of these said that other holidaymakers seemed to lack understanding or empathy for their child’s condition. Some would glare, while others even scolded the child themselves. </p>
<h2>Avoiding triggers</h2>
<p>Going on excursions or to events was another stressful part of holidays, according to our survey participants. Many chose to avoid them and stay close to their accommodation throughout their trip.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A busy airport." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543249/original/file-20230817-15-mn73ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543249/original/file-20230817-15-mn73ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543249/original/file-20230817-15-mn73ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543249/original/file-20230817-15-mn73ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543249/original/file-20230817-15-mn73ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543249/original/file-20230817-15-mn73ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543249/original/file-20230817-15-mn73ah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Busy airports can be overwhelming.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manchester-uk-25-august-2018-chaos-1163899090">RootsShoots/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>But this then raised another issue which came up frequently – how to
entertain an autistic child’s siblings. Some autistic children, for example, can be sensitive to loud noises, bright lights and strong smells – which may well feature in the kinds of places their siblings find exciting and want to visit. As one mother explained: “The holiday is supposed to be for the whole family, but my whole time is spent calming and attending to my autistic daughter due to her heightened struggles on holiday. My younger child and other family members do not have the holiday [they expect to have].”</p>
<p>Parents also mentioned that while the travel industry as a whole seems to have made significant gains in terms of meeting the needs of people with mobility issues, those with other needs are poorly served by comparison. </p>
<p>Some said that things like quiet spaces at airports or fast-track queues at amusement parks would be extremely helpful. Alternative ideas included the provision of noise-cancelling headphones on flights, and <a href="https://pure.york.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/weighted-blankets-and-sleep-in-autistic-children-a-randomized-con">weighted blankets</a> and blackout blinds in hotels. </p>
<p>Other holidaymakers can also do a lot to help. As fellow travellers, and often fellow parents, we need to be more aware of the challenges that taking an autistic child on holiday can involve. </p>
<p>Our research strongly suggests that a more tolerant attitude towards the behaviour of autistic children, and a greater degree of empathy with their parents, would go a long way to helping the whole family get the break they deserve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180715/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Family Fund - gave advice with respect to accessing participants and shared our questionnaire with their networks</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Garrod and Raphaela Stadler do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research suggests many families of autistic children are reluctant to travel.Brian Garrod, Professor of Marketing, Swansea UniversityAllan Jepson, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, University of HertfordshireRaphaela Stadler, Associate Professor for Tourism and Event Management, MCI Management Center InnsbruckLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2103382023-08-16T15:40:52Z2023-08-16T15:40:52ZWhy we’re more prone to car-sickness when we set off on holiday<p>Travel sickness isn’t just hearsay. Nearly <a href="https://www.autonomicneuroscience.com/article/S1566-0702(06)00212-8/fulltext">a third of people</a> experience motion sickness – and to this day we don’t exactly know what causes it. The prevailing theory suggests it is triggered by a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cns.12468">poor perception of movement</a>.</p>
<p>Departure to and return from summer holidays seem moments especially prone to this sickness’ stealthy advances. We (or at least those of us inclined to travel sickness) are more often ill during these particular journeys than during our normal comings and goings.</p>
<p>Let’s note too that lots of travellers feel a sense of fatigue, drowsiness, apathy or lack of energy without having done any particularly exhausting activity. These are in fact symptoms of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0094576598001532">mild motion sickness</a>, which show that many more people are affected by the condition than you’d think.</p>
<p>Why this apparent heightened susceptibility during holiday trips? There are many reasons. Compared to normal travel, these journeys feature certain conditions, all with the potential to increase the incidence and severity of symptoms. Here are some pieces of explanation, and advice to minimise the risk.</p>
<h2>Long journeys: repeated movements that make you queasy</h2>
<p>In a car, the further one travels, the more likely one is to feel ill, as shown by a number of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1243/0954407042580093">mathematical models which predict motion sickness</a>.</p>
<p>It’s the adding up of unpleasant movements which takes us over the threshold where we feel symptoms. For certain people, this <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1566070206002128">can happen after just a few minutes</a>); for others it develops more slowly. Only on long journeys, after several hours on the road, in the air or on a boat, will this latter group be pushed over their limit and start feeling unwell.</p>
<p>Activities undertaken to pass the time during a long journey could add to feelings of queasiness. Often people do something to occupy and entertain themselves: read a book, watch a film, play a video game or scroll through social media. Except, these visually stimulating activities absorb our attention to the point that we’re not tuned in to the visual cues that allows our brain to assess the movement of the vehicle. This creates a confusion in the perception of movement. As a result, it becomes <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0141938214000043?via%3Dihub">much easier to feel sick</a>.</p>
<h2>Trip conditions: risks adding up</h2>
<p>In summer, the temperature inside a vehicle is difficult to control, with the sun often imposing a stifling heat; conditions which <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem/2013/00000084/00000005/art00004">tend to accentuate the symptoms of motion sickness</a>.</p>
<p>When it’s hot, <a href="https://theconversation.com/lesquels-de-nos-organes-sont-les-plus-menaces-par-la-canicule-119563">our body has to make an effort to regulate its temperature</a>, through sweat or breathing for example. These various signals amount to ‘primary symptoms’ as they can contribute to the appearance of other more substantive symptoms: dilation of the blood vessels, sickness, nausea or vomiting, as applicable.</p>
<p>To counter these effects, one is tempted to switch the air conditioning on, which could itself, perversely, <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sante/environnement-et-sante/la-climatisation-rend-elle-malade_2885673.html">worsen the situation for passengers highly susceptible to motion sickness</a>. Ventilation and cabin air systems also push people toward their nausea thresholds.</p>
<p>Unpleasant smells are another factor that can <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem/2013/00000084/00000005/art00004">accentuate car sickness symptoms</a>: traffic fumes, cigarette smoke, fetid air or even <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-015-4209-9">the smell of leather</a> were identified as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369847819306539">second most common cause of car sickness</a>! These are bigger risk factors at the start of holiday season, when <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/economie/transports/trafic/vacances-les-vagues-de-departs-massifs-sont-associees-a-de-fortes-emissions-de-polluants_2839361.html">air pollution peaks regularly</a> and the sun’s rays heat up materials. It’s also known that there is a region of the brain – the area postrema or chemoreceptor trigger zone – which can trigger over-production of saliva and nausea specifically when certain smells are detected – a protective reflex against toxins and other poisonous substances.</p>
<h2>Traffic: a physical and mental imposition</h2>
<p>In a car, it isn’t speed that makes one ill but <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/001401399184730">changes in speed</a>, especially abrupt ones. Acceleration and breaking movements aggravate the human body, even more than turning corners.</p>
<p>In practice, variations in speed are often forced on the driver by road design (speed limits, crossings, traffic lights), but also by the state of the traffic. A car stuck in jams will be forced to speed up and slow down at random intervals, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366836220_Effect_of_Horizontal_Acceleration_and_Seat_Orientation_on_Motion_Sickness_in_Passenger_Cars">which grates, even at low speeds</a>.</p>
<p>Traffic jams also have a psychological element. Delays to a journey (which might already have been very long), anxiousness about arriving at the arranged time, which is looking less and less likely, tiredness, stress and irritation can all cause the passengers’ mood to crash. It’s been observed that these factors <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0018720819876139">significantly impact the degree of motion sickness symptoms</a>. It would be better to take these setbacks calmly and stay in a relaxed frame of mind but that’s of course easier said than done.</p>
<h2>Some tips to limit the damage</h2>
<p>If you’re driving with passengers with a tendency to be car sick, or you’re susceptible yourself, some adjustments to your travel habits might help you.</p>
<p><strong>For the driver:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em>Take regular breaks</em>. This allows passengers to take a breather, and to reduce to a significant extent or even get over their symptoms. Sometimes symptoms can take a while to disappear but <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-vestibular-research/ves7-6-01">generally 15-30 minutes is enough</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Try to cut down the amount of hard acceleration and braking you do</em>. Keep as far as possible to the same speed and adopt a smooth driving style, including when you overtake or brake.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Avoid taking corners too sharply on winding roads.</em> Passengers should be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00140139.2015.1109713">jolted in their seats as little as possible</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>For passengers</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/001401399184730"><em>Sit as far forward in the vehicle as possible</em></a>. Any movement while travelling is better absorbed by the body from this position. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00140139108964831">It’s in the driver’s seat that people are least affected by car sickness</a>, since one has control over the vehicle’s movement.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Avoid looking at screens and other visual content (books, etc.)</em>, particularly when the vehicle isn’t moving at a constant speed. Instead, <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1348/000712699161594">try and look forward out of the window</a>, towards the horizon.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00140139.2015.1109713"><em>Shut your eyes</em></a> or <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1976-12574-000"><em>try to sleep</em></a>. Slowing down activity soothes the body.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-27928-8_26"><em>Tilt your seat back</em></a>. This allows you to be less destabilised by the vehicle’s movements</p></li>
<li><p><em>Go for car games</em> with the other passengers if you get bored: play “I Spy”, <a href="https://theses.gla.ac.uk/80069/1/13905209.pdf">sing songs</a>, count cars of a particular colour or make, and other old favourites of proven effectiveness to help pass the time and, above all, <a href="http://iospress.com/articles/journal-of-vestibular-research/ves00541">take your attention away from the queasiness</a>. The emergence and disappearance of symptoms is mainly a psychological phenomenon.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Finally, given the role of the mind in car sickness symptoms, note that passengers experiencing queasiness can feel better with a placebo (something with no proven medicinal value but presented to them as a magic cure). Simple tips <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article/5/2/89/1801039">have been shown to be particularly effective</a>. For example, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-021-06303-5">offering a sweet, a piece of chewing gum</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00221-017-5009-1">a sip of water or a breath of fresh air</a> while talking up their effectiveness will give your fellow travellers a little boost.</p>
<p>We wish you happy travels, hoping your journey conditions are as good as they can be.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Translation from French to English by <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshNeicho">Joshua Neicho</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210338/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Emond ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Long journeys by car, boat, bus, train or plane can turn going away into a miserable ordeal.William Emond, Doctorant en mal des transports (PhD Student on carsickness mitigation), Université de Technologie de Belfort-MontbéliardLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107782023-08-09T12:55:43Z2023-08-09T12:55:43ZAir travel is in a rut – is there any hope of recapturing the romance of flying?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540440/original/file-20230801-15-96mm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4019%2C2685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The high-risk adventure of air travel has been subdued, yet today's long flights can paradoxically feel torturous.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christopher Schaberg</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amelia Earhart broke a transcontinental speed record 90 years ago, in July 1933, by flying <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/web11183-2009640jpg">her signature red Lockheed Vega</a> from Los Angeles to New Jersey in just 17 hours, seven and a half minutes. Earlier that year, Earhart had flown as an observer on a Northwest Airways winter flight across the U.S., testing the possibilities of a “Northern Transcontinental” route. </p>
<p>Because those early airplanes couldn’t reach high altitudes, they weaved through dangerous peaks and the erratic weather patterns that mountain ranges helped create. One co-pilot <a href="https://www.deltamuseum.org/about-us/blog/from-the-hangars/2019/07/24/delta-stories-amelia-earhart">remembers the journey</a> as “seat-of-the-pants flying across the Dakota and Montana plains and through, over and around the Western mountain ranges.” </p>
<p>How does air travel today compare? </p>
<p>I’ve studied <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/02/engine-failure/552959/">airplane technology</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/a-forgettable-passage-to-flight/279346/">airport design</a> and <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/grounded">cultural attitudes</a> toward air travel, and I’ve noticed how aspects of flying seem to have calcified over time. </p>
<p>Long-distance flight <a href="https://theconversation.com/longing-for-the-golden-age-of-air-travel-be-careful-what-you-wish-for-34177">advanced rapidly between the 1930s and the early 1960s</a>, shaving off the number of hours in the sky by half. But over the past 60 years, the duration of such flights has remained roughly the same. Meanwhile, the ecosystem of air travel has grown more elaborate, often leaving passengers squirming in their seats on the tarmac before or after flight. </p>
<p>Coast-to-coast air travel is in a rut – but there are still efforts to improve this mode of transit.</p>
<h2>Just another ordinary miracle</h2>
<p>Transcontinental air journeys are clearly different 90 years after Earhart’s record-breaking exploratory flights: Travelers now take such trips for granted, and often find them to be pure drudgery. </p>
<p>In 2018, <a href="https://thepointsguy.com/reviews/united-757-200-first-class-ewr-sea/">travel blogger Ravi Ghelani reviewed in minute detail</a> a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Seattle – roughly the same northern route that Earhart explored in 1933. </p>
<p>But for Ghelani, seated in first class, it wasn’t the terrain or frigid temperatures that were the most cumbersome part of his adventure. It was a cheap complimentary blanket, which “barely qualified as one – it was very thin, very scratchy.” </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo of woman smiling and waving in front of an airplane." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Amelia Earhart grins in Newark, N.J., after completing her first nonstop flight across the U.S. in 1932.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/newark-new-jersey-a-wide-grin-covers-the-face-of-amelia-news-photo/104404070?adppopup=true">Keystone-France/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dreaded blanket reappears in Ghelani’s summary of his trip: “My main qualm with this flight was the lack of a decent blanket – the tiny, scratchy blanket that was provided wasn’t cutting it for the six-hour flight.” </p>
<p>I can imagine Earhart rolling in <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/legend-amelia-earharts-disappearance">her watery grave</a>: “You zip across the continent in six hours and you complain about a scratchy blanket?”</p>
<p>Yet Ghelani’s account of a mundane cross-country flight reveals a truth: Commercial air travel just isn’t the adventure it was back in Earhart’s time.</p>
<p>As one captain of a major U.S. airline who regularly flies long routes told me, “Today jetliners fly across the country from Los Angeles to New York, or Boston to Seattle, full of passengers oblivious to the commonplace practice it has become.” </p>
<p>This pilot compared coast-to-coast flights to “iPhones, microwaves or automobiles” – just one more ordinary miracle of modern life. </p>
<h2>Little indignities multiply</h2>
<p>The high-risk adventure of air travel has been subdued, yet long flights today can paradoxically feel torturous. </p>
<p>As philosopher Michael Marder puts it in his 2022 book “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262543712/philosophy-for-passengers/">Philosophy for Passengers</a>”: “When crew members wish passengers a ‘pleasant journey,’ I hear a dash of cruel irony in their words. How pleasant can the passenger experience be when you are crammed in your seat, with little fresh air, too hot or miserably cold, and sleep deprived?” </p>
<p>I asked my colleague and <a href="http://airplanereading.org/story/55/frequent-flight">frequent flier</a> Ian Bogost about his experience of coast-to-coast trips, and his reply was illuminating: “The same trip seems to get longer every year, and less comfortable. There are reasons – consolidation, reduced routes, pilot and air-traffic labor shortages, decaying technical infrastructure – but it still feels like moving backwards.” In spite of widespread attempts to update aircraft and modernize terminals, the vast system of air travel can seem cumbersome and outdated. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Glum-looking people in an airport terminal stand in a line that snakes out of the frame." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Passengers wait in line amid a series of cancellations at Newark (N.J.) International Airport in June 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-queue-for-their-flight-reschedule-inside-of-the-news-photo/1259132586?adppopup=true">Kena Betancur/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Recently at The Atlantic, reporter <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/07/clear-airport-security-lines-tsa-infrastructure/674809/">Amanda Mull wrote about</a> the biometric screening company Clear, describing this firm’s high-tech service to skip the ubiquitous toil of identity checks before flight, at the cost of surrendering some privacy and personal information. Mull concludes the reason more travelers will likely enroll in this service is that “traversing American airport security is simply that grim.” </p>
<p>For Mull, the adventure of contemporary air travel isn’t the destination, or even the journey itself – it’s what you must do to get through the airport. </p>
<p>Still, it’s worth noting that the majority of the human population has never boarded an airplane; flying cross-country remains <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/how-much-worlds-population-has-flown-airplane-180957719/">a relatively exclusive experience</a>. For most people, the closest they’ll get to a coast-to-coast flight is seeing a small white scratch across the sky, as another airliner makes its arc at 35,000 feet. </p>
<h2>2 futures of cross-country flight</h2>
<p>Coast-to-coast travel is no longer about breakneck speed or defying elemental odds, and Earhart’s quests to push the limits of aviation couldn’t be further from the bland routines of contemporary air travel. Nor does it involve people dressing to the hilt to step aboard a jetliner for the first time, with passengers stowing their fancy hats in spacious overhead bins. </p>
<p>Where are the new frontiers for transcontinental flight today? </p>
<p>One area of innovation is in a greener form of flight. Solar Impulse, a completely solar-powered plane, took two months to fly coast-to-coast in 2013. It averages a plodding 45 mph at cruising altitude. As <a href="https://apnews.com/ded34ccc19f24aeea67ba3da130a2be0">The Associated Press reported</a>: “Solar Impulse’s creators view themselves as green pioneers – promoting lighter materials, solar-powered batteries, and conservation as sexy and adventurous. Theirs is the high-flying equivalent of the Tesla electric sports car.” Solar Impulse was more recently <a href="https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/aircraft-propulsion/solar-powered-skydweller-completes-first-autonomous-flights?check_logged_in=1">reconfigured as a remotely piloted aircraft</a>, with new experiments in long-distance solar flight underway. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Futuristic looking plane with long wingspan flies over bay and city." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Solar Impulse 2 flies over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/solar-impulse-2-a-solar-powered-plane-piloted-by-swiss-news-photo/523604684?adppopup=true">Jean Revillard/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The comparison of Solar Impulse to a Tesla is handy because a different extreme can be found in Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. As part of the relentless development of its biggest vehicle, “Starship,” SpaceX has advertised the possibility of “<a href="https://www.spacex.com/human-spaceflight/earth/">point-to-point</a>” travel on Earth: for example, flying on a commercial rocket from Los Angeles to New York in 25 minutes. Never mind the physical tolls of a normal <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-would-anyone-want-to-sit-on-a-plane-for-over-18-hours-an-economist-takes-the-worlds-longest-flight-122433">19-hour flight</a>; it’s hard to imagine what such a brief yet fast trip would feel like, not to mention what sort of class divisions and bleak industrial launch sites such jaunts would rely on.</p>
<p>Get there as fast as possible, using as much fuel as necessary; or glide lazily along, powered by the sun, saving the planet. These are two starkly different visions of coast-to-coast flight, one a dystopian nightmare and the other a utopian dream. </p>
<p>In the middle, there’s what most flying mortals do: wait in lines, board unceremoniously and be relieved if you get to your destination without too much discomfort or delay.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210778/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Schaberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Over the past 60 years, the duration of flights has remained roughly the same, while passengers have been subjected to more indignities, longer waits and more cancellations.Christopher Schaberg, Director of Public Scholarship, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. LouisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2092722023-07-25T11:54:59Z2023-07-25T11:54:59ZInstagram is making you a worse tourist – here’s how to travel respectfully<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539002/original/file-20230724-519-2m8lk2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=82%2C49%2C5399%2C3596&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-man-taking-selfie-selfportrait-bali-1908620083">DavideAngelini/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Travel is back in full swing this summer, and so is bad behaviour by tourists. </p>
<p>Popular destinations have seen an uptick in incidents involving tourists in <a href="http://darwin.cnn-travel-vertical.ui.cnn.io/travel/article/tourists-behaving-badly/index.html?gallery=0">recent years</a>. Reports of a <a href="https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/06/30/hunt-for-tourist-who-carved-name-in-colosseum-intensifies">man defacing</a> the Colosseum in Rome shows that behaviour has deteriorated even in places that rarely had problems in the past.</p>
<p>What’s behind these abhorrent acts? One answer, <a href="https://ertr-ojs-tamu.tdl.org/ertr/article/view/541/178">my research shows</a>, is social media. Instagram and TikTok have made it easy to find “hidden gem” restaurants and discover new destinations to add to your bucket list. But this democratisation of travel has had other consequences.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-barefoot-boy-summer-trend-bad-for-your-feet-experts-explain-208901?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Is the ‘barefoot-boy summer’ trend bad for your feet? Experts explain</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-your-next-holiday-better-for-the-environment-203445?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">How to make your next holiday better for the environment</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/bed-rotting-the-social-media-trend-the-victorians-would-love-especially-writer-elizabeth-gaskell-209725?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Bed rotting: the social media trend the Victorians would love, especially writer Elizabeth Gaskell</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Because people now see their social media connections from their home environment travelling in an exotic location, they assume (consciously or not) that behaviour they ordinarily carry out at home is also acceptable in that holiday destination. </p>
<p>This is known as <a href="https://fs.blog/mental-model-social-proof/">social proof</a>, when we look to the behaviours of others to inform our own actions. People are likely to act more <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0013916508319448">hedonistically while on holiday</a>. Now, travellers also look to social media for proof of how others behave. If their peers from home are throwing caution to the wind while on holiday, this can cause a domino effect of bad behaviour.</p>
<p>I’ve identified other bad travel attitudes and habits that have emerged as a result of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212571X23000045?via%3Dihub">social media-driven tourism</a>. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/identifiable-victim-effect">identifiable victim effect</a>, which explains how people are more likely to sympathise with victims of tragedies when they know who those victims are. Because tourists are often sheltered in hotels and resorts away from local communities, they might (wrongly) think that travelling to a place far from home is an opportunity for consequence-free bad behaviour. They underestimate or ignore the effect their actions can have on locals or the economy. </p>
<h2>The Instagram effect</h2>
<p>When people travel to a beautiful place, the temptation to post photos and videos to social media is high. But, as <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13683500.2022.2086451">I have argued</a>, this creates a cycle that contributes to more self-indulgent travel. </p>
<p>First, tourists see their friends post photos from a place (revealed through geotags). They then want to visit the same places and take the same sorts of photos of themselves there. Eventually they post them on the same social networks where they saw the initial photos.</p>
<p>Being able to travel to and post about visiting the same places as one’s social group or online connections can be a form of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10548408.2018.1499579?casa_token=mVH_AlLB_4kAAAAA%3Ahdz29HMEh5aCiK4TopW8WBS3lY2ZJ2n6CZQWhL5aH7d-ZK3lpsvUlowHtdy4Pa-e7ergNJgcGfI">social status</a>. But it means that, in some cases, travellers will put more energy into creating content than they will to exploration, discovery or being respectful to local customs.</p>
<h2>Hotspots respond</h2>
<p>Bali is one destination with a reputation for social media-induced tourism. The photogenic island, replete with yoga retreats, is a huge draw for influencers.</p>
<p>In response to tourist misbehaviour, Bali <a href="https://thebalisun.com/balis-much-anticipated-list-of-dos-and-donts-for-tourists-revealed/">introduced new guidelines</a> for visitors in June 2023. These include rules about proper behaviour in the sacred temples, around the island and with locals, and respecting the natural environment. </p>
<p>Tourists now need a <a href="https://thebalisun.com/bali-warns-tourists-must-have-international-driving-license-to-drive-scooters-on-the-island">licence</a> for motorbike rentals, and may not set foot on any mountain or volcano in Bali due to their sacred nature. Travellers must only stay in registered hotels and villas (which will impact a number of Airbnb properties). Bali has introduced a “tourist task force” to enforce the restrictions, through raids and investigations if necessary.</p>
<p>One new guideline is to not act aggressively or use harsh words towards locals, government officials or other tourists both while in Bali, or, notably, online. This speaks to the role of social media as part of the problem when it comes to bad tourist behaviour.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Crowds of tourists clamoring to take a photo of the Mona Lisa in Paris' Louvre museum." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539024/original/file-20230724-21-593w4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539024/original/file-20230724-21-593w4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539024/original/file-20230724-21-593w4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539024/original/file-20230724-21-593w4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539024/original/file-20230724-21-593w4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539024/original/file-20230724-21-593w4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539024/original/file-20230724-21-593w4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Getting the perfect shot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/paris-france-april-3-2015-tourists-1296916258">Windcolors/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other destinations have taken similar steps. <a href="https://pledge.visiticeland.com">Iceland</a>, <a href="https://mauitourism.org/Videos/malama-pledge.htm">Hawaii</a>, <a href="https://palaupledge.com">Palau</a>, <a href="https://www.tiakinewzealand.com">New Zealand</a>, <a href="https://costarica-sanctuary.com/make-it-happen/">Costa Rica</a> and others have adopted pledges for visitors to abide by local laws and customs. Campaigns like Switzerland’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXcBGfXXL4w">No Drama</a>, Austria’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgn3Y7kvJXE">See Vienna – not #Vienna</a>, Finland’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/oct/17/finland-be-more-like-finn-campaign-tourism-pledge-initiatives">Be more like a Finn</a> and the Netherlands’ <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dariosabaghi/2023/03/31/amsterdam-launches-stay-away-campaign-targeting-wild-party-behavior-of-young-british-tourists/">How to Amsterdam</a> are aimed at attracting well-behaved tourists.</p>
<p>Where such efforts aren’t successful, some places such as Thailand’s famous Maya Bay have taken it further and fully closed to tourists, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/maya-bay-thailand-recovery-c2e-spc-intl/index.html">at least temporarily</a>. </p>
<h2>Travel respectfully</h2>
<p>Remember you are a guest of the host communities when you travel. Here are some ways to ensure that you will be asked back. </p>
<p><strong>1. Do your research</strong></p>
<p>Even if you’re a seasoned traveller, you may not realise the impact your actions have on local communities. But a bit of information – from your own research or provided by local governments – might be enough to help you act more appropriately. Before you go, look up guidelines or background information on local cultural or safety norms. </p>
<p>Whether you agree with the customs or not is irrelevant. If it is a more conservative place than you are used to, you should be mindful of that – unlike the two influencers who were <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/16/bali-warns-misbehaving-tourists-will-sent-home-instagram-influencers/">arrested</a> for explicit behaviour in a temple in Bali.</p>
<p><strong>2. Put down your phone…</strong></p>
<p>Research shows that when travelling, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016073831730097X">people can become alienated</a> from their surroundings if they are more focused on their devices than the destination. </p>
<p>Often the most memorable travel experiences will be when you have a meaningful connection with someone, or learn something new that you’ve never experienced before. That becomes harder if you’re constantly looking at your phone. </p>
<p><strong>3. …or use your influence for good</strong></p>
<p>In popular “Instagram v reality” <a href="https://matadornetwork.com/read/instagram-vs-reality-tuscany-switzerland/">posts</a>, influencers are revealing the huge crowds and queues behind the most Instagrammable locations.</p>
<p>Showing the less-than-glamorous conditions behind those iconic shots could influence your own social media connections to rethink their personal travel motivations – are they just going somewhere to get the perfect selfie? Having more evidence of these conditions circulating online could lead to a larger societal shift away from social media-induced tourism.</p>
<p>If you have the urge to post, try to promote smaller businesses and make sure you are demonstrating proper (and legal) etiquette on your holiday.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209272/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lauren A. Siegel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When people see their friends behaving selfishly on holiday, they might assume they can do the same.Lauren A. Siegel, Lecturer, University of GreenwichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2065662023-06-20T12:29:50Z2023-06-20T12:29:50ZUS national parks are crowded – and so are many national forests, wildlife refuges, battlefields and seashores<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532257/original/file-20230615-27-6ghr32.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C18%2C6124%2C4073&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Visitors at Sliding Rock, a popular cascade in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/Fj6MTR"> Cecilio Ricardo, USFS/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Outdoor recreation is on track for another record-setting year. In 2022, U.S. national parks logged more than <a href="https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/National%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Ranking%20Report%20(1979%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year)">300 million visits</a> – and that means a lot more people on roads and trails.</p>
<p>While research shows that spending time outside is <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-perks-of-being-outdoors-backed-up-by-science/">good for physical and mental health</a>, long lines and gridlocked roads can make the experience a lot less fun. Crowding also makes it harder for park staff to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/23016.htm">protect wildlife</a> and <a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/nation-world/2020/01/10/men-banned-yellowstone/">fragile lands</a> and respond to emergencies. To <a href="https://www.doi.gov/ocl/overcrowding-parks">manage the crowds</a>, some parks are experimenting with <a href="https://theconversation.com/overcrowded-us-national-parks-need-a-reservation-system-158864">timed-entry vehicle reservation systems</a> and permits for popular trails. </p>
<p>For all of their popularity, national parks are just one subset of U.S. public lands. Across the nation, the federal government owns more than <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R42346.pdf">640 million acres</a> (2.6 million square kilometers) of land. Depending on each site’s mission, its uses may include logging, livestock grazing, mining, oil and gas production, wildlife habitat or recreation – often, several of these at once. In contrast, national parks exist solely to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-grand-canyon-changed-our-ideas-of-natural-beauty-56204">protect some of the most important places</a> for public enjoyment.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ddXJpj5C9sgC&hl=en">my work</a> as a historian and researcher, I’ve explored the history of public land management and the role of national parks in shaping landscapes across the Americas. Many public lands are prime recreational territory and are also becoming increasingly crowded. Finding solutions requires visitors, gateway communities, state agencies and the outdoor industry to collaborate. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6z1yUu_ZO6s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. public lands are managed for many different purposes by an alphabet soup of federal agencies.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Alternatives to national parks</h2>
<p>The U.S. government is our nation’s largest land manager by far. Federal property makes up <a href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R42346.pdf">28% of surface land area</a> across the 50 states. In Western states like Nevada, the federal footprint can be as large as 80% of the land. That’s largely because much of this land is arid, and lack of water makes farming difficult. Other areas that are mountainous or forested were not initially viewed as valuable when they came under U.S. ownership – but values have changed.</p>
<p>Public lands are <a href="https://www.doi.gov/blog/americas-public-lands-explained">more diverse than national parks</a>. Some are scenic; others are just open space. They include all kinds of ecosystems, from forests to grasslands, coastlines, red rock canyons, deserts and ranges covered with sagebrush. They also include battlefields, rivers, trails and monuments. Many are remote, but others are near or within major metropolitan areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532263/original/file-20230615-19-ttuksg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People on a deck at sunrise watch birds through binoculars and spotting scopes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532263/original/file-20230615-19-ttuksg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532263/original/file-20230615-19-ttuksg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532263/original/file-20230615-19-ttuksg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532263/original/file-20230615-19-ttuksg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532263/original/file-20230615-19-ttuksg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532263/original/file-20230615-19-ttuksg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532263/original/file-20230615-19-ttuksg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Birdwatchers at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nature-and-bird-photographers-photograph-birds-at-sunrise-news-photo/144084510">Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many people who love hiking, fishing, backpacking or other outdoor activities know that national parks are crowded, and they often seek other places to enjoy nature, including public lands. That trend intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, when lockdowns and social distancing protocols motivated people to get outside wherever they could. </p>
<p>The rise of remote work has also fueled a <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/subcounty-metro-micro-estimates.html">population shift</a> toward smaller Western towns with access to open space and good internet access for videoconferencing. Popular remote work bases like Durango, Colorado, and Bend, Oregon, have become known as “<a href="https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/economy/2023-04-25/analysis-population-growth-across-large-swath-of-western-u-s-returns-to-pre-pandemic-levels">Zoom towns</a>” – a fresh take on the old boomtowns that brought people west in the 19th century. </p>
<p>With these new populations, gateway communities close to popular public lands face critical decisions. Outdoor recreation is a powerful economic engine: In 2021, it <a href="https://headwaterseconomics.org/economic-development/trends-performance/outdoor-recreation-economy-by-state/">contributed an estimated US$454 billion</a> to the nation’s economy – more than auto manufacturing and air transport combined. </p>
<p>But embracing recreational tourism can lead local communities into the <a href="https://headwaterseconomics.org/outdoor-recreation/amenity-trap/">amenity trap</a> – the paradox of loving a place to death. Recreation economies that fail to manage growth, or that neglect investments in areas like housing and infrastructure, risk compromising the sense of place that draws visitors. But planning can proactively shape growth to maintain community character and quality of life. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1535976831228076032"}"></div></p>
<h2>Broadening recreation</h2>
<p>People use public lands for many activities beyond a quiet hike in the woods. For instance, the Phoenix District of the federal Bureau of Land Management operates more than 3 million acres across central Arizona for at least <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/recreation-activities/arizona">14 different recreational uses</a>, including hiking, fishing, boating, target shooting, rock collecting and riding off-road vehicles. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/in-latest-skirmish-of-western-land-wars-congress-supports-mining-and-ranching-73032">Not all of these activities are compatible</a>, and many have not traditionally been rigorously managed. For example, target shooters sometimes bring objects like old appliances or furniture to use as improvised targets, then leave behind an unsightly mess. In response, the Phoenix District has <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/recreation-activities/arizona/recreational-shooting/phoenix-sites">designated recreational shooting sites</a> where it provides targets and warns against shooting at objects containing glass or hazardous materials, as well as <a href="https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/blm-sued-target-shooting-protected-arizona-sonoran-desert-monument-nra-11350232">cactuses</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532246/original/file-20230615-16452-y1oe3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A poster warns recreational shooters against using glass bottles as targets." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532246/original/file-20230615-16452-y1oe3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532246/original/file-20230615-16452-y1oe3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532246/original/file-20230615-16452-y1oe3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532246/original/file-20230615-16452-y1oe3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532246/original/file-20230615-16452-y1oe3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532246/original/file-20230615-16452-y1oe3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532246/original/file-20230615-16452-y1oe3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shooting at targets that contain glass or hazardous materials can contaminate nearby land.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/2o1LPtV">BLM</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Skiing also can pose crowding challenges. Many downhill skiing facilities in the West operate on public land with permits from the managing agency – typically, the U.S. Forest Service. </p>
<p>One example, <a href="https://bogusbasin.org/">Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area</a> is a nonprofit ski slope 16 miles from Boise, Idaho. Demand surges on winter weekends with fresh powder, creating long lift lines and crowded slopes. </p>
<p>The mountain is open for 12 hours a day, and Bogus Basin uses <a href="https://www.boisestate.edu/sps-andruscenter/re-creating-public-land-recreation/">creative pricing structures</a> for lift tickets to spread crowds out. For example, it draws younger skiers with discounted night skiing and retired skiers during the week. As a result, the parking lot only filled up once in the 2022-2023 season. </p>
<p>Local governments can help find ways to balance access with creative crowd management. In Seattle, King County launched <a href="https://trailheaddirect.org/about/">Trailhead Direct</a> to provide transit-to-trails services from Seattle to the Cascade Mountains. This approach expands access to the outdoors for city residents and reduces traffic on busy Interstate 90 and crowding in trailhead parking lots. </p>
<p>Other towns have partnered with federal land agencies to maintain trail systems, like the <a href="https://www.ridgetorivers.org/">Ridge to Rivers</a> network outside Boise and the <a href="http://fmtn.org/843/Outdoor-Recreation-News">River Reach trails</a> near Farmington, New Mexico. This helps the towns provide better nearby outdoor opportunities for residents and attract new businesses whose employees value quality of life. Creating corridors from the “<a href="https://www.blm.gov/national-office/public-room/strategic-plan/connecting-communities-blm-recreation-strategy-summary">backyard to the backcountry</a>,” as the Bureau of Land Management puts it, can help create vibrant communities.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Chc3DeRp0ty/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>A less-extractive view of public lands</h2>
<p>For many years, Western communities have viewed public lands as places to mine, log and graze sheep and cattle. Tensions between states and the federal government over federal land policy often reflect state resentment over decisions made in Washington, D.C. about local resources.</p>
<p>Now, land managers are seeing a pivot. While federal control will never be welcome in some areas, Western communities increasingly view federal lands as amenities and anchors for immense opportunities, including <a href="https://www.boisestate.edu/sps-andruscenter/re-creating-public-land-recreation/">recreation and economic growth</a>. For example, Idaho is <a href="https://gov.idaho.gov/pressrelease/jfac-advances-governors-recommendation-for-outdoor-recreation/">investing $100 million</a> for maintenance and expanded access on state lands, mirroring federal efforts.</p>
<p>As environmental law scholar Robert Keiter has pointed out, the U.S. has a lot of laws governing activities like logging, mining and energy development on public lands, but there’s <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3862057">little legal guidance for recreation</a>. Instead, agencies, courts and presidents are developing what Keiter calls “a common law of outdoor recreation,” bit by bit. By addressing crowding and the environmental impacts of recreation, I believe local communities can help the U.S. move toward better stewardship of our nation’s awe-inspiring public lands.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206566/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Wakild has received past funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. </span></em></p>Crowding is increasingly affecting all kinds of public lands. Adjoining communities need to find ways to manage it, or risk harm to the attractions that make them a destination.Emily Wakild, Cecil D. Andrus Endowed Professor for the Environment and Public Lands, Boise State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2053632023-05-23T21:23:54Z2023-05-23T21:23:54ZTravelers will refuse an upgrade to sit near a loved one – new research into when people want to share experiences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526635/original/file-20230516-24-b1u2vm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Would you decline a free upgrade to first class in order to sit next to a companion in coach?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/couple-on-an-airplane-royalty-free-image/102285600">Image Source/DigitalVision Collection/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>People will often sacrifice a better experience and opt for one that’s less enjoyable if it means they can do it alongside a loved one – whether that’s a romantic partner, close friend or relative. That’s the main finding of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1352">our research</a> published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology in April 2023.</p>
<p>For example, when taking a flight, two friends might decide to sit in adjacent seats in coach rather than accept a free upgrade to nonadjacent seats in first class. Failing to choose togetherness can have consequences, as in the “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2JKXbVGq7A">Seinfeld” episode</a> in which Elaine suffers the indignities of economy class, leading to rage against Jerry after he chooses to accept an upgrade.</p>
<p>We conducted five studies in a variety of settings and featuring different social bonds, including friendships and romantic relationships. In one study, just over half of people chose two adjacent seats far from the stage over two nonadjacent seats closer to the stage when imagining they were attending a Cirque du Soleil performance with a close friend, compared with only about one-third who chose the adjacent seats when imagining attending with an acquaintance. </p>
<p>In another study, we asked students whether they wanted to eat one chocolate with another person – either a new friend or a stranger – or two chocolates alone. Half the people chose the shared experience – but only if the other person was a friend. Fewer people – 38% – opted for the shared experience if the other person was a stranger.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>One reason people prioritize physical proximity with close partners is because they want to create shared memories. Importantly, people believe that physical distance can disrupt the creation of shared memories, and so they forgo enjoyable experiences apart from their loved one.</p>
<p>This also matters for companies seeking to improve customer experience, such as an airline offering free upgrades or shorter wait times. Our findings suggest that, for example, consumers traveling with a companion might not take advantage of services like TSA PreCheck, an airline VIP lounge or a free upgrade if it is available only for themselves. It also helps explain why consumers do not like when <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/travel/airlines-family-seating-dashboard.html">airlines split up families</a> in their seat assignments.</p>
<p>However, we also tested a few initiatives marketers can use to encourage people to choose a higher-quality experience that requires them to be apart from their companion. In another experiment, we described a train ride as either a fun part of an excursion or as a practical way to reach a final destination. More participants accepted a free upgrade – even though it required sitting apart from their romantic partner – when they perceived the train ride as utilitarian. That’s because they cared less about creating shared memories during the experience.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We still don’t know how this preference affects relationship quality. </p>
<p>For example, when can time apart from your partner actually strengthen the relationship? And how should couples split their time between lower-quality activities done together and higher-quality activities done alone? One option for separate activities, for example, might be when one partner’s desired activity does not interest the other.</p>
<p>Also, given that people believe physical proximity is a prerequisite for creating shared memories, how can partners who live in different places also cultivate shared memories? This question is especially important in light of how COVID-19 has enabled more people to work and study remotely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205363/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research on our desire to create shared memories with the people we care about offers insights for companies that want to improve their customer service.Ximena Garcia-Rada, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Texas A&M UniversityMichael Norton, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard UniversityRebecca K. Ratner, Professor of Marketing, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2058082023-05-17T20:14:05Z2023-05-17T20:14:05ZLooming WestJet strike illustrates the lasting impact deregulation has had on the aviation industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526871/original/file-20230517-9933-icqnfp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3994%2C2407&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of the Air Line Pilots Association demonstrate amid contract negotiations outside the WestJet headquarters in Calgary on March 31, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/looming-westjet-strike-illustrates-the-lasting-impact-deregulation-has-had-on-the-aviation-industry" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>WestJet pilots are poised to <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9700932/westjet-pilots-72-hour-strike-notice/">start striking on Friday</a> after issuing a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/westjet-strike-action-travel-canada-1.6844601">72-hour strike notice</a>, leaving some Canadians’ long weekend travel plans up in the air. </p>
<p>Contract negotiations between the Air Line Pilots Association and airline management fell through over <a href="https://globalnews.ca/video/9701608/westjet-pilots-threaten-strike/">pay, work conditions and job protections</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/massive-gap-between-westjet-pilots-union-as-strike-looms-and-bookings-fall-ceo-1.6401897">CEO of WestJet</a>, there is still a massive gap between the expectations of pilots and that of the airline. </p>
<p>One of the key issues that has led to the current dispute is pilot retention. A high number of pilots have been leaving WestJet, resulting in scheduling uncertainty for those who remain. </p>
<p>Additionally, pilots are concerned about the two-tier system of pay between pilots at WestJet and its subsidiary, Swoop. The pilots’ union has also pointed to the significant difference in levels of pay at WestJet — <a href="https://simpleflying.com/westjet-fleet-in-2023/">the second largest airline in Canada</a> — and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/air-canada-pilots-decry-embarrassing-pay-gap-with-us-after-delta-deal-2023-03-03/">counterparts in the United States</a>. </p>
<p>While contract negotiations are still ongoing, flying customers are undoubtedly watching the situation unfold nervously. If the strike action goes ahead, it will result in problems for all involved — customers, pilots and the airline.</p>
<p>Customers will face flight cancellations, pilots will lose out on pay, and the airline itself will suffer revenue losses from the cancelled flights. The airline might also experience decreased customer confidence regarding future bookings.</p>
<h2>The legacy of deregulation</h2>
<p>While COVID-19 <a href="https://theconversation.com/air-traffic-control-funding-model-ravaged-by-pandemic-as-industry-struggles-to-recover-185663">undoubtedly impacted the aviation industry</a>, problems were already present prior to the pandemic. The crisis simply intensified these issues.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/transportation-regulation">deregulation of commercial aviation </a> provided airlines with the motive, means and opportunity to reduce costs.</p>
<p>Deregulation meant that airlines were able to set the fare for their flights, thereby generating a powerful incentive to compete on fare and to reduce costs in order to do so. Deregulation also saw the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.1581.4800">emergence of new low-cost carriers</a> that directly competed with established airlines and whose success <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.3678.6322">intensified cost reduction at established airlines</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A row of men wearing navy pilot uniforms hold protest signs in the background of a photo as someone unpacks luggage from the trunk of a car in front of them." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526886/original/file-20230517-17-jh8yxt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526886/original/file-20230517-17-jh8yxt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526886/original/file-20230517-17-jh8yxt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526886/original/file-20230517-17-jh8yxt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526886/original/file-20230517-17-jh8yxt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526886/original/file-20230517-17-jh8yxt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526886/original/file-20230517-17-jh8yxt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">WestJet Airlines pilots stand on a picket line at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on May 8, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is difficult for an airline to reduce many operational costs, such as fuel. One cost that isn’t fixed is the cost of labour. It should come as no surprise that cost-cutting in response to deregulation led to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101968">reduction in labour costs and reduced terms and conditions of employment</a>.</p>
<p>While reduced terms and conditions of employment is bad for all employees affected, operating with inferior terms and conditions for highly trained employees like pilots is a high-risk strategy for any airline.</p>
<p>Pilots can, and do, leave one airline for another if the terms and conditions are better, as the case of <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9695725/westjet-pilots-contract-talks/">WestJet in recent years demonstrates</a>.</p>
<h2>Labour supply problems</h2>
<p>Cutting labour costs has created a labour supply problem. Becoming an airline pilot is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/pilot-shortage-super-t-atac-wellington-waterloo-1.4471354">far less attractive than it once was</a>. </p>
<p>The time commitment required to become a commercial aviator is significant and the total financial commitment is estimated to be around <a href="https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-long-does-it-take-to-become-a-pilot">$100,000</a>. </p>
<p>That is a daunting sum, especially when one’s starting salary can be $65,000 and a pilot can lose their license at any point because commercial aviation has high reliability standards; pilot mental and physical health must be paramount.</p>
<p>The labour supply problem has recently been used in support of a <a href="https://www.icao.int/Meetings/a41/Documents/WP/wp_101_en.pdf">proposal</a> for <a href="https://simpleflying.com/single-pilot-operations-risks-challenges/">single pilot operations</a>. Single pilot operations would mean a single pilot rather than two in the flight deck assisted by a remote pilot if necessary.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A crowd of pilots in uniform stand facing the camera. Almost all of them are wearing sunglasses." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526882/original/file-20230517-12466-5x4o5q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/526882/original/file-20230517-12466-5x4o5q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526882/original/file-20230517-12466-5x4o5q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526882/original/file-20230517-12466-5x4o5q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526882/original/file-20230517-12466-5x4o5q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526882/original/file-20230517-12466-5x4o5q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/526882/original/file-20230517-12466-5x4o5q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">WestJet Airlines pilots assemble for a group photo after standing on a picket line at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on May 8, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Deregulation has ultimately reduced the supply of pilots, creating a tighter labour market. This, in turn, has been used to justify reducing the requirement for pilots. </p>
<p>As a resolution to the insufficient supply of pilots, this policy is fraught with numerous problems. These problems include safety and security concerns, a negative impact on other employee groups in aviation — like cabin crew and air traffic control officers — and the perpetuation of a <a href="https://www.zippia.com/airplane-pilot-jobs/demographics/">field dominated by white men</a>. If the requirement for pilots drops, so does the probability of greater diversity. </p>
<p>It’s unlikely that commercial airlines will be able to introduce single pilot operations any time soon. The proposal is still under discussion by aviation authorities.</p>
<p>In the meantime, what should airlines do to attract and retain pilots?</p>
<h2>Investing in employees</h2>
<p>One approach is to invest in employees as illustrated by the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/business/delta-pilots-approve-contract.html">pay deal struck by pilots at Delta Air Lines</a>. Pilots approved a new contract to increase pay by 34 per cent pay by 2026. </p>
<p>This deal is not just good for improving labour conditions — it is good business sense. Raising wages in this way enhances what is known as <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/external-equity">external equity</a>, or the perceived fairness of wages compared to other employers. It increases employee commitment to their employer, and thereby improves staff retention. </p>
<p>Airlines — WestJet included — are service providers dependent upon the efforts of employees. As <a href="https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/17-powerfully-inspiring-quotes-from-southwest-airlines-founder-herb-kelleher.html">Herb Kelleher</a>, founder and former CEO of one of the most successful and incidentally most highly unionized airlines in the U.S., Southwest Airlines, once said: “Your people come first, and if you treat them right, they’ll treat the customers right.”</p>
<p>Investment in employees is the key to airline success. WestJet might discover this the hard way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205808/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geraint Harvey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While the pandemic undoubtedly impacted the aviation industry, its problems were already present prior to COVID-19. The pandemic simply intensified these issues.Geraint Harvey, DANCAP Private Equity Chair in Human Organization, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2052712023-05-09T18:11:40Z2023-05-09T18:11:40ZPassport bottleneck is holding up international travel by Americans eager to see the world as COVID-19 eases<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524978/original/file-20230508-221323-4jr98o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C333%2C3895%2C1938&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A JetBlue employee poses next to a Boston replica of London's Big Ben before the launch of nonstop flights between Boston and London in 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jet-blue-employee-gets-her-photograph-taken-standing-next-news-photo/1239787161?adppopup=true">David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The World Health Organization declared on May 5, 2023, that the COVID-19 pandemic is <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136367">no longer a public health emergency</a>. Although the virus is still causing <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00">hospitalizations and deaths</a>, many travelers who were reluctant to go abroad because of the pandemic now feel freer to travel internationally again.</p>
<p>That’s going to be a whole lot easier to do this summer if <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply.html">you already have a valid passport</a>. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/03/travel/passport-processing-wait-times.html">wait times for getting one</a> are soaring. The <a href="https://www.state.gov/update-on-passport-processing-times/">State Department says it can take up to 13 weeks</a> for it to process passport applications, and up to nine weeks for expedited service that requires the payment of extra fees. It’s <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/unprecedented-demand-for-passports-antony-blinken-state-department/">getting about 500,000 passport applications a week</a>, which is at least 30% more than last year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in March. And delays in processing were <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/passport-application-wait-times-2022">already aggravating in 2021 and 2022</a>.</p>
<p>I’m among the many Americans who have had to <a href="https://abc11.com/us-passport-renewal-status-application/12963897/">cancel or delay trips</a> because of the long wait times. I was hoping to fly to London for a weeklong break between teaching economics courses. Unfortunately, renewing my passport took so long I couldn’t go.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-retention/2021/07/state-dept-staffing-surge-wont-address-passport-backlog-overnight-union-warns/">government says staffing issues</a> are contributing to the delays. As an economist who <a href="https://blogs.bu.edu/zagorsky/">researches the everyday experiences of consumers</a>, I wondered if there was more to the story, since international travel is a big business. U.S. residents <a href="https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/monthly-travel-trade-monitor">spent around US$17 billion</a> in just the month of March 2023 going abroad.</p>
<h2>Origin of passports</h2>
<p>Passports <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/celebrate-being-canadian/teachers-corner/history-passports.html">have been around a long time</a>. They became more widespread about four centuries ago during the reign of the French King Louis the XIV. The king gave people with <a href="https://www.royal.uk/passports?page=1">royal connections</a> letters asking foreign officials to let the traveler “passe port” – French for pass through – the port or border of <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/about/history/did-you-know/passport-protection">another country safely</a>.</p>
<p>You can find a similar statement in the front of every U.S. passport, which “requests all whom it may concern to permit the citizen/national of the United States named herein to pass without delay or hindrance.”</p>
<p>One reason for the passport bottleneck in the United States is a long-term increase in demand for those official blue booklets. Back in 1989, there were three valid passports for every 100 people in this country. Today there are more than 45 passports for every 100 Americans. More recently, many Americans who let their passports expire because they were avoiding international travel when the pandemic began are <a href="https://thepointsguy.com/news/passport-processing-status/">eager to travel again</a>.</p>
<p><iframe id="uLbW6" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/uLbW6/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Changes after 2000</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.census.gov/topics/population.html">U.S. population has increased</a> about 1% each year over the past three decades. During that same period the <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html/">number of people holding a valid passport</a> has jumped an average of 10% each year, 10 times faster than population growth.</p>
<p>Part of the rising demand for passports followed a policy change in the early 2000s. <a href="https://1997-2001.state.gov/briefings/statements/971219d.html">Before then no passport was required</a> for U.S. citizens to travel to Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean. A driver’s license or an official document like a birth certificate was suitable documentation to visit countries that shared a common border with the U.S. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/timeline-travel-documents-at-the-canada-u-s-border-1.834929">By 2009, however, a passport was needed</a> to visit those nearby countries by air, land or sea.</p>
<p>But the new rules don’t fully account for the surge in passport issuance. In 2010, about 100 million people had valid U.S. passports. Today, <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html/">over 150 million</a> do.</p>
<h2>Lost, stolen and damaged passports</h2>
<p>Another reason for the passport boom is that the State Department is fielding more requests than before for reissued passports to replace lost or stolen documents. </p>
<p>One problem while traveling is <a href="https://www.interpol.int/en/How-we-work/Border-management/Look-after-your-travel-document">keeping your passport safe</a>. While so far <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-americans-shouldnt-fear-traveling-abroad-118305">no one has ever stolen my passport</a>, I have <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-googles-plan-to-blanket-wilderness-with-wi-fi-is-a-bad-idea-49632">spilled food on it while climbing mountains</a>, <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/passports/replacing-your-passport-after-the-storm.html">gotten it soaked in a monsoon</a> and crushed it in my luggage <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-would-anyone-want-to-sit-on-a-plane-for-over-18-hours-an-economist-takes-the-worlds-longest-flight-122433">on the world’s longest flight</a>.</p>
<p>If your passport is ever lost, destroyed or stolen, you need to file a <a href="https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds64.PDF">DS-64 form</a> with the State Department. Filing this form prevents a thief from using that passport. The data is not just kept in the U.S. but is also sent to <a href="https://www.justice.gov/interpol-washington/pr/interpol-stolenlost-travel-document-database">Interpol’s Stolen/Lost Travel Document database</a>, which prevents worldwide travel by someone posing as you when traveling with your stolen passport.</p>
<p>The government periodically releases the number of DS-64 forms filed. In 2005 <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2005-09-06/05-17636">a bit more than 100,000</a> were submitted. This jumped fivefold to <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/09/09/2021-18829/30-day-notice-of-proposed-information-collection-statement-regarding-a-lost-or-stolen-us-passport">over 500,000 people who reported losing</a> their passports in 2021.</p>
<h2>Who gets passports?</h2>
<p>Where do passport applications come from? </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, states with more people tend to get more passports. For example, <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html/">Californians got the highest number of passports, about 2.7 million, in 2022</a>.</p>
<p>But some states have more wanderlust than others. After adjusting for <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-state-total.html">population, over the past few years</a> the top two sources for international travel are the <a href="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2022/acs/acsbr-011.pdf">high-income states</a> of New Jersey and Massachusetts. <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html/">Around 1 out every 17 residents</a> in those places applied annually for a passport. </p>
<p>The states where residents are the least likely to apply for a passport are the <a href="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2022/acs/acsbr-011.pdf">low-income states</a> of Mississippi and West Virginia. In those places only about <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/about-us/reports-and-statistics.html/">1 out every 65 residents</a> applied on average each year.</p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>One of the reasons passport processing times have gotten so long is that many people are taking trips they put off in the spring of 2020. What can be done? </p>
<p>I suggest two things.</p>
<p>First, the <a href="https://www.trade.gov/press-release/ntto-releases-survey-international-air-travelers-siat-outbound-monitor">Caribbean is one of the most popular U.S. tourist destinations</a>. U.S. travelers today can visit the <a href="https://www.travelchannel.com/destinations/us/photos/no-passport-required">U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico without a passport</a> because they are U.S. territories. I believe that expanding this access to a small number of Caribbean countries, as was possible before the 2009 policy change, would boost tourism and reduce passport demand.</p>
<p>Second, citizens with a current passport should be able to use it while waiting for a renewal. Right now old passports must be submitted with renewal forms, which blocks international travel. The State Department doesn’t really need the old documents. It recently ran a trial allowing <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/renew-online.html">people to renew passports online</a> without asking for their current passport books.</p>
<p>Once a new passport is issued, the old one becomes invalid. This could present a problem for people traveling abroad while their passport renews. There is a simple solution for this. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic the State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/extension-of-temporary-measure-allowing-return-travel-to-the-united-states-on-expired-u-s-passport-2/">allowed U.S. citizens who were abroad when their passports expired</a> to reenter the country.</p>
<p>Extending this policy would mean people could continue traveling no matter how long it takes to renew their passport.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205271/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jay L. Zagorsky does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Precautions taken in response to COVID-19 explain some but not all of the recent long delays in getting a passport.Jay L. Zagorsky, Clinical Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2049962023-05-07T12:38:13Z2023-05-07T12:38:13ZCanadian airlines brace for a summer of change as U.S. airlines consider reforms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524221/original/file-20230503-19-okemwv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=399%2C296%2C2510%2C1836&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An Air Canada jet takes off from Montréal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport on June 30, 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/canadian-airlines-brace-for-a-summer-of-change-as-u-s--airlines-consider-reforms" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued a report <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105524-highlights.pdf">on the causes of flight disruptions before and after the pandemic</a>. The report also outlined the challenges airlines faced managing and responding to these flight disruptions.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-105524.pdf">The report</a> was the result of requests made by the U.S. Congress to the GAO to examine key changes in the U.S. passenger airline industry resulting from the pandemic.</p>
<p>For those of us who experienced <a href="https://theconversation.com/air-canada-flight-reductions-faqs-about-the-chaos-in-the-airline-industry-185750">the chaotic Canadian aviation environment last summer</a> — especially those that used Toronto’s Pearson Airport and Montréal’s Trudeau Airport — it is difficult to forget the lines of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-pearson-airport-delays-1.6481605">passengers waiting in queues for hours</a>, <a href="http://prod-test.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/06/28/you-%20think-you-have-baggage-luggage-is-piling-up-at-pearson-perplexing-travellers.html">mishandled baggage</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8970277/air-canada-pearson-rank-no-1-delays-worldwide-montreal-check-%20in-freezes/">unprecedented flight delays</a>.</p>
<p>For an industry with extensive regulatory oversight provided by the federal government, it has been interesting to examine and contrast the <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/TRAN/meeting-26/evidence">parliamentary efforts made in Canada to address flight disruptions</a> with similar efforts being made by U.S. Congress.</p>
<h2>Canadian airline reforms</h2>
<p>Canada’s Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/TRAN/meeting-27/evidence">held a meeting on Aug. 19, 2022 to hear Omar Alghabra</a>, the minister of transport, voice his concerns about flight delays and cancellations. </p>
<p>The meeting focused on the need to better protect air travellers’ rights in the face of such events. </p>
<p>This focus on passenger rights continues to this day. <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9646294/air-passenger-rights-changes-compensation-loopholes/">At the end of April, Alghabra announced reforms</a> for the Canadian Transportation Agency’s appeal-handling process and the Canadian Transportation Act. Airlines will be required to handle claims and provide a response to complaints within 30 days.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man wearing a suit and glasses speaks from behind a microphone on a desk. A row of Canadian flags stand behind him." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524217/original/file-20230503-17-n9r1yz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524217/original/file-20230503-17-n9r1yz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524217/original/file-20230503-17-n9r1yz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524217/original/file-20230503-17-n9r1yz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524217/original/file-20230503-17-n9r1yz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524217/original/file-20230503-17-n9r1yz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524217/original/file-20230503-17-n9r1yz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra speaks at a news conference on proposed changes to air passenger rights, in Ottawa, on April 24, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The amendments, which are currently tabled in the House of Commons as part of a budget implementation bill, will affect the penalties air carriers face for violating air passenger protection rights. </p>
<p>In particular, the amendments will increase the maximum fine for violations to $250,000 and charge carriers with the regulatory cost of complaints.</p>
<p>The GAO’s analysis and recommendations, by comparison, are much more detailed.</p>
<h2>U.S. airline reforms</h2>
<p>The U.S. Department of Transportation has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/flight-delays-would-mean-compensation-for-customers-under-proposed-rule-2022-8">recently initiated passenger protection regulation development</a> similar to the ones Canada has had in place since 2019.</p>
<p>However, the Department of Transportation has yet to address specific compensation levels for passengers that have experienced flight delays — provisions that have already been adopted by Canada and are <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-%20content/EN/TXT/?uri=LEGISSUM%3Al24173">similar to those in effect in the European Union</a>.</p>
<p>An intriguing element of the GAO report is its review of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s awareness of airline scheduling practices and how such practices have impacted flight delays and cancellations.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/820/819136.pdf">In its report, the GAO stated</a> the department of transportation has the authority to “regulate unfair and deceptive practices of airlines, which includes unrealistic scheduling practices.”</p>
<p>The Department of Transportation defines unrealistic scheduling as “the scheduling of flights that airlines cannot generally and reasonably be expected to fulfill.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman walks in front of a screen displaying flight schedules." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524216/original/file-20230503-24-1sjo91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524216/original/file-20230503-24-1sjo91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524216/original/file-20230503-24-1sjo91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524216/original/file-20230503-24-1sjo91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524216/original/file-20230503-24-1sjo91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524216/original/file-20230503-24-1sjo91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524216/original/file-20230503-24-1sjo91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cancelled flights are seen in red on the flight schedules at the Southwest terminal at Los Angeles International Airport in December 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The report concludes that various stakeholders, including several airlines and worker unions, published unrealistic flight schedules, which carriers cannot reasonably be expected to fulfill.</p>
<p>The Department of Transportation indicated it will make an effort next year to build and sustain its oversight and analysis of airline scheduling practices. This will ensure airlines maintain realistic schedules and minimize the impact of flight disruptions on passengers.</p>
<h2>Lessons for Canada</h2>
<p>It is critical that effort be made to provide fair and meaningful compensation in a timely manner to air passengers that have been subjected to airline delays and cancellations. But it is equally — if not more — important to address the underlying causes of such disruptions.</p>
<p>Effective oversight of published airline schedules must be provided. Canadian air travellers should be able to trust an airline’s published schedule — especially as air travellers often purchase tickets long before their flight. </p>
<p>Should Transport Canada step into this oversight role? It might be time to seriously consider establishing a distinct civil aviation authority, separate from Transport Canada.</p>
<p>Canadians’ patience with the actions of various organizations in Canada’s aviation sector has been wearing thin. At the same time, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/united-ceo-airlines-scheduling-flights">rumblings of a return to regulation is starting up</a> in the U.S. airline industry.</p>
<p>Canada’s <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/transportation-regulation">experiment with deregulation occurred close to 40 years ago</a>, but airline scheduling oversight might be one of several areas ripe for similar scheduling reforms in the face of airline disruptions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204996/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Gradek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While it is critical that air passengers be compensated for airline delays and cancellations, it is equally — if not more — important to address the underlying causes of such disruptions.John Gradek, Faculty Lecturer and Program Co-ordinator, Supply Chain, Logistics and Operations Management, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.