Clubbing in Ibiza; Cruising the Caribbean; Luxuriating in Dubai; Skiing in the Alps; Backpacking in Thailand.
We are all keen tourists. And tourism is the biggest service industry in the world. It employs one in every eleven workers on the planet. Yet while it is built on the sale of fantasies, the unsettling truth is that behind the sunny facade of swimming pools, smiling locals, stunning sights and exquisite cuisine, there is all too often an ugly, damaging reality and it is spreading unchecked to all corners of the globe.
This is an investigative travelogue, written as Hickman journeys around the world from theme park to golf course, from sunlounger to ecolodge. At each destination we hear from the key protagonists: the holidaymaker, the waiter, hotelier, souvenir-seller, prostitute, environmentalist, tour guide, chambermaid and local politician.
All of them want us to ask ourselves some hard questions: Who really pays for our trip away? And is it possible to have a 'good' holiday?
Here is the story of what they don't tell you in the glossy brochures.
Hickman has hit on an important subject and it deserves to be taken seriously.
John Humphrys 03/04/2008
Leo Hickman's enthralling book should be read by politicians, students and, most of all, by every would-be tourist.
Anon 03/04/2008
Well written, entertaining and hugely important.
Zac Goldsmith 03/04/2008
A fascinating and harrowing read. I doubt anyone has spelt out the inherent dangers of tourism so clearly before.
Jason Webster 03/04/2008
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