C4
EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE
East Oregonian
Saturday, June 1, 2019
AP Photo/Andrew Medichini
A cruise ship transits in the Giudecca canal in front of St. Mark’s Square, in Venice, Italy. In cities around the world, a problem known as “overtourism” has become a
year-round struggle.
4 ways to be a good traveler
in the age of ‘overtourism’
By MELISSA RAYWORTH
Associated Press
I
n Paris, the Louvre Museum closed for
a day this week because workers said
the crowds were too big to handle. In
the Himalayas, climbers at Mount Everest
are concerned that the peak has gotten too
crowded, contributing to the highest death
toll in years.
In cities and destinations around the
world, from Barcelona to Bali, “overtour-
ism” has become a year-round problem.
When fields of wildflowers in Lake
Elsinore, California, were overrun this
spring by tourists seeking the perfect photo,
the city tweeted bluntly about the impact
of traffic jams and trampled hillsides: “We
know it has been miserable and has caused
unnecessary hardships for our entire com-
munity.” Last summer, it was a sunflower
field outside of Toronto that got trampled
after becoming Instagram-famous.
A mashup of discount airlines, inexpen-
sive Airbnb rooms and social media shares
have brought the blessing of tourist dollars
and the growing curse of noisy crowds and
even dangerous conditions to places once
known for off-the-beaten-path charm or
idyllic silence.
“Tourists are trampling the very attrac-
tion they’ve come to witness,” says Joel
Deichmann, a global studies professor at
Bentley University in Massachusetts.
Some communities have begun pushing
back with regulations and public service
announcements telling tourists to behave.
How do you visit these places without
doing harm? Four tips from experts:
1. REMEMBER, IT’S NOT ALL
ABOUT YOU
Venturing far from home and experienc-
ing an unfamiliar culture can be transforma-
tive, bringing a sense of freedom and even
hedonism. But don’t forget: This is already
someone’s culture, someone’s home.
So beyond simply choosing a hotel, really
AP Photo/Thibault Camus
Tourists wait in line to visit the Louvre museum as it reopens in Paris. The world’s most visited
museum was closed on Monday after employees complained they were harassed by tourists
waiting to see the Mona Lisa.
research the place you want to visit. What
kind of behavior is appropriate there? What
are the environmental policies? If you’re
booking through a travel service, ask them
for guidance.
“This isn’t Disney,” says Rachel Dodds,
founder of the consulting firm Sustaining
Tourism.
Pavia Rosati, founder of the travel service
Fathom and co-author of the book “Travel
Anywhere” (Hardie Grant, 2019) reminds
travelers going to exotic destinations: “You
are not here to just add something foreign to
your collection.”
It might seem logical to put on a tank top
and shorts in Thailand’s 100-degree heat.
But if you’re going to visit Buddhist temples,
it’s considered disrespectful. “Err on the side
of conservative dressing,” Rosati says.
Deichmann, who frequently travels
abroad with his students, advises them to be
sensitive and take cues from local residents.
For example, he says, on a subway or bus in
European cities, locals are usually reading or
sitting quietly. Follow their lead: Avoid loud
conversations or getting up to snap photos.
The same goes for late-night partying: If
you’re at an all-inclusive resort on a few hun-
dred acres of gated lands, party as you wish.
But if you’re staying in an Airbnb apart-
ment, realize that the person on the other
side of the wall might need to put their baby
to sleep or get up for work early.
2. PUT PICTURE-TAKING IN
PERSPECTIVE
With phone cameras, we’ve become
accustomed to taking pictures constantly.
But taking photos of people, their children
and their homes can be invasive.
Also, respect the physical environment.
It may seem obvious, but don’t walk on the
wildflowers to get the best photo.
And consider the risks: At Kaaterskill
Falls in New York’s Catskill Mountains,
four tourist deaths in recent years have
been attributed to attempts to take dramatic
selfies.
You’ll probably enjoy your experiences
more fully if you spend less time snapping
photos, says University of Denver assistant
professor Gia Nardini, co-author of a study
on the subject.
And showing restraint can help protect
the place you’re enjoying from overtourism.
“If you take that picture,” Dodds asks,
“will 1,000 people arrive the next day to take
that same picture?”
3. GIVE BACK
When Rosati was planning a cruise along
the Amazon River, she knew she’d be stop-
ping in villages where children needed
basics like pencils, crayons and paper. So
“one-third of my suitcase was school sup-
plies,” she says. Once there, she gave them
away and filled the space in her suitcase with
local crafts. Consider spending money in the
local economy rather than at international
hotel chains, and seek out locally owned
restaurants and bars.
To help the environment, use public trans-
portation as much as possible. “You’re going
to have a better experience” too, says Dodds.
Finally, take your packaging with you
when you leave a place. And never buy gifts
made from endangered animals or other ille-
gal materials.
4. SAY HELLO
“My dad used to say you need to learn to
say, ‘How can I get a cup of coffee’ in the
local language,” says Dodds, author of a new
book, “Overtourism: Issues, Realities and
Solutions” (De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2019).
Even in places where many locals speak
English, learning a few words in their lan-
guage — please, thank you, yes, no — will
earn you good will and a more authentic
experience.
Also, be patient and respectful of those
trying to manage the crowds. At the Louvre,
union representatives had complained that
renovation work around the Mona Lisa led
to organizational problems, long lines and
harassment of staff by tourists. They said
staff numbers have diminished over the past
decade even as the number of visitors rose
20%.
Amid the excitement of even bucket list-
level travel, Deichmann says, keep in mind:
“What if this were your village?”
As craft beer market grows, so do wild flavors
Today’s brewers
kick it up a
notch trying
to distinguish
themselves
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
Associated Press
Anyone for steak and
onion Kolsch? Or a maca-
roni and cheese pale ale?
Those were among the
flavors at the Strange Brew
Festival in Reno, Nevada,
this month, where competi-
tion for attention has inten-
sified as craft beers have
boomed.
Brewers have always
experimented, from the
medieval Belgians who
stirred sour cherries into
their beer to newer varieties
like the white IPA, a mar-
riage of Belgian and Amer-
ican styles that was devel-
oped about a decade ago.
But today’s brewers have
kicked it up a notch as they
try to distinguish themselves
from everyone else trying to
distinguish themselves.
Visitors at the festival in
Reno could sample a pea-
AP photo by Haven Daley
A blue raspberry Jolly
Rancher sour beer is poured
at the Strange Brew Festival
in Reno, Nevada.
AP photo by Haven Daley
Hal McConnellogue, cellar manager at Drake’s Brewing Com-
pany, works on putting chipotle peppers into a cask used
to infuse beer with unique flavors in San Leandro, Calif. As
craft breweries have boomed, competition for attention has
intensified and that has a lot of brewers looking for ways to
differentiate themselves by introducing strange new flavors.
nut butter and pickle pil-
sner, a tamale lager and a
smoked carrot stout. There
were concoctions from big
brewers like Sierra Nevada
and smaller local brew pubs,
sweet beers brewed with
Jolly Ranchers and spicy
ones that tasted like garlic
bread or mango salsa.
The U.S. had 7,346 craft
brewers last year, up 93%
from 2014, according to the
Brewers Association, an
industry trade group. Craft
beer sales rose 7% to $27.6
billion last year, about one-
fourth of the total U.S. beer
market.
“People are looking for
ways to differentiate them-
selves and be the next big
thing,” said Jon Brandt, a
beer aficionado who works
for Washington-based dis-
tributor Madidus Importers.
“A lot of it is just about try-
ing to get noticed.”
A beer with head-turn-
ing labels or ingredients can
do just that. Denver-based
Wynkoop Brewing Co.
lures a lot of customers with
its Rocky Mountain Oyster
Stout, which is made with
roasted barley, seven differ-
ent grains and grilled buf-
falo or bull testicles.
“It actually started as
an April Fool’s joke,” said
John Sims, Wynkoop’s head
brewer. “It’s pretty popular.”
Wynkoop has traditional
ales and lagers on the menu,
too. Sometimes, Brandt
said, a wacky beer is a way
to get people to look at the
rest of a brewer’s lineup.
“I’m making a beer for
you to notice me, but I really
want to sell you my IPA,”
he said. Among the odd-
est beers he has tasted is a
Bloody Mary brew from
Michigan’s Short’s Brew-
ing Co. He liked it, but other
tasters thought it went too
far.
There are purists who
decry the trend toward
wacky ingredients.
“I personally am not
a fan of ridiculous brews
incorporating materials and
gimmicks that have no his-
torical provenance in brew-
ing,” said Charlie Bamforth,
a distinguished professor
emeritus in the food science
and technology department
of the University of Califor-
nia, Davis.
Bamforth said laws
restricting ingredients —
like Germany has — might
be going a bit too far. But he
would like to see some reg-
ulations defining what can
and can’t be called “beer.”
“If someone wants to
explore bizarre components,
then I think they should do it
under the umbrella of alter-
native beverages and not be
allowed to sully the good
name of beer,” he said.
Others say experiments
that stray too far get weeded
out quickly.
“It has to be flavorful. It
has to taste like beer,” said
Hal McConnellogue, cellar
manager at San Leandro,
California-based Drake’s
Brewing Co., which had an
IPA made with altar bread,
grapes and terpenes at the
festival. “It’s got to make
you want another one. If it
doesn’t, then it’s just gim-
micky and you’re going to
be out of the spotlight pretty
fast.”
Jess Lebow, the author of
“The Beer Devotional” and
“The United States of Craft
Beer,” says the high level
of experimentation is what
makes craft beer so special.
Lebow said he might only
try a steak and onion beer
once. It might be great, but
even if it’s not, it might lead
to a beer that’s a big hit.
“There are really only so
many flavors you can create
with water, malt, barley and
hops,” he said. “At the end of
the day, if the brewer is hav-
ing fun trying new things,
then I’m probably having
fun trying their beer.”