[wallflower]

This article reminded me of this one about travel writing. Travel is very big business. And who are the advertisers? Sometimes prideful, powerful sovereign nations; advertising does not have to be overt as product-placement but positive product-pronouncement.

"When I was at a major U.S. airline, our inflight ran a feature package, an absolute blowjob on the wonders of a certain Caribbean country. The story included a single mention of a broken-down truck on the side of a road and a hotel with paper-thin walls.

Well, guess what? The country’s Chamber of Commerce or some well-connected business group went apeshit over this perceived insult and their indignant screams went up to the national government level and then to the airline’s executive offices...

It just doesn’t make sense for major corporations to risk offending anyone when hundreds of millions of dollars could be lost because some snarky writer getting paid a buck a word wanted to inject a little local color...

And that’s one of the great misunderstandings about travel. The billions at stake. You and I experience travel in the most personal possible way. But in the larger context, it’s a global industry so massive that it’s net worth can’t even be properly calculated."

[http://www.bravenewtraveler.com/2008/01/17/interview-chuck-t...]

[DaniFong]

Incidentally, if you want to hear stories about real travel, my mom has a blog, http://www.theyearofbloggingdangerously.com/

Great places to start:

Bootlegging in the Sahara, a How-Not-To guide: http://www.theyearofbloggingdangerously.com/2008/05/bootlegg...

Apropos to the current conversation, Going to Hell and Back the Perils of Travel Writing: http://www.theyearofbloggingdangerously.com/2008/05/going-to...

and "How to Retire at 28 and Travel the World.": http://www.theyearofbloggingdangerously.com/2008/02/how-to-r...