Interrogating Travel: Guidance from a Reluctant Tourist

by Paul Lindholdt

Never in human history has travel been so accessible to so many. But―amid an escalating climate crisis that threatens the homes of vulnerable people across the world―has the human cost of trekking the globe become too high? Paul Lindholdt links firsthand narratives with research about the travel trade, telling stories of his reluctant voyages while arguing that carbon-intensive trips abroad may be offset if adventurers come to know and love the landscapes closer to home. Tourism may be the planet’s largest industry, but Interrogating Travel advises readers to stay mindful of the consequences of their journeys, whether visiting local getaways or some of Earth’s most remote locations.

300 pages, Paperback

Published June 14, 2023

Reviews

[Ally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad giving this book a low rating bc the author seems like a good person but I either misunderstood the title or it's not marketed well. I thought it would be a journalistic account of how travel impacts climate and indigenous folks but it's more like a lyric memoir with sources. I made it all the way to Chapter 7 before I gave up, but it just wasn't what I was looking for. This might be better for someone looking for a memoir around travel and the art of finding the "new" in their surroundings but I wanted to learn more hard data about climate change (and if it's in the book, it's not before pg 79).

[Nadirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Interrogating Travel" is a collection of essays by Paul Lindholdt which focuses on travel, its effects and its byproducts in the age where travelling has been made easier than ever. This is as much of a memoir as it is a commentary on travels and its drawbacks, and the essays range from the emotional to the more ruminating observations on some travel & Western cultural practices such as hunting and the likes.

I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, "Interrogating Travel" presents a searing commentary on the effects of travel and its drawbacks when it comes to the devastating impact on and diminishing returns to locals. I like that Lindholdt is advocating for 'slow travel', where it's less about the numbers of countries you've dipped your toes in and more about travelling to really immerse yourself in the countries' cultures and contribute to the local economy.

On the other, there's an inherent sense of conflict between the author's talks of his travel vs. what he thinks of the practice, because even though a lot of his points and reflections denounce the practice, there's no denying the fact that he's also complicit in it by travelling in the first place, as are we all. (His reasoning being that he travels to make his spouse, who loves to travel, happy.)

These two dichotomies co-exist in this collection, and you're left with no easy answer if you're looking for one to help you with your conscience. Instead, as the title suggests, the essays will ask you to interrogate your own travel habits and how it impacts nature & local communities. Ever since the pandemic happened, I've been thinking about the same issues myself, especially now that incidents like the recent Maui fire has revealed how entitled some tourists and travellers can be (protip: if the locals are telling you not to come, don't go there). Yes, it's so much easier to travel now, but at what cost?

All in all, this is a recommended read if you're into essays that force you to reflect on your own thoughts and practices, though for a more detailed account of how travelling and all its adjacent industries (e.g. cruise liners, Airbnb, hoteliers and the likes) are disrupting the lives of the locals as well as the economy, I'd highly recommend picking up Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism.

[Julie Titone · Rating 5 out of 5]

To travel or not to travel as climate change barrels down upon us? Paul Lindholdt asks the question without giving a satisfying answer. But this collection of deeply personal and well-researched essays is well worth a read, perhaps because it might also be titled "Reflections of a Reluctant Traveler." His idea of travel has always been camping, he says, and he likes adventuring in his native Northwest. But his wife has other ideas, so he has gone far afield. That internal tension and the non-monetary costs of travel, especially its carbon intensive nature, are what drive the book.

With eyes open and gut gripped, Lindholdt draws upon his experiences from Belize to Bora Bora to question almost everything he experiences. That includes the lows (fearing for his life, and his family's, during a tropical storm) to the highs (skinny dipping with his beloved in a moon-dappled sea). He encourages readers to be curious travelers, not consumptive tourists. It is a valuable message, if not the answer to our travel-or-not dilemma.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what can be forever lost in the Salish Sea to what can be found paddling the imagined Lake Missoula, Lindholdt invites the reader to accompany him as he explores his conflicted relationship with travel.
With candor, he chronicles his angst that his first-world privilege allows him to venture to exotic locales all the while understanding the impact of air travel on climate change and the results of tourism on the beauty of places once pristine.
He sums up the difference between travel and tourism. "Travelers settle into foreign experiences and absorb them. Tourists wring the sponge and rush on."
The autobiographical insights sprinkled throughout the book reveal how his relationships with his father, sons, and wife affect and inform his experiences and destinations.

[Galen Leonhardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored reading this deeply insightful series of contemplations on the idea of travel. Few authors offer this level of insight. This is a must read for those interested in quality essay writing.