A Change in Perspective: How Do Host Communities Feel About International Tourism?

Aug. 2, 2011 - PRLog -- San Francisco, CA, USA  - Today, Local Perspectives on Tourism (LPT) announces the launch of a groundbreaking online travel project, featuring in-the-field interviews with local residents about the impact of tourism on host communities.  

LPT visits destinations with an established or emerging tourism presence and interviews locals and expatriates to document their impressions of how tourism is affecting their towns, countries, cultures and lives.  To date, interviews have been conducted in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and Thailand.

Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries. Yet current media coverage of tourism is almost always one-sided, focusing on visitor impressions or on services available for tourists.   LPT founder Sam Chen notes, “With international travel becoming ever more pervasive, understanding how host communities feel about tourism’s impact is integral for responsible and ethical tourism policies.”   LPT seeks to diversify the global dialogue on international travel by including local perspectives.

Full-length interviews with locals can be read at http://www.localperspectives.net.  

Featured video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaPhPRP8IbU



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Local Perspectives on Tourism (LPT) is an on-going interview project featuring host community opinions on how tourism is affecting their towns, countries, cultures and lives.

www.localperspectives.net