The Last Tourist

I was in tears through half this documentary. I feel for all the people and animals.

I have an acquaintance, cruises a lot, she wears blinders when in another country unless it is a first world country.

When it comes to the developing countries, her response is "why do I care, I do not live here".

She is probably, like a lot of tourists from the US, why do they not speak American, and conform to my lifestyle.

I am from the Caribbean, I know what happens in they countries.

I plan to share this documentary to all my friends and family. If one person can remove their blinders, you have been successful with this documentary.

As "The Last Tourist" (2021 release; 100 min) opens, we are introduced to the dark side of mass tourism: overcrowded beached; trash everywhere, and oh, masses and masses of people. And that's just for starters. The production team then exposes the really bad stuff: in Kenya, out of every dollar spent by tourists, only 14 cents remains in the country. In other words: 86% is retrieved by airlines, foreign-owned hotels, etc. And we haven't even gotten to the animal abuse and the orphanage tourism...

Couple of comments: this is the feature-length debut of director Tyson Sadler. Filmed mostly pre-COVID, the film is nothing short of an urgent plea for more equitable and sustainable tourism going forward. Why I think I had a good understanding of the concept of "sustainable" tourism going in, the concept of "equitable" tourism is something I had never given much though about. The shocking statistic of how little the growing numbers of tourists benefit the local population was truly an eye-opener for me. Please note that the film contains scenes of heartbreak and even shock, so this is not for the faint of heart. But its message is so darned important an on point. I know that the next time I plan an international trip, I will ask some pointed questions.

"The Last Tourist" opened last year in the film festival circuit to unanimous critical acclaim, and there is good reason why this film is currently rate 100% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. It recently premiered on Hulu, which is where I caught it. If you like a good documentary or have any interest in international tourism, I'd readily suggest you check thus out, and draw your own conclusion.

Of course, one should not travel mindlessly as is pointed out here. But if you truly care about life on the planet, you will not be flying for fun. This misses the bigger picture and ignores the climate catastrophe. I know, few want to hear the truth.

That this place I exploited, made a map to, and shared with people would become exploited by millions!

Ugh, the complete lack of self-awareness is stunning to say the least, and narcissistic.

It's funny, our family has been saying this since I was a child- to take a vacation, just go somewhere off the beaten path, stay a few days, know the culture AND language, adapt to their ways, clean up after yourself, and be kind. If you don't know the language, you shouldn't be allowed in, if you aren't familiar with their standards/practices, stay out, and if you can't behave as an adult, stay home.

I completely understand, especially after the insane lockdowns, our need to explore, but going where everyone else is, yuck. Maybe start in your own backyard first, get to know your own city/locality, state, country- then visit bordering areas, then volunteer in close areas, then if you still feel the need, immerse yourself in education, and then visit a foreign country. But in order to do so, we need an app that disables all social media, all ability to take pics/videos, and just be still for a while.

If a person takes a trip but doesn't have the pics to prove it, did it ever really happen? We may never know because I doubt it's happened to date.

This has zero to do with climate change, this is common sense- and if you have to create an entire documentary around this devastation to locations, I think we've got a colossal issue that's needs addressed.

Beautiful shot documentary that shines a sobering light on the cost of our love of travelling. An important documentary that should be seen by everyone regardless of how frequent a traveller they are.

A number of memorable characters.