Researchers are heading to Dharavi, Mumbai, to study the impact of slum tours on the residents.
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Global news with a spatial perspective: Interesting, current supplemental materials for geography students and teachers. http://geographyeducation.org
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Seth Dixon
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Seth Dixon's insight:
The article leaves me with more questions than answers. What do the residents think about the tons of tourists wondering through their winding streets? The very idea of tourism to see poverty in situ in an authentic slum is riddled with power and cultural imbalances. Why would wealthy tourists from the developed world want to more fully explore the slums in the developing world? What do you see as the 'wrong' and the 'right' within this situation? Is slum tourism ethical? Delete the scoop?
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South America is a land of natural exotic beauty that will leave you speechless, a land of mystery and great historic importance. If you make a trip to the southern hemisphere, be sure to include these precious gems.
Seth Dixon's insight:
Beautiful Places! 
Araceli Vilarrasa Cunillé's curator insight,
February 12, 6:58 AM
Per treballar sobre itineraris de viaatge amb Google Earth 
benj's comment,
February 17, 12:39 PM
I like seeing different species of plants and trees and learning about their uses and history. South America's vast tropical biomes are perfect.
Sam Capron's curator insight,
February 20, 9:12 PM
This is an amazing grouping of photos that fully reveal and display what a diverse place South America really is. From beautiful waterfalls to snowcapped mountains, this is a place with a rich geographic landscape. Delete the scoop?
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Oh, Machu Picchu, ancient city of the Incas, pride of Peru, must-see travel destination: You've never been so appropriately photobombed by a llama.
Seth Dixon's insight:
Millions of tourists have already taken a picture of Machu Picchu from this angle, and yet, tourists all want to replicate the iconic shot as for themselves--proof that they were there and had the full experience. Iconic images are perfect for internet memes (and in this instance a photobomb) because there is a shared cultural understanding of what the picture should look like normally and inverting that provides the comic relief. CAPTION THIS PHOTO IN THE COMMENTS SECTION. Tags: Peru, South America, tourism, images. 
C. Kevin Turner's comment,
February 4, 8:28 PM
I will try to replicate this shot... we are there for our Spring Break trip this year!
Seth Dixon's comment,
February 5, 6:38 AM
You'll have to show me that picture this summer Kevin! My volleyball team is called the 'volley llamas' so this is our newest mascot.
Sam Capron's curator insight,
February 20, 9:17 PM
This is a truly epic photobomb! Ahhh....ahhhh....PICCHUUUUUUU! Delete the scoop?
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The Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali, is a magnet for tourists, but it is increasingly difficult for locals to live a normal life around it.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This New York Times short video is an intriguing glimpse into some of the cultural pressures behind having the designation of being an official world heritage site. The grerat mosque combined with the traditional mud-brick feel to the whole city draws in tourists and is a source of communal pride, but many homeowners want to modernize and feel locked into traditional architecture by outside organizations that want them to preserve an 'authentic' cultural legacy. Tags: Islam, tourism, place, religion, culture, historical, community, Mali, Africa. Delete the scoop?
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This is more for the teachers than the students since this is most certainly not a current pop culture reference. Still, what's better than an interactive map displaying the locations where Johnny Cash has been while listening to him sing "I've Been Everywhere?" (Tech support: Use Google Chrome or Safari to play and ignore the finger). 
Zoe Alexander's comment,
December 4, 2012 12:06 AM
The map is missing Baranquilla, it's a city in Colombia
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Some buildings and features are so well known they have become icons of place. This is a great collection of important world landmarks including the pictured Potala Palace in the Tibetan city of Lhasa. Who wouldn't like to see some of these places?
Tags: geo-inspiration, tourism, images. 
Dean Haakenson's comment,
November 8, 2012 11:05 AM
This can also be used to talk about the cultural landscape and material v. non-material culture. Student can try to process each photo in these terms.
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Papua New Guinea, once home to cannibals, still has an exotic aura. The local tourist economy caters to those notions, and visitors may see a hybrid of the traditional and the modern. This story is an intriguing blend--we see traditional cultures engaging in the global economy. They have created two villages: a traditional one designed for tourism filled with emblems of their folk cultures, and another one where people work, live eat and play with various markers of outside cultural and technological influence. "Tourists are taking pictures. They don't want to take pictures of those who are in Western clothes. People who are in Western clothes are not allowed to get close to people who are dressed up in the local dressings." Questions to Ponder: Which village do you see as the more "authentic" one? How can culture also be a commodity? Tags: folk culture, tourism, indigenous, culture, economic, rural, historical, unit 3 culture, Oceania. Delete the scoop?
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La Tomatina is a festival that is held in the Valencian town of Bunol, located inland from the Mediterranean Sea, that brings together thousands of people for one big tomato fight – purely for fun! La Tomatina is a cultural festival in Spain that is world renowned for it's exuberance and playfulness. This gallery of 26 images shows some of the dynamism and appeal to this extraordinary event where more than 40,000 people engage in the world's largest foof fight using upwards of 100 tons of tomatoes in the yearly food fight known as 'La Tomatina.' Notice the signs for storing backpacks and luggage that are now pastered with tomatoes on the store in the background of the image. These hastily-composed, informal signs are written in three languages (Spanish, English and Japanese). What does this tell us about the festival? Also, notice how the comments section revolves around the concepts of waste, poverty and consumption. Tags: Europe, food, tourism, seasonal, culture, unit 3 culture, consumption. 
's comment, September 12, 2012 2:46 PM
La Tomatina, the Spanish food fight seems like much ado about nothing. Issues of waste and absurdity are mitigated by the fact that tomatoes are cheap and abundant. Dangers, most likely of the slip and fall variety are incurred by the participants as part of the “fun”, and unless you believe that tomatoes have feelings it appears that no one really gets hurt. The bigger issue seems to be the cultural cache it has -40,000 revelers coming from as far away as East Asia for what amounts to a large food fight. I would say that what it says most about us as a society is that we need to both; blow off a little steam, and to feel like a part of something larger then ourselves.
Don Brown Jr's comment,
September 12, 2012 3:03 PM
I find myself caught between respecting the practices of other cultures as I can’t not help but acknowledge that this is still very extravagant and wasteful although we in America are no better. This use of food can be seen globally as just another example of the widening depravation as undeveloped countries may view food solely for consumption while developed countries grow food for commerce with the notion that once you pay for it, it does not matter how you use it. 
Nicholas Rose's comment,
September 13, 2012 9:59 AM
This article is very interesting to say the least. The reason why is because culturally even this is the largest food fight in the world involving only tomatoes but it has been a critical cultural tradition in Spain for many years and will still become a tradition to Spain.
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The story behind the the International Date Line.
Not too long ago (Jan. 2012), the arbitrary International Date Line (roughly opposite the Prime Meridian) was moved to better accommodate the regional networks and economic geography of the area straddling the line. American Samoa, although politically aligned with the United States, was functionally more integrated on the Asian side of the Pacific Rim when it came to their trade partners and their tourism base. Dynamic economic networks, political allegiances and cultural commonalities create a beautifully complex situation near this 'border.' 
Kara H's comment,
August 4, 2012 6:50 PM
This article details the complex matter of the international date line, and the positioning of American Samoa. The moving of the IDL has an impact on the nation, placing it within the timezone of the east or west, and by doing so, aligning the nation with that region. This is the second time the IDL has been moved, resulting in lost time for the nation.
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Morgan Halsey's comment,
September 8, 2012 10:13 AM
I really like this quote and it got me thinking. One who does not experience what other places are like can only base life off of what they know. They don't know how blue the water of the Bahamas is or how it feels to stare up at the Eiffel Tower. They haven't been able to see the different cultures of the world and how they act. They only know what they know because of what they've seen in pictures or heard from other people. This does not give them the knowledge that they need about other places.
's comment, September 11, 2012 9:21 PM
St. Augustine hit this saying out of the ball park. Sometimes when I try taking picutres of the sky or of a scene, I will delete the picture because it just isnt the same as in realy life. I really think that traveling gives people a reality shock when seeing new phenomena.
Lydia Blevins's comment,
September 12, 2012 10:14 PM
What i think this quote means is that you may think you know a lot about the world but until you go and travel to different places you will not fully understand the world. I also think it means that there is so many different things to experience on earth.
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Tourism Concern fights exploitation in the global tourism industry. We are an independent, non-industry based, UK charity.
This is another way to conceptualize the geographic impacts of tourism. Wealthy tourists from developed countries spend their money in less developed countries, creating a power imbalance within the local community between locals and tourists. Local absolutely need the tourists dollars but these funds come and a social and environmental cost. Tourists use far more local resources per capita than the local residents, one reason why some refer to tourism as an 'irritant industry.' What other forms of social friction can arise from tourism? For a more detailed response to this situation see this news article in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/jul/08/fresh-water-tourist-developing Delete the scoop?
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This is a great set of images that show coastal processes for a geomorphology or physical geography class. Pictured above is Palm Bay, Australia, which also happens to show fluvial processes as well. Delete the scoop?
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(eTN) - The headline news in eTN about the takeover of Timbuktu by Islamists compels tourism stakeholders to think sincerely why such events are happening at the map of tourism?
Tourism, with it's elements of geographical voyeurism, can be seen as a potent symbol of what many extremists are trying to eliminate. Also, it gets international attention in a hurry. 
Kim Vignale's comment,
July 16, 2012 10:17 PM
Terrorists may be attacking tourists because they are trying to send a message to the general public. There is no other way they relay the message so they use violent acts to get attention. During 9/11, terrorists were willing to give up their lives in the name of power and religion. Other forms of terrorism is drug smuggling across the borders; not only is it illegal but many lives are endangered. Drug cartels would pay innocent people to smuggle drugs in and in some cases these people do not know what are in the packages.
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Blue countries are more welcoming, red countries less. Where does yours rank?
Seth Dixon's insight:
The World Economic Forum compiled a report on global tourism and part of that was an estimation of the attitude of each countries' population toward foreign visitors--this map is a visualization of that data. Why would some particular countries be more or less welcoming? What surprises you about this map?
Disclaimer: according to this article, there is much that is methodologically wrong with this map. Tags: tourism. 
Brianna Simao's comment,
April 30, 10:26 PM
I’m not surprised the United States was placed in the middle of the scale. The greatly different opinions people have regarding immigration is what keeps us in the middle. Many people do have problems with foreigners because they feel displaced and cheated on what they get from their country, almost as if the new comers are getting special treatment. I wasn’t surprised that China is one of the least welcoming because they are trying to control their population and they have such a strong culture they don’t want anyone coming in and changing it. But you also have to think about what perspective this is in, is this poll on the feelings towards temporary visitors, a permanent stay, or all foreigners in general?
Jess Pitrone's comment,
May 5, 5:25 PM
A lot of things about these rankings of countries that are least welcoming to foreigners surprised me, while others seemed blatantly obvious. It’s no surprise to me that countries like Iceland and New Zealand are among the most welcoming, they’re both in the middle of no where and no one ever visits them. I’m sure they jump at the chance for someone to visit! What did surprise me, however, was that the United States wasn’t less welcoming. I thought for sure we’d be in the red. The way Americans treats foreigners is appalling, no matter where their from (because we’ll probably mistake them from being from somewhere else that we don’t like), or if they’re here to visit or to live. Although we expect to be treated the exact opposite in any other country, and would prefer to be waited on and catered to. It’s very interesting to me that Mexico is more welcoming then the U.S., which is ironic, because we generally don’t welcome them.
Thomas D's comment,
May 6, 10:29 AM
I think this map of least and most welcoming countries to tourist is very interesting. I look at this through the American point of view and see that countries like Russia, Iran and Pakistan who are among the least welcoming states. These are all countries that we have had conflicts with throughout our countries history. I also find it interesting that the United States is such a neutral country towards tourism. A country that was based off of immigrants is no longer so welcoming to outsiders coming to our country. This could be due to the recent terrorist acts that have taken place within the United States in the past 15 years. Also just by looking at the map in a broader sense most of the countries that are unwelcoming are located in western Europe and Asia rather than anywhere else in the world.
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When it came time for the Super Bowl, Clemmie Greenlee was expected to sleep with anywhere from 25 to 50 men a day.
Seth Dixon's insight:
There certainly is a dark side to large sporting events as this article on human trafficking makes perfectly clear. The 'event economy' based on tourism (even without trafficking) also has some negative impacts. Delete the scoop?
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Africa has a lot to offer the adventurous traveller. We've compiled a list of the must-see places any trip should include.
Sam Capron's curator insight,
April 4, 12:14 AM
All these pictures have really opened my eyes to what is out there in the world. For a guy that was never really interested in traveling these pictures opened the imagination and actually make me think that traveling could be highly rewarding. 
Louis Culotta's curator insight,
April 5, 12:25 PM
it's very cool spot on the plant, thats for sure. Delete the scoop?
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Jeffrey Gettleman, The Times’s Nairobi bureau chief, reports on how Kenya’s wildlife conservation corps is learning from a reformed poacher how to counter the growing threat to elephants.
Seth Dixon's insight:
In Somalia, former pirates are helping to patrol the coasts to prevent piracy. This idea of reforming and recruiting past criminals is also seen in Kenya as former poachers are trying to protect elephants that are essential to the local ecology as well as the tourism-driven economy. In addition to the attached video is this article which expands on these issues. Tags: biogeography, tourism, Africa, consumption, resources, ecology, Kenya. Delete the scoop?
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For over 1400 years, Mecca has been one of the most important cities in the Arabian Peninsula. By the middle of the 6th century, there were three major settl... As the heart of Islam, Mecca brings in pilgrims from around the world. This documentary gives a great overview of the historical, spiritual and cultural reasons why this is sacred space to over one billion Muslims. Additionally, this documentary contains an analysis of the logistics that are a part of the Hajj. Tags: Islam, tourism, place, transportation, religion, Middle East, culture. Delete the scoop?
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Facebook most social cities: People everywhere use Facebook to check in to places. Here you can see the 5 top hotspots of the most "social"cities. Questions to ponder: What attributes do these commonly 'checked into' landmarks have in common? Are you surprised that some are or are not on the list? Tags: socialmedia, place, tourism, infographic, London, NYC, Paris. Delete the scoop?
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Just a few weeks ago, warnings were flying thick and fast that the Olympic Games would reduce London to chaos, jamming the capital's roads and clogging up its aging transport system.
The Olympic Games have had a very uneven impact on the various neighborhoods of London. Many businesses that cater to tourists on the western end of London have not seen the typical crowds for a regular summer, much less a summer that was so highly anticipated. The majority of the neighborhood renovation projects were carried out on the East End. So the question: "are the Olympics an economic success for London?" is not one with a simple, straightforward answer. Delete the scoop?
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Two hundred countries and 20 times around the planet - a man's amazing journey in his Mercedes.
This 5 minute video is a glimpse into the life and travels of Gunther Holtorf, on a 23-year, 500,000 mile journey. This man has experienced, lived and seen so many of the places, cultures and environments that we try to make come to life for our students as we study the wonderful world we live in. Delete the scoop?
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Don't count on gaining much from your moment in the sporting sun.
Cities love the advantages of having the Olympics in town; the cultural prestige, the international publicity and the recognition as a globally significant city. The tourism and economic impact is the rationale for so many expensive infrastructure projects, yet research indicates that economic boost during the Olympics is not always the boon that it is made out to be. Delete the scoop?
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More than 75,000 firms that have helped to deliver London's Olympic Games are fighting a 12-year gagging order preventing them from talking about the work they have done, it emerged last night.
London has undergone important urban projects that have transformed the numerous parts of the city. These massive investments are now being questioned as some observers are skeptical as to whether or not their will be an adequate return on investment. Via geographil Delete the scoop?
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This gorgeous gallery shows some of the most beautiful and distinct walkways around the world. Take some time to just walk, and appreciate the world we live in. Pictured above is the "stunning flower walkway [that] is the known as the Wisteria Tunnel, situated in the Kawachi Fuji Garden (City of Kitakyushu). It is an 80-meter (260 ft) long tunnel of white Fuji flowers, while a tunnel of yellow Kingusari needs a few more years to become an actual tunnel." Delete the scoop?
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Visiter des bidonvilles, nouveau trend pour touristes en mal de nouveauté? Je me souviens avoir personnellement visité SOWETO en 2000, avec un groupe de journalistes belges. Nous avons logé chez une dame qui cédait une partie de sa maison pour se faire un peu d'argent, pour contribuer aux frais de ses deux fils étudiants à l'Unif. Ce fut une expérience inoubliable. Nous n'avons pas entendu le son de sa voix, elle nous servait à manger en silence et même si nous ne savions pas très bien comment réagir, nous avions l'impression que nous lui venions en aide, d'une manière ou d'une autre. En tous cas, la visite de ce bidonville fut pour moi éclairante.