Bal Harbour

Going on vacation might not seem like a big deal, but ever y time you get on a flight, you're participating in one of the most powerful industries and social phenomena on the planet. According to author Paige McClanahan, there w ill be 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals this year. "When you're a tourist, yes, you're a consumer, yes, you're there to have fun, but you're also a member of a huge social force, whether you realize it or not," she says. McClanahan's new book "The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Power and Perils of Travel" examines the nuances of how the tourism industry a…ects the world. "The book is really about exploring the stakes and waking up people's curiosit y about tourism, and the enormit y of this phenomenon that they par ticipate in when they travel," says McClanahan. Here, she discusses the book's origin stor y, liv ing in the French A lps, and what it means to be a "new tourist." Where did you get the idea for this book? Why did you think it needed to exist in the world? I've lived outside of the United States, my home country, for almost my entire adult life, as a traveler and kind of floating around. During the summer of 2018, I moved with my family to this little village in the French Alps, where tourism is really the lifeblood of the local economy. It's the reason that the village exists, and hasn't disappeared entirely like thousands of other villages in Western Europe. Seeing how tourism brought life to this community, along with challenges and opportunities, gave me a different perspective on this phenomenon. What are some things that a tourist can do when traveling abroad to be more conscien- tious or respectful to residents? In my introduction to the book, I set out the dichotomy between an "old tourist" and a "new tourist." An "old tourist" is somebody who is kind of a pure consumer: they see themselves as a cog in this industrial machine of tourism; they visit a place to cross it off their list or to take pictures to show off to their friends. They don't open themselves up to becoming involved in the place or the people they're meeting. I contrast that with "the new tourist," who approaches a destination with her heart and mind wide open, and is there to learn and explore. She is there to share some of herself, even as she opens herself up to the place she's visiting. The "new tourist" seeks knowledge, acknowledges that her presence has an impact, and is looking to understand what that impact looks like. It sometimes feels like "tourist" is a dirty word. Why do you think that is? We talk about this distinction between a "tourist" and a "traveler." I think there's a lot of s tigma around the word "tourist"—I've felt that stigma myself. One of my main motivations in writing this book is because I think that stigma isn't helpful for anybody. It's not helpful for us as tourists; it's not helpful for gov- ernments managing tourism. If we get rid of that stigma, then we can raise our collective expectations of what a tourist is or what a tourist can be. Pick a theme. Just like you plan your sightseeing while on vacation, you can design your summer reading with a specific goal in mind. If you love delving into cer tain periods in the past, you might tackle a list of historical fiction. If you loved Leslie Jamison's "The Empathy Exams," you could spend your summer reading essay collections. If you liked "The Guest List," by Lucy Foley, you could breeze through cozy whodunits. Or take a cue from a friend of Kaplan's who prefers "complete bonbons" altogether. Set a goal. Take a page from the kiddos and use summer reading to learn something new, Kaplan suggests, and approach one topic in a targeted way. Since it's an election year, you could zero in on one of the big issues, and educate yourself about immigration, reproductive justice, or climate change. Depending on how closely you want to stick to your goal, make a list a month or two before the summer and create a reading list based on recommendations from friends, book clubs, or bestseller lists. "I know somebody who one summer decided they wanted to read 'The Russians,'" Kaplan says, referring to the iconic authors Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. Join (or create) a book club. For many of us, summer can be the perfect time to join a book club at your local library or bookstore. Or you can form your own club with friends or family: choose one or two books and meet throughout the summer to talk about them. "If you've got younger kids, you can assign them books or get them interested in certain topics," Kaplan says. Or, if kids are older, the entire family can read the same titles and talk about them around the dinner table. Ready to begin? Start with Books & Books' most anticipated summer titles: "Pink Glass Houses" (William Morrow), by Asha Elias; "Lies and Weddings" (Doubleday), by Kevin Kwan; "The Demon of Unrest" (Crown), by Erik Larson; "The Friday Afternoon Club" (Penguin Press), by Griffin Dunne; "The Swans of Harlem" (Pantheon), by Karen Valby; "Same As It Ever Was" (Doubleday), by Claire Lombardo; "All Fours" (Riverhead Books), by Miranda July —K.D. Paige McClanahan shares her manifesto for enlightened travel. BY KATE DWYER opens up THE INTENTIONAL TRAVELER PAGE TURNERS Books & Books founder Mitchell Kaplan shares his tips on planning your best-ever summer reading list. SHELF LIFE 44 BAL HARBOUR MAY 2024 SPECIAL EDITION P H OTO S CO U R T E S Y O F A L E X C R É T E Y S YS T E R M A N S, D O U B L E DAY B O O K S, R I V E R H E A D B O O K S, PA N T H E O N B O O K S

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