The rules of responsible travel

The folks of Tristan de Cunha, the most remote inhabited place on earth, are a secretive bunch. In an article for BCC, Simon Winchester discusses being banished from the island for inadvertently sharing an island secret. And no, he doesn’t repeat the secret in the article. But he does have a powerful philosophical conclusion about the moral code of travel:

Travel brings with it many responsibilities: not to damage the environment, to “take only pictures, leave only footprints” as the mantra has it.

But we, in our clumsy outsider way can unwittingly do other and less obvious damage too, like imposing, breaching codes, violating secrets.

I have to conclude that a quarter of a century ago I did so too. So melancholy though it may be for me, I am inclined to believe that I have been given a late-term lesson in the ethics of tourism and that the people of Tristan, in obliging me to stay away and remain here, were quite probably… absolutely right.

It’s a shitty situation to receive a lifetime ban for an accidental transgression. But I appreciate Winchester’s take on the situation. The fact of the matter is that when you’re traveling, you have to respect the rules of the destination. Even if you break a rule you didn’t know about, then you have to be willing to accept the consequences. Typically you find out about breaking unknown “rules” when a crooked cop tries to corner you for a bribe. But every so often you’ll make a misstep and have to realize you are from somewhere else, and have to play by others rules for the privilege of being a guest. C’est la vie.