Win some great summer reading courtesy of Random House Struik Publishing – see ‘What’s Martin Reading?’ below.

LIKE YOU, I’ve been watching the unfolding crisis in the world’s economy with a certain horror. I’ve always been fascinated with the collapse of ‘29 and naively felt that we’d learned from our mistakes and that it could never happen again.

Well, looks like it can…

And this is very worrying, of course. But there’re a few fundamental differences between 1929 and 2008 – beginning with the size of the world’s economy and ending with the size of the world itself. Because the economy’s a hell of a lot bigger and the world’s a hell of a lot smaller.

And – because more people are able to travel today than ever before – well, we kind of think that tourism is bullet-proof and that it’s a cure-all for depressed and backward economies. And so we fool ourselves into thinking that it’ll change the world and make everything better.

Trouble is – it won’t. And it can’t. And it shouldn’t (remember my article “Travel Writing – The Double-edged Sword?”).

This is why I’ve been so struck by the writings of Thomas L. Friedman. When I read his book “The World is Flat” (not that I actually, you know, READ it – but I did LISTEN to every word: I have it on my iPOD!), I realised what was wrong with tourism.

It’s this: the tourism industry is all about transport and the transport industry is not only unsustainable – it’s killing us (on many levels: as the financier of oil-backed terrorism, as the source of global warming and, because of price speculation, as one of the sources of the current financial crisis).

So when I read about a guest house being ‘sustainable,’ or an event being ‘green,’ I react in only one way: “that’s crap.”

It doesn’t matter how much recycling each one of us pretends to do – because our recycled stuff goes off to the recycling plant in a vehicle powered by fossil fuels (doh-oh: any good you do by saving your newspapers is undone the moment you move ‘em).

Same with people. Any good you do by trying to sensitise them through your lodge’s education programme is immediately undone when you transport them (the people – not the programmes) home again.

Fossil Fuels, guys – that’s what’s going to kill tourism. Because they’re running out, because they’re polluting our air/water/earth and because we aren’t doing enough to replace them with real green technologies.

And that’s why I want you to please – please – hear what Thomas L. Friedman has to say about the future (and also what my other current favourite author, Malcolm Gladwell of ‘The Tipping Point’ and ‘Blink’ fame – has to say, too).

To make it easy for you, I’ve put the interview onto my blog. Go here.

And then tell me what our industry (and everyone else) ought to be doing to protect our future …

Bungi Jumping at Gourits Bridge

You might’ve picked up reports about the fact that Face Adrenalin has temporarily suspended its bungy jumping operations at the Gourits River Bridge.

DON’T PANIC! Face Adrenalin’s Still On The Bridge And Still Operating!

It’s a safety issue: parts of the old bridge’s metal supporting structure have started falling away as a result of what looks like a lack of maintenance by the landlords. Thomas Ngomana and his fellow directors at Kiwi Extreme / Face Adrenalin  (the tenants) have been assured by engineers who’ve checked it that there’s no danger to the bridge itself – but they decided to stop jumping because the landing area (where the metal bits tend to land, too) is directly below the bridge.

But Kiwi Extreme / Face Adrenalin IS still operating its popular bridge swinging experience off the Gourits Bridge: and it’s safe, too, because the landing area for the swing lies beneath the national road bridge (which, thankfully, ISN’T shedding any of its parts).

So – if you need an adrenalin rush, stop by at the Gourits River Bridge on the N2 (just about 20 minutes west of Mossel Bay). And tell ‘em I told you so…

Win with the Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge

Here’s a special offer to businesses based in the Garden Route: enter a team for the Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge on December 28th and you could win breakfast and a game walk or game drive at Buffalo Hills African Adventure Reserve
for the members of your team – and their partners.

Find out more here.

The Sabrina Love Ocean Challenge is staged with the support of the international family wealth advisers, Stonehage – which allows the organisers to donate the total of all entry fees to the Sabrina Love Foundation (which helps kids – and their families – living with disabilities in Plettenberg Bay).

Need a Specialist Indigenous Landscaping Team?

Talking about the Garden Route – if you’ve got a property in the Plett/ Knysna/ Sedgefield area and you’re looking for a really good landscaping team to fix up your garden – or to plant you a new one – may I recommend Dynamic Landscaping?

More here.

What’s Martin Reading?

Visit the BarefootBookshop to stand a chance to win one of four copies of Nature’s Design – Exploring the Mysteries of the Natural World by Richard Thompson (courtesy of Random House Struik Publishers).

You’ll find it here.

Buffalo Hills African Adventure Reserve?

Yes – but you might know it as Buffalo Hills Game Reserve and Lodges. They’ve changed tack recently and they want you to know about it – and hence the name change.

There’s more in This Tourism Week’s Media Room: go here.

And Finally… Have you visited This Tourism Week’s free Jobs in Tourism page?

Your future could be waiting for you here right now…