Gringo Trails

The "Gringo Trails" documentary overall deals with a topic that is appropriate for anyone and addresses issues that need to be exposed to everyone. However, the film does include content that would not be appropriate for certain viewers. The intended audience appears to be those who are capable and enthused to travel. It is clear the projected message is, when traveling, be respectful and considerate of the people and the culture. The change is to cut down on tourism in places that cannot handle it. Mass tourism can ruin a community or a location. Prior to viewing this documentary, I didn't know anything about the effects of mass tourism and honestly was not expecting to see any major repercussions of this occurrence. However, using interviews and beautiful raw footage of Bolivia, Thailand, and other locations, this film addresses real problems and inclines you to desire change. I was most impacted by the part of the film intended to inform how quickly destruction of an area can occur, and the facts shocked me.

Pegi Vail's documentary "Gringo Trails," explores the causes and effects of tourism in developing destinations, where he uses destinations in South America, Africa, and Thailand as examples. Vail takes a distinct approach as to what one would expect from a documentary about tourism, where he tries to raise the awareness that traveling to new and unknown places are not always the best. Vail shows that the sudden flux in tourism at such destinations deteriorate its ambiance that make people want to go there. Overall, this documentary is eye-opening for its audience, in which it makes viewers think about what their effect on a particular culture is.

This documentary clearly portrayed the issue of bad tourism, and how tourism can destroy even the most remote of areas. The use of the locals story and direct interviews with the locals before and after the influx of tourists hit was very effective in showing the direct effects on these local people and villages. I enjoyed the beginning of the film, when they described this tragic story of a lost backpacker, and how tourists began to seek authenticity in their travels, this really set up the stage and set the tone for the rest of the documentary. This film addressed many important cultural issues, that tourists don't really think about when visiting remote destinations, such as those shown in this documentary. The use of stories from American backpackers and travelers was also effective in showing how uneducated travelers are to the culture and environment around them. This documentary was effective in showing how tourism can kill a community and culture, or can thrive in it through their relationship in a sustainable tourist society.

"Gringo Trails", directed by Pegi Vail, is an eye-opening documentary that raises questions regarding the tourism industry and how it has a direct impact on certain travel destinations. This film seeks to determine whether or not tourism is destroying our planet or changing it for the better. The movie brings viewers on an awe-inspiring journey through Latin America from Bolivia, all the way to the beautiful beaches of Thailand and beyond, to demonstrate how these once beautiful destinations have since become destroyed due to overpopulation and pollution. Through the life changing stories from travelers such as Yossi, to the native locals, this film seeks to change viewers perspectives on traveling and how to make wiser decisions. I would highly recommend this film to anyone who is seeking to expand their knowledge on the tourism industry and to gain a better understanding on how tourism and travel significantly impacts specific cultures and countries and its' people.

The documentary Gringo Trails directed by Pegi Vail, is an eye opening and insightful film about the horrors of the tourism industry. The film begins with the story of Yossi Ghinsberg, a man who was stranded in the Bolivian Amazon for almost a month, before being found by locals. Throughout the film, it shows short stories about remote places that have been taken over by tourist. From the beautiful beaches of Haad Rin to the small island of Incahuasi, tourist have not only overcome the population, they have changed the environments. Places that were once so bio-diverse, are quickly diminishing in the number of species because of the amount of people entering their land. The film also explains how places that used to be run by locals, are now controlled by the government, taking away the destinations charm and specialty. Overall, the film provides a whole new aspect to tourism that most people do not see and really focuses on the effect of the tourist.