Gringo Trails

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, created by Pegi Vail is a must-watch documentary, especially for those in the tourism management industry. Entertaining, educational, and emotional this is a film that is enjoyable to watch, yet will also teach a lot. Almost everyone will agree with and understand the concept that tourism can ruin the authenticity and natural landscape of a destination, but this documentary gives numerous specific, concrete examples told through stories that engage the audience. Starting in the Bolivian Amazon forest and travelling through to Salar de Uyuni's salt deserts, Haad Rin's beach pollution, and the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, among others, Gringo Trails leaves nothing general or to the imagination. This is a film that highlights issues we all need to be aware of, and what can be done to manage tourism's world takeover.

If you're looking for a detailed documentary Gringo Tails is the way to go. It makes a person think about a tourist and if they are good or bad. It makes a person create an opinion of good stories or bad ones. This documentary makes you feel like your part of someone's story by making you feel like your actually there. The movie length could have been a little shorter by eliminating the unnecessary interviews. Overall it was a good documentary not too long but not too short.

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.