What about Christian Ethics? ‘The Christian Travel Planner’ fails in its mission
The Christian Travel Planner, Kevin J. Wright, 2008.
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 5, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1401603742
ISBN-13: 978-1401603748
Language: English
Paperback: 432 pages
‘The Christian Travel Planner’ by Kevin J. Wright is offered as a ‘must have’ guide for Christian tour organizers but sadly is on its initial release irrelevant if providing a Christian perspective was one of its objectives.
Mr. Wright appears to be very active in the Christian community: according to his website, he is considered an authority in Christian travel and is the founder and president of the World Religious Travel Association which earned him a personal audience with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 2000. However, he seems not to keep pace with the Pope in applying Christian principles to travel.
Pope John Paul II released an appeal in 2002 for the International Year of Ecotourism (United Nations Environmental Program UNEP, 2003) to not harm Creation and to travel in a more conscious and responsible way. Pope Benedict XVI called for ‘responsible stewardship’ for the planet at the recent World Youth Day in Australia; criticizing mankind's "insatiable consumption” which has scarred the Earth and squandered its resources: "The wonder of God's creation reminds us of the need to protect the environment and to exercise responsible stewardship of the goods of the Earth”. Given such positions of these Christian and other leaders, it is surprising to note the absence of any mention of sustainable and responsible tourism in the Travel Planner.
The book does give a rather complete (US) overview of a wide variety of travel agencies, tour operators, convention centres and seminar buildings for Christian meetings. It also encourages people to follow their spiritual ‘need’ to personally travel to all the historic places of the Scriptures. The absence of direction and information on how the Christian tourism industry can provide responsible travel options for their customers is striking, however. The book is meant to guide Christian travel organizers in their planning but fails, by any measure, to focus on the fundamental values of a Christian way of life (and travel).
The Travel Planner focuses on the fascination of travelling by offering quotes from the Scriptures regarding travelling and pilgrimage experiences. This focus on the mere individual experience must not be the principle motive for travelling by Christians. This approach rather contradicts the Pope’s position of a ‘fulfilled’ travel experience where travelling enhances intercultural understanding while having no or low impact on the ecosystems, alongside enjoying and preserving the fauna and flora of Planet Earth.
‘The Christian Travel Planner’ could have taken the opportunity to educate travellers about the social and ecological impact of travel and tourism. Instead, its author chose to promote Cruise Ship tourism, a leading contributor to Greenhouse gas emissions.
Along with air travel, this form of tourism is the most ecologically unfriendly way to travel as it consumes tons of fuel to support all the ships amenities. This excessive consumption of fuel results in huge carbon emissions contributing directly to global warming: a single compelling reason for Christian tourists to NOT step on cruise ships, nor fly to the port of departure as “Creation” is threatened.
It is imperative that the Christians and travel guide books develop a clear understanding of the connection between air and sea travel and their contribution to global warming. This connection provides Christians with the knowledge of the near term hazardous impact to the planet and especially to the world’s poorest people. It is a time for all tour operators and travellers to step back and ‘reduce’ excessive energy consumption.
The discrepancy between Kevin J Wright’s presentation of tourism and what Christians from around the world see as Christian values seems irreconcilable. Perhaps Kevin J Wright will reconcile this in his next book and address crucial issues of modern responsible travellers: responsible travel with guidelines such as the “Code of Conduct”, widely available information on fair and ethical travel and pricing, ecologically friendly accommodations, and ‘soft’ transportation, etc.
The fast profits Kevin J Wright projects from the booming Christian Pilgrimage tourism will only last as long as the destinations are preserved. They are currently in danger of falling apart as a result of the impact of additional floods, droughts and hurricanes. Taking such facts into consideration and adjusting the product offer accordingly will not only satisfy the needs of modern Christian travellers but also make the Christian travel business more sustainable – and profitable – in the long run.
Today, after including the challenge of climate change in their prayers, Christian travellers need to base their trips on the ethics of ecologically friendly and responsible, non-harming travelling.
It is a shame that the book does not apply Christian principles to travel.
The motto ‘fly less, stay longer’ must be embraced by travellers based on widely accessible information on the adverse impact of tourism.
ECOT looks forward to the next edition of the ‘Christian Travel Planner’ – one that provides better travel guidance to the Christian community.
Julia Schönhärl
Courtesy: ECOT
Julia Schonaharl works with the Chiang Mai-based Ecumenical Coalition on Tourism
