Author Archives: Shadia Garrison

Born in Cairo, Egypt to parents who met as Peace Corps volunteers living in Tunisia, Shadia has since journeyed all over the planet. She has an undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology from Indiana University, and spent 1990 living and travelling through Chile, South America. Her blog The Mindful Tourist attempts to write snarkily (new word!) on socially conscious travel.

Mindful Tourist Book Review: The Lost Girls

The book “The Lost Girls” came out yesterday, the same day we finished our advance copy of the 539-page opus.

Calling Poverty Tourism by its true name

Shadia Garrison examines the rise in Slum Tourism in her Blog The Mindful Tourist, questioning its benefits and the terms we use to define it.

A Tourist’s role in Archaeological ethics

Some tourists think that since artifacts have already been looted, what’s the harm in buying them?

Book review: Eat, Pray, Love

We had resisted reading this book for a very long time. It was too popular for us to like it, we thought. Who hadn’t read this book, we thought? Consider our snobby selves taught a lesson. We liked it, we really liked it!

Your answer to finding sustainable tourism around the globe

The Mindful Tourist was just recently made aware of a global-yet-local travel company that is working to promote small accommodations for travelers.