Rapeseed fields in Austria / Photo by Stephen Chapman

The Schengen Zone Agreement was signed in 1985 in Schengen, Luxembourg by five European Community states to allow free movement of their people. The area now comprises 25 countries across Europe whose borders have been eliminated. Most of those involved are members of the EU with the exception of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.  The UK and Ireland are not part of this Zone.

It’s possible to drive from the south of Spain across all of Europe to Estonia without ever leaving the Schengen zone – a distance of some 4,300km (Further than Sydney to Perth or Miami to Seattle).

Czech Republic to Croatia

A recent trip from Prague to Dubrovnik with a few whl.travel colleagues really opened my eyes to the possibilities of road travel within Europe.

Day one was Breakfast in the Czech Republic, Lunch in Austria and dinner in Slovenia.  Admittedly the driving was near constant but in a nine seater van boredom is rarely a problem.  Day two took in another trio of countries - Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia - and we eventually broke out of the Schengen Zone leaving Slovenia.  Croatia is forecast to be joining the EU soon so it’s inclusion in this zone will not be too far away.

The change in landscape upon entering the top of Croatia is dramatic.  The lush, forested hills of Slovenia take over from the bright yellow rapeseed fields of the Czech Republic and Austria and give way to a barren karstic landscape that extends right down into the Balkans region.

Croatia-Slovenia border

For many years whilst Yugoslavia existed the border between Slovenia and Croatia was unmarked.  Today many Croatians living along this line cross it every day for various reasons, and there’s an agreement that allows them to do so with only an ID card.  The same is true along their borders with Hungary and Italy.

Yugoslavia fully disappeared in 2003 and by 2008 Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Kosovo all appeared independently on the world map.  Travelling through this region is a real education on the many political and social conflicts that have unfolded throughout history. Fascinating and hugely important events from a global perspective have occurred here over recent years.  WWII was triggered when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated on 28th June, 1914 in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

The journey down through Croatia towards Dubrovnik requires a short passage through Bosnia & Herzegovina at Neum.  This stretch of the Adriatic coast is the only access Bosnia & Herzegovina has to the Sea, and it splits Croatia in two for almost 25km.  The division goes back to the 1700s when Dubrovnik gave access to the Turkish army for protection from the nearby Republic of Venice.

All of the destinations listed below have travel websites run by local people, all eager for you to visit their homes.  I met all of these individuals at the conference I was travelling to on the island of Mljet, Croatia.  We stayed in the only hotel on the island, Hotel Odissej – a fascinating place to spend a few days with an inspiring group of people, all with incredible stories to tell.

• Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina - Twitter: @greenvisions & @thierryjoubert
• Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Medjugorje, Bosnia & Herzegovina - Twitter: @medjugorjeinfo
• Kvarner, Croatia
• Kotor, Montenegro – Twitter: @SlavicaMA
• Budva, Montenegro
• Podgorica, Macedonia
• Ohrid, Macedonia
• Bled, Slovenia
• Ljubljana, Slovenia – Twitter: @travelSlovenia

A regional gathering of passionate locals

A window on the world

Voyeurism

For an example of this type of tourism in Delhi, India see “Slum tours: a day trip too far?” by Amelia Gentleman of The Guardian. The article refers to a tour run by Salaam Baalak Trust that shows visitors where Delhi’s street children live and ply their trade as pickpockets on train platforms to feed their habbit of sniffing the white correction fluid called Eraz-Ex. The money raised from these tours goes into the Salaam Baalak Trust which then tries to rehabilitate these children through the provision of educational facilities.

A tour focused on the Prague homeless situation has recently been setup by praguehotel-link.cz.

“Our goal is to educate and inform travellers. We take you to the soup kitchen where you can see how life can be for some people.”

All proceeds from the tour are donated to the Novy Prostor “Big Issue” magazine that supports homeless people in the city.

It seems that if tourism is instigated by a community, either independently or with the support of an NGO then it is something that can indeed be nutured and play a crucial part in development and education. More purely voyeuristic tours such as those featured above seem wholly exploitative of a situation, with no real plans in place to directly ensure improvement as a result of tourism. Donating tour revenue to a local charity seems to show a lack of vision for what a more direct and engaging social enterprise can do, delivering hope and raising local interest through the visible benefits of doing business. If a company does not have the time or resources to consult with the subject of their tours and attempt to work out a way of directly linking tourism to community benefits then perhaps a tour shouldn’t be run. When a project isn’t managed on a local level by those involved but instead becomes part of the portfolio of a larger company it is surely destined to be more selfishly voyeuristic than altruistic.

Tourism

The programs that seem to work best are those such as the Morrinho Project in Rio outlined in an article by Tourism Concern titled “Slum Tourism Or Voyeurism” and set up by founders of the Brazilian B&B network Cama e Café. This project engages the community, involving them in the tourism rather than subjecting them to it.

Discussion

Gerhard Buttner who has trained guides and artisans in the Yucatan and Oaxaca regions of Mexico and won the 2008 Colibri Ecotourism Award from Planeta.com entered our Facebook discussion with the following:

“In South Africa this kind of tourism has become very common under the name of township tourism and yes A VERY FINE LINE INDEED. I think a huge distinction needs to be made between outsiders making money out of others poverty (leaving little or no benefit in those communities) and tours run by actual township (informal settlement) residents. Tours run by actual sensitive local residents with a passion and respect for their own community and especially where profits are shared with the community or incorporating other community organisations (there are restaurants, craft groups and even township B&B´s on offer) can be a real local job creation possibility, but it is an interesting question about where it becomes exploitation or voyeuristic. And surely one which not only the tourist should decide, but rather those poor communities themselves.