Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the idea of responsible tourism. What’s “responsible tourism” you ask? Well, that’s one of the questions. There are lots of organizations out there with their own definitions, but the one I’m going with for now is the idea that we, as world travelers, should try to ensure that our visits to various places help to maintain the many sights and cultures we’ve come to see, and do not, however indirectly, contribute to their destruction.

You see, as much as I love my adopted home here in Thailand, I’m often dismayed at the rather careless ways some tourist sights get developed. Forests are cut down, big hotels are built without ensuring adequate fresh water supplies or waste water treatment, and little or no attention is paid to maintaining the sights that actually make people want to visit a destination in the first place. Web sites promoting responsible tourism almost always suggest that “responsible tourists” should stay in locally owned accommodations, yet these are almost always the worst offenders. The often railed against big international chains tend to think long term, and thus in more sustainable terms. It’s the locals who tend to think in terms of making a quick buck, no matter what the long term costs.

Now, I’m not for a moment suggesting that really responsible travelers only stay in the big chains. Responsible tourists should get as close to the local culture as possible. They should stay in small, low impact accommodations, if desired. Therein lies the conundrum: How are we, as independent travelers, going to know if the little five bungalow resort on the beach we’ve picked out is acting responsibly? Did they cut down half a virgin jungle to build a road to the place? Do they pump their sewage out into the ocean you’re swimming in? How are we to know? This isn’t exactly the kind of thing resort owners are going to be forth-coming about.

Of course, I’m going to start paying a lot more attention to these things as I visit places in the future, and I’ll be working my findings into AsiaForVisitors.com as they develop. In the meantime, all comments on this topic are definitely welcome.

I’m siting in the lobby of the conference center at the Jumeriah Beach Hotel. That’s the one shaped like a wave. The conference center itself is a separate building in front of the hotel, shaped to look like a big boat. Kind of like Noah’s arc beached on the sands of the Arabian Sea instead of Mount Ararat.

The lobby is bright and airy, with a two story glass front (and free wi-fi!). If I crane my neck upwards, I can see the Burj Al Arab rising up behind the hotel. You may not know the name, but chances are you know the building. This building, which rises up out of the ocean and shaped like a huge ship’s sail in full wind has become a symbol of Dubai. It even appears on the license plates. It’s also billed as the world’s only seven star hotel and costs thousands of dollars a night. Of course, for all that money you reportedly get gold fittings and a butler, not to mention the two story aquarium in the lobby.

I’m not staying at either hotel, by the way. Even the special conference rate at the Jumeriah Beach is a lot more than my expense budget can stand. I’m staying in the much cheaper, but far away, Le Meridien. Not that the hotel is begging for guests. Even at $300+++ a night it looks like they’re full.

I’ve just arrived in Dubai for some business meetings. I’ve been to Dubai at least half a dozen times in the last couple of years, so I’m used to the craziness of the place. However, that doesn’t stop me from raising an eyebrow as the plane pulls up to the terminal and see work in progress on upgrading the docks to handle the new Airbus A380 super-jumbo. It looks like they’ve already completed converting two gates and are working on a third.

That’s the thing about Dubai, and why it makes such a stark contrast to my home in Bangkok. Dubai is a place where they think ahead and get things done. Even though it’s still almost a year before most airlines will start getting their A380s, Dubai is making sure they’re ready for them. Meanwhile, we’re still not even sure when Bangkok’s new airport will open!

I’ll post more from Dubai as the week goes along.