The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The New Tourist by Paige McClanahan

Ask anyone if they describe themselves as a tourist or a traveler and most people will say the latter. Seeing yourself as a "tourist" has become something of a bad word. Author Paige McClanahan dives into this topic and aims to reclaim the word and concept of being a tourist in her new book that is a timely read just before many of us head off on our summer travels. In her definition, a new tourist "engages with the people who live in the place they’re visiting, and ideally does activities on locals’ terms, not those of corporate chains or extractive behemoths."

In a time when many places are actively running campaigns to try and convince certain types of travelers to stay away from their destinations, this book is a good reminder of the powerful upside of seeing the world for yourself and why it's not just good for your perspective but also necessary to keep the world's economies healthy. So go somewhere new this year and choose to engage the people who live there. Be a new tourist for yourself.

About the Non-Obvious Book Selection of the Week:

Every week I share a new “non-obvious” book selection. Titles featured here may be new or classic books, but the date of publication doesn’t really matter. My goal is to elevate great reads that perhaps deserve a second look which you might have otherwise missed.