There are two disturbing airline stories in the news, one of a pilot flying around for years on a fake license, and the other, about an air traffic controller allowing a child to direct planes. Are these stories just about wayward individuals in a huge industry or do they point to larger patterns that we need to worry about?

It’s another tip on reading tourism news, is it specific or is there something general that we need to follow-up?

I read a piece recently on the dangers of sitting down. Sitting for long periods is linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer. It is something to watch in the tourism industry. It may make you feel better about that super lump sum now invested in a small tourism business that has you on your feet cleaning, washing, cooking, making beds and doing everything but sitting down. But if you’re behind a desk or employing people that spend most of their time sitting then read the article and find out what you can do differently to protect yourself and your staff from the dangers of too much sitting around.

I’ve been browsing overseas media and you can always squeeze more from a tourism story if you consider the local dimension to it.  A recent article in the New York Times looks at the small army of retirees offering to work in national and state parks in return for free accommodation, either parking or camping.

One volunteer worker at a State Park in South Texas is quoted as saying:

“We’re here for three reasons “No. 1, we like to travel. No. 2, we like people. And No. 3, we’re on a budget.”

There are various estimates of the number of people living this way in America but one source puts it at around 80,000.

It would be interesting to see what, if any, figures there were in Australia.  Read the NYT piece and please let us know if you have anything to report about a similar movement happening here.

A good rule to follow when reading about the tourism industry in the news is to discount the puff and weight the article according to who is paying for it.

So let’s try this approach on a recent article in The Australian newspaper about building the Caves Beachside Resort in Lake Macquarie, just north of Sydney. The story is headlined as a battle between developers, local and state government and the community. But the struggle to have the resort built and the tugging and clash of interests along the way is glossed over in what amounts to a puff piece about the glories of the resort once built. The article openly states that the journalist was a guest of the Caves Beach Resort but this also should alert the reader to an article strongly biased in favour of the resort and the developers.

We hear directly from the developers but nothing from the other interests involved. There is valuable information in the article and it is not a waste of time to read it but it is not the the full story.