When Locals Mislead Travel Writers

The art of misdirection

A travel writer visiting Tenerife meets a man in Puerto de la Cruz who informs him he’s trying to make the northern town more accessible friendly by renting out mobility scooters. The writer uses this information in an article, unaware this philanthropic businessman is known locally for money-making schemes and is replicating something he’d seen in Tenerife’s southern resorts, renting mobility scooters out to folk, whether they had mobility issues or not.

Where the remote fish restaurant is located on Tenerife.

Another visiting travel writer is taken to a fish restaurant in a sleepy coastal hamlet by Tenerife Tourist Board. He raves about his authentic traditional seafood lunch in a remote area few visitors know about. What he isn’t told is that three days a week, coach excursions from the southern resorts disgorge hordes of holidaymakers at this restaurant.

The travel editor of a UK broadsheet is shown a lunar landscape with fantastical rock formations by her local guide. In the ensuing article in her paper, she waxes lyrical about this incredible off-the-beaten-track wonderland, which just happens to be the most visited National Park in Spain.

Alone in an other-worldly landscape on Tenerife.

The Bute Example

An article published on Vittles got me thinking about how easy it is to be led down the proverbial garden path by locals. The article was The Marquess and the Market. It was about my home island of Bute, specifically the impact of the Crichton-Stuart family (aka the Butes) and whether their monopoly (they own just under 90% of the land mass) had a negative or positive impact.

Mount Stuart House, ancestral home of the ‘Butes’.

As the centrepiece of the article on which to hang various observations, facts, arguments, and opinions, writer Robbie Armstrong used Bute Yard, a food and drink hub designed to showcase the best of local produce and the passion project of the late Johnny Dumfries, 7^th Marquess of Bute. Robbie posed a question he said many residents were asking, “Who does Bute Yard really serve?”

I’m a Brandane; my roots are firmly embedded in Bute’s temperate soil; my family still live there. Even though I left in the mid-80s, I remain passionate about the future of the island. So much so, I’m working on a novel set on a fictional Scottish island which has seen better days and involves conflict between locals and incomers fuelled by those who desire change and those who want to maintain the status quo.

While taking this photo, I met a schoolmate I hadn’t seen in decades .

My first reaction after skimming the article was its author had been swayed by a section of Bute society who are habitual opponents of change, a quarter I believe has, if anything, contributed to continual decline. Robbie was familiar with Bute from childhood holidays, but that’s not the same as experiencing life there, and understanding endemic attitudes. Subsequently, that made him susceptible to subjectively skewed opinions. Not his fault.

And then I re-read the article, properly. This time I applied the Jackie Brown approach

The Jackie Brown Approach

For anyone unfamiliar with the film, there’s a scene which unfolds from the perspectives of different characters, each revealing something different. My initial way of viewing The Marquess and the Market was that its author was influenced by the loudest voices belonging to those who saw Bute Yard in a negative light.

Looking at the content from another angle revealed a different take.

Out of shot, to the left, was a group of young local girls, dancing and singing. Bute Yard offers an alternative space for women and couples wanting an environment which is different from most of Rothesay’s pubs.

One local quoted as asking, “Who ​is ​using ​Bute ​Yard, is ​it ​the ​people ​with ​the ​most ​poverty ​on ​the ​island?” was a land justice activist who’d moved to the island. Incidentally, the answer is mostly local people. I visit Bute Yard whenever I’m on the island (2-3 times a year), recognising people from my childhood, from the housing estate I grew up on, from school, work etc. Bute Yard is frequented by locals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Bute is like that. It has to be; it’s a small island.

Another local critic, using a pseudonym, had only been on the island for two years. In my experience of living in various places, that’s not long enough to gain insight. The fact the local wasn’t identified set alarm bells ringing. But Robbie explained why.

“I am disheartened to find that almost anyone else with anything even slightly critical to say about the Crichton-Stuarts, the MST, or Bute Yard, is anxious to remain anonymous.”

It makes MST (Mount Stuart Trust) sound like the Mafia. I’m not buying that. The locals I know aren’t scared to spout opinions, whether valid or not. It makes the claim impossible to fact check with local sources (i.e. family and friends).

A growing suspicion the author favoured ‘local’ opinions which mirrored the article’s conclusions was supported by negative ones from recent incomers appearing to carry more weight than positive contributions from a businesswoman who grew up on Bute and a tenant farmer.

Adding further fuel was the following:

“Long-standing Brandanes (residents of Bute) tend to be more conservative when it comes to land ownership, and are more likely to take a positive stance towards the Crichton-Stuarts. I got a general sense that, because an aristocratic oligarchy has ruled Bute for so long, they felt that this is the island’s natural order.”

The statement is insulting. Basically, the views of a handful of people who recently moved to Bute are more valid than islanders who’ve lived there most, if not all, of their lives.

Turning things on their head

The travel writer who wrote about accessible friendly Puerto de la Cruz did so because they were desperate for an angle. It was obvious the ‘local’ they quoted was a bit of a Del Boy.

The location might be remote, but it’s one which coach excursions can reach, unlike many other locations in the area.

Had the writer who raved about the remote fish restaurant on Tenerife taken a few moments to check TripAdvisor reviews, they’d have seen it was a lunch stop for coach excursions.

On the other side of the rock formations in the other-worldly landscape photograph is the Parador, where the travel editor was staying. The area around it is also where every visitor to Teide National Park stops.

As for the travel editor fooled into believing they were off-the-beaten-track when they were in an area of Teide National Park that was one of the busiest parts of the immense volcanic crater. Either they’re not very good at their job or they chose to ignore what their eyes must have seen.

It isn’t the ‘local’ who decides which of their words are used in travel, or any, articles.

Update: Between writing and publishing this, I mentioned the ‘anxious to remain anonymous’ comment about people on Bute. Her response? ‘FFS, what utter shite.’ I also asked if she knew or had heard of the land activist referenced, something I’d expect as A) Bute is a small place, and B) my sister is involved in local politics (she’s often to be found in the Yes Bute shop on the front). She didn’t know her and had never heard her name mentioned. If you ever happen to read this, Nadia, maybe it’s an idea to get to know the locals before making statements on their behalf.