''Gringo Trails'' is a 2013 feature-length documentary film directed by anthropologist Pegi Vail of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. The film follows the positive and negative impacts of travel and tourism on numerous communities across the globe, including Thailand, Bolivia, Mali (Timbuktu) and Bhutan, documenting how communities thrive, adapt, or deteriorate in the face of mass tourism, "one of the most powerful globalizing forces of our time."

Yossi Ghinsberg

The film features Israeli adventurer and author,

Yossi Ghinsberg Yosseph "Yossi" Ghinsberg ( he, יוסי גינסברג) (25 April 1959) is an Israeli adventurer, author, entrepreneur, humanitarian, and motivational speaker, now based in Byron Bay, Australia. Ghinsberg is most known for his survival story w ...

, who, in 1981, survived for three weeks after being stranded in the Bolivian jungle. In Gringo Trails, Ghinsberg returns to the jungle and the community who assisted in his rescue, and discusses how they have adapted to the influx of tourism in the wake of his own survival story, and assists them in the development of their own ecolodge,

Chalalan Chalalán is an ecological lodge of the Indigenous People of San José de Uchupiamonas dedicated to ethnic ecotourism. It is located in the Madidi National Park in Bolivia. The cabins are located in the vicinity of Chalalán Lake, on the south ...

. Ghinsberg's story is the subject of

Jungle (2017 film) ''Jungle'' is a 2017 Australian biographical survival drama film, based on the true story of Israeli adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg's 1981 journey into the Amazon rainforest. Directed by Greg McLean and written by Justin Monjo, the film stars Dani ...

, a survival thriller film directed by Greg McLean and starring

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...

in the role of Ghinsberg.

Costas Christ

The film also features Costas Christ, editor-at-large and award-winning travel writer for

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

. In the film, Christ, a proponent of

sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Su ...

, discusses his relationship with the island community of

Ko Pha Ngan Ko Pha-ngan ( th, เกาะพะงัน, , ) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand. Ko Pha-ngan is best known for its Full Moon Party at Hat Rin Beach. Ko Pha-ngan has two sister islands: th ...

in southern Thailand, which he inadvertently popularised as a tourist destination after discovering its relatively untouched beauty in the late 1970s. Christ cites the mass ecological damage which has befallen the island since the 1980s in the wake of the escalating popularity of the island's now notorious

Full Moon Party The Full Moon Party (Thai: ฟูลมูนปาร์ตี้) is an all-night beach party that originated in Hat Rin on the island of Ko Pha-ngan, Thailand in 1985. The party takes place on the night of, before, or after every full moon. ...

with international tourists and backpackers, held monthly on the island's Haad Rin beach.

Reviews

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on seven reviews, with an average rating of 7.42/10. Film publications such as

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

, and

Film Journal International ''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of ''Adweek'', '' Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodicals. H ...

were amongst those to praise both the quality of the film and its central thesis. The film also generated a lot of positive press among numerous international travel publications, such as

Travel Weekly Travel Weekly Group Ltd is a UK publishing and events company serving the travel industry, principally travel agents, tour operators and other suppliers. Its main brand is weekly business publication ''Travel Weekly'' and its associated onlin ...

National Geographic Traveler ''National Geographic Traveler'' is a magazine published by NG Media in Armenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Latin America, Israel, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the UK. The US ...

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club memb ...

, and

Outside Magazine ''Outside'' is an American company and magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue of ''Outside'' was published in September 1977. History Outside founders were Jann Wenner (the first editor in chief), William Randolph Hearst III (its first ...

, the latter of which described the documentary as "an important and moving film."

References

External links

*
Full list of press releases for the film
* * {{rotten-tomatoes, gringo_trails, Gringo Trails
Official website of director
Pegi Vail 2013 films American documentary films 2013 documentary films Tourism 2010s English-language films 2010s American films

Yossi Ghinsberg

Costas Christ

Reviews

References

Further reading

External links