Have You Ever Been Bribed?

I have, frequently. I'll explain more in a moment, but first a quick introduction. My name is Georgina Adams, and I'm the editor of The Untourist.

My readers get the truth about travel and travelers. A no-holds-barred look at the real world out there. If a place is worth going to, you'll hear about it. If somewhere doesn't live up to expectations, you'll hear about that, too.

Now, I need to be up-front with you--Georgina Adams is an assumed name. This isn't because I'm on the run from police, creditors, immigration officials, or the taxman. It's because I travel incognito for The Untourist.

I don't want any special favors. And if hoteliers and restaurateurs can't see me coming, they can't give me a false impression of their establishment. "Who's Georgina Adams? Oh, nobody special...just another tourist nonentity."

I've traveled the globe for more years than I care to remember. (Adding it up, I've visited more than 60 countries, some many times over.) I've also authored a number of travel books as well as hundreds of travel articles. This isn't to boast, but to explain why I get inundated with offers of what the travel trade calls "hospitality."

You might call it bribery and corruption.

You see, ordinary tourists have nothing like the same experiences as many travel journalists. Once some people in the hospitality business hear my real name, they know I'm high-profile. They assume that like many other writers, I can be bought with "special favors."

Free hotel stays. Free meals. Free everything. On one occasion in a hotel in Greece, my room was stocked with an open bar. Even the champagne was constantly replenished.

The unspoken deal between hosts and many writers and editors is this: In return for free hospitality, their travel publications will give the establishment a glowing review.

Is this fair to the reader? I don't think so.

I hate the travel industry's conspiracy to delude readers that everywhere in the world is perfect...worth seeing...worth spending your hard-earned dollars on.

So, here's my promise to you: Everything you'll hear about in The Untourist won't involve any free "hospitality." You--and the travel trade--may not always like what you'll read, but you can expect complete and unvarnished honesty.

Georgina Adams
The Untourist