Excellent. One of the clearest and most sobering analyses I've ever seen of the environmental, social, and economic damage done by tourism...This is a necessary book.
Philip Pullman
 

Skiing in the Alps; Cruising in the Caribbean; Backpacking in Thailand; Lying on a beach in Kerala
Sounds like bliss, doesn’t it? But what cost are our two weeks in the sun having on the destinations we fantasise all year about visiting?
From the cruise ship to the pistes, from the sun lounger to the themepark, Leo Hickman has been on a quest to discover how we can have a truly 'good' holiday.
No industry in the world employs more people or earns more foreign currency for destination countries than tourism. Long billed as the 'cleanest' industry for developing countries to invest in, tourism seems to offer everyone involved a positive experience. This is the official line, anyway. In truth, the reality is much more complex.
On his travels, Hickman interviewed all the key players from chambermaids through to global CEOs to try and get a full picture of the environmental and social cost of our bids to escape. Behind the sunny facade of smiling locals and exquisite cuisine he found an often damaging phenomenon that is spreading unchecked to all corners of the globe.
But none of us are going to stop holidaying and at the heart of The Final Call is an emphatic attempt to impassion readers, not turn them off tourism. By offering solutions, Leo hopes to guide readers towards making informed decisions in their holiday choices.

A major new exposé . . . This is not yet another doomsday read about the perils of flying, or debating the pros and cons of carbon off-setting, it's an honest account of the huge impact we have on the destinations we frequent . . . Rather than throwing reams of statistics at us, Hickman paints a more graphic picture of the impact our travelling makes by telling the story through the eyes of locals he meets on his way round the globe. His discoveries of what lies behind the glossy veneer of a resort hotel make for sober reading.
Scotsman

Thoughtful and thought-provoking.
Mick Herron GEOGRAPHICAL magazine

We have got to find a way to shift to a slow-travel culture. Our very survival as a species could well hinge on it. I very much hope this important book helps to awaken people, and make them want to join the debate.
Jeremy Leggett

Hickman is very persuasive and travels with heart and brain fully engaged to reveal the environmental havoc wreaked by the exponential growth in international travel.
Barbara Gunnell New Statesman

Persuasive and sobering . . . a page-turner unlikely to be found poolside.
Financial Times

Hickman has hit on an important subject and it deserves to be taken seriously.
John Humphrys

Excellent and thoroughly compelling . . . The Final Call deserves to be read by those of us lucky enough to be able to fly on a regular basis . . . Hickman's book is a sobering, thoughtful and intelligent reminder that it is a privilege we need to be forcefully reminded not to take for granted.
Irish Times

Well written, entertaining and hugely important.
Zac Goldsmith

This much appreciated book should be a must-read for everyone who likes to travel, and should be translated into the languages of the world’s tourism champions. It should also be a must-read for politicians and decision makers in development agencies to finally understand that tourism has lost the ‘virginity’ of a harmless leisure sector to develop into a dangerous global driving force which needs to be regulated and restricted.
Contours magazine

Despite the polemic, there is plenty of interest here, not least in [the book’s] accessible description of how the travel industry works and the structures in place around the globe . . . Hickman acknowledges the increasing acceptance of environmental standards . . . But the argument he presents is a stark one - travel is damaging the world, and if we don't act soon, it may be too late. Sobering stuff.
Travel Weekly

A fascinating and harrowing read. I doubt anyone has spelt out the inherent dangers of tourism so clearly before. The publication of this could well prove to be a 'tipping point'.
Jason Webster, author of GUERRA

Leo Hickman's enthralling book should be read by politicians, students and, most of all, by every would-be tourist.
Tahir Shah, author of THE CALIPH'S HOUSE

This is a really excellent critique of the travel industry . . . If you are interested in the tourist industry this book is highly recommended, being easy to read, while being very thorough and searching in the questions it asks.
Fiona Archer www.ecozine.co.uk

Dazzling. There is nothing else quite like it and yet it addresses such an important aspect of our lives today.
Chris Stewart, author of DRIVING OVER LEMONS

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