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Elizabeth Becker biography

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Elizabeth Becker
Photo: William Nash

Elizabeth Becker

Elizabeth Becker Biography

Elizabeth Becker is an award winning author and former correspondent for The New York Times who reported from Europe, Asia, and South America. As the Senior Foreign Editor at National Public Radio, she oversaw all the network's foreign bureaus and their reporting. She has won awards from the Robert Kennedy Book Awards, Overseas Press Club, and DuPont-Columbia and was part of the New York Times staff that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for public service.

Elizabeth Becker's website

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Interview

Elizabeth Becker discusses her recent book Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism and the research she did for five years about the alarming explosion of tourism around the world.

How is the tourism industry "exploding"?

While no one was looking, tourism has become one of the leading businesses in the world (nearly $7 trillion a year) and the world's biggest employer (one out of 12 people). In just 25 years, thanks to cutting edge technologies and open borders following the end of the Cold War, the number of international tourists has exploded to over one billion. In 1995 it was half of that. Rich and poor countries are relying on tourism to build their economies. It's becoming as important in many ways as the finance or energy industries.

What are those one billion tourists doing?

I spent five years traveling to research this book. And I tell the stories of those global adventures to show the industry inside out. What surprised me was how everything has been fashioned into a tourist opportunity: medical tourism is especially popular with Americans who can't afford insurance. In Malaysia the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism made a package for an operation and then recuperation on a beach; all for a fraction of what it would cost in the U.S. There's also "dark tourism" where you visit genocide sites in Europe, Rwanda and Cambodia. There's culinary ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Elizabeth Becker at BookBrowse
Overbooked jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Elizabeth Becker but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Liv Arnesen

    Liv Arnesen

    Liv (pronounced 'leave') Arnesen's rich life experiences, both on and off the ice, have made her an internationally recognized leader and role model for women and girls. A self-proclaimed "keen" but not ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Overbooked

    Try:
    No Horizon Is So Far
    by Liv Arnesen

  • Ann Bancroft

    Ann Bancroft

    Ann Bancroft is one of the world's preeminent polar explorers and an internationally recognized leader who is dedicated to inspiring women and girls around the world to unleash the power of their dreams. Through her various ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Overbooked

    Try:
    No Horizon Is So Far
    by Ann Bancroft

We recommend 9 similar authors

View all 9 Read-Alikes

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