| OCR Text |
Show The Salt Lake Tribane Snnday, November 27, 1983 T5 Can be worth, it The art of travel within a group by Daniel Grant What does anyone really bring back from a trip abroad? Presents, a slight stomach ailment, postcards, a used roll of film? One hopes that the traveler returns with a sense of the culture he or she has entered and an appreciation of a somewhat different sort of life. To call a trip abroad a vacation is often something of a misnomer You are not just leaving it all behind but, actually, making a discovery. Some people take with them nothing more than a back pack and an opqp mind, but others bring maps and books and even a guide to help explain what they are seeing. These vacations are no picnics. Anyone can see Aztec ornaments and statues, for instance, in an American museum, but one goes to Central Mexico to discover the context of their art. Some art simply requires visits and explanation, for a picture may not only be worth a thousand words but desperately need it. Group tours specifically oriented around cultural and artistic sights have become increasingly popular over the past decade for the very reason that people do take trips abroad seriously but sometimes seek the structure of an established itinerary and expert guides. For years, travel companies have offered Packages to tourists for vacations in areas of artistic interest which include, among the usual amenities, sightseeing with local guides. More recently ,4he number of companies offering such programs have grown as have the s and other opportunities for educational excursions on these tours. In addition, many major organizations and alumni associations across the country have gotten into the act of offering "art tours or other special interest vacations. Art Tours The number and variety of advertisements for art tours that one may see in magazines, newspapers and fliers is impressive. If the package doesnt already exist, a group can work with a travel agent to create its own. See the 101 Greatest Hits of Albrecht Durer. Visit the Gothic Cathedral of your choice. New York Universitys Psychology Departk ment offers a group dynamics course in Italy in which, ac- sinhighbrow way for middle-age- d a Club Med in the gles to meet Louvre. Some programs sound like you will get a grade at the end of it, taught by professors who assign extensive reading and give lectures before and during the trip with little time for strolling on ones own. Tourists should have a good sAise in their own minds of what they want out of a trip, examining the kinds of programs available carefully- The price of the tour program may help to clarify the issue to a degree. Institutional programs those set up by a museum, social or alumni association generally cost considerably more than those offered by commercial tour operators for a variety of reasons. The $3,105 price for the Smithsonian Instituy tions tour of Japans art treasures in October included a $200 contribution to the sponsor, but it did not include membership to the Smithsonian ($17) which makes one eligible for the trip. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, to name a few, also include $200 contributions apiece as part of the overall price of the trips they sponsor for their members. Museum Trips d Museum and in have trips generally advance for the participants (and, possibly, a preliminary lecture) and include a professor or expert in the particular area who will lead the group for the entire time. This, according to Billie Foreman, a travel agent with Mercury Travel Bureau in St. Paul, Minnesota, leads to a rd alumni-sponsore- day-trip- s, professor Paul Grant is editor art tour program is truly tion. planners who contemplate a visit to the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans next year already have a telephone number at their disposal to make arrangements in advance. Appropriately, the number is and anyone who dials it will find themselves connected directly to the Exposition, which is expected to attract more than 11 site on million visitors to the the banks of the Mississippi. The fair will run from Mayl2 through Nov. education- al from the brochure, but most travelers with complaints direct them at the travel agent who booked the tour rather than with the Better Business Bureau or other government agency. Travel agents generally know what companies are complained about the least. From King Tuts sarcophagus to the Vatican's art collection to the finds from recent Aztec excavations its no longer uncommon to hear that some of the worlds greatest cultural treasures are soon to be jetted over to a museum near you. Plenty of people, however, are interested enough in the rare objects to in their own setting. The gung-htypes will just book a flight and go, but others look for the security to be found in a tour group. There are a lot of different programs to choose from, and it takes research but also (and more importantly) a personal sense of what one is looking for. With a wide spectrum of art tours on the market, something will be just what you wanted. And with people of o similar interests and (possibly) background, a tourist will not feel so much a stranger in a strange land but part of a cultural expqpence which, because it is shared, may give it all the more meaning Travel note In New Orleans Its Dial-a-Fa- ir Long-ter- Art Topr Packages Individuals can learn mure about the kinds of art tour packages available through a countrys national tourist office (the national airline often works out travel programs) or from a travel agent. The companies with the longest track record in art tours are Abercrombie & Kent Caravan Linblad Maupintour Raymond & Whitand Swan's comb It is difficult to Tours determine on ones own whether an travel there and witness them tion Center have already compiled a list of the most frequently asked and answered questions: How can I get tickets to the Worlds Fair? What's going to be on site at the Worlds Fair? Can you send me some literature on the 1984 Worlds 82-ac- 11. Operators at the fairs Informa Fair? By next spring, 80 operators are expected to be handling as many as 30,000 inquiries a day. Individuals who prefer to write for information should address their inquiries to the Louisiana World Exposition Information Center, Post Office Box 1984, New Orleans, La. 70158-198- throughout the trip. Having the same person the entire way helps relate different situations, different museums. It also gives people a better, more relaxed feeling that someone is taking care of them. Having arranged these kinds of art tours for the University of Minnesota as well as for several groups, Ms. Foreman noted that institutional programs are more expensive because you get more handed to you. There is more substance and more pleasantness. The feeling of belonging to a group helps relieve a lot of anxiety for people. It can be frightening to walk down a street in a strange city. Where to go for dinner can be a problem. Institutional tour programs generally take care of everything. With a commercial tour program, group leadership is more nebulous, and it is less possible to preconceive the intellectual atmosphere that may dominate as that depends on who signs up for it. In many instances, the travel company contracts with local guides and experts who will take tourists to specific sites of cultural and historic interest (for instance, an Egyptologist from the University of Cairo meets up with Abercrombie & Kents tour groups for sightseeing in Egypt, and white hunters who are knowledgeable of the bush area lead parties traveling in Ethiopia and Kenya). While a number of different guides may make ones understanding of Humphries who leads the tour, the members of the group look at the art and then look at each other. With all the offerings, representing a wide range of inclusive features and educational involvement, a potential traveler may become confused. Some travel companies brochures of art tours show a famous painting on the cover, but inside there is no mention of planned visits to where the art is housed. Some brochure copy teases with bits of historical information, but the actual tour itself (or parts of it) is unguided and the traveler must learn elsewhere what the brochure was referring to. Many of the people who take these tours are divorced or widowed, in their 50s and 60s, and what otherwise may look lik an educational trip can turn out to be a sort of Daniel tour operators can offer cheaper rates is by mass bookings, and some groups may have as many as 60 people in them. This can pose a problem, for instance, if the group is to be transported by bus through scenic areas. What if someone doesn't get a seat by a window? What if all the important sights are on the right side of the bus? In addition, these tour programs often entail a fair amount of traveling around, which lets people see more things but possibly in less depth. They do, however, assume that their tourists are generally independent and leave more time for personal exploration than do most institutional programs. For the commercial companies, group activities are researched and planned, but optional. Some travelers may just like to have a group to fall back on but are well enough versed in the history and art not to need instruc- One of the ways commercial greater continuity of outlook two-wee- cording to ' the culture a little more disjointed, locals may provide the kinds of insider information good places to which an American eat or shop professor could not. The educational component of the commercial operator's tour program is more varied than that of the institutional sponsors. Raymond & Whitcomb, for example, puts together tours for many museums and tends to stress scholarship and intellectual curiosity while the educational component of Maupintour's programs is less intensive, more anecdotal. With these latter tours, travelers are placed at the scene of art, but one is not hit over the head with as many facts and opions. Other Differences The other majcr differences between the institutional and commercial art tour programs are the quality of the hotels and the number of meals provided as well as the number of people in a tour program and how long a group will stay in the particular place, institutional group travelers generally are guaranteed better quality accommodations and at least two and possibly three meals a day. The number of people on a given program is generally limited to 20 or 30 and, due to the educational nature of the expedition, there is less traveling around and more intensive sightseeing than on commercial programs. With the commercial companies, accommodations are less lavish and there are, by and large, fewer meals. of Artworkers News. HAWAII! More Lucky Winners in our "WAY BIG" Contest t Phyllis Hogan of Ogdon, Utah havo won "Way Big. Thoy will bo going to Hawaii and you can tool Litton to KFAM 700 for your "BIG OPPORTUNITY! Bob Soon to bo Utah's FIRST WATT 50,000 Station Radio In 50 Years 'fa Murdock Travel presents the perfect Christmas gift to surpass all Christmas gifts. Murdock Travels Christmas Certificate is the gift that gives a piece of the world. Murdock Travel will even gift wrap this present. The color and excitement of unique Travel Murdock vacation will be the perfect size for a 1984 Mom and Dad or that special person who is impossible to surprise. Call one of Murdock Travels convenient locations in Salt Lake, Provo, or Ogden, or send in this coupon. This year, let Murdock T ravel make you the bearer of the most sought-after surprise ... the gift of travel a night, a week, a cruise, the tour of a lifetime you decide and give the one you love a lifetime of happy memories . . . beautifully wrapped in a Murdock Travel flight bag with tpur particulars and a Christmas gift certificate. MaD to: one-of-a-kin- d -- icnv in Bountiful, Utcft 700t AM DIAL AST LISTENING MURDOCK TRAVEL 1 I Murdock Travel Christmas Certificate Coupon am interested in giving a Murdock Travel Christmas Certificate this Christmas. Please send more information on the following I tripstours. The Holy Mexico Cruises Hawaii Europe Other PHONE NAME. ADDRESS. Murdock Travel 9th Floor, Beneficial Life Tower Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 521-785- Lands Lands of the Book of Mormon Oberammergau Passion Play Disney World The Church History Tour Murdock Travel 310 North University Ave. Provo, Utah 84601 Murdock Travel 377-970- 399-550- 440 22nd Street Ogden. Utah 84401 |
