In the 1980s, when I planned my first trip to Europe, I can’t remember which Frommer’s travel guidebook I brought along. It might have been “Europe on $25 a Day” or “Europe on $40 a Day.” Either way, I had Arthur Frommer by my side.
I recalled this instantly when I learned that Mr. Frommer — who started his guidebook series in 1957, with the title “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day” — died this week at 95.
From that first European trip to many more that followed, I appreciated the series’ recommendations on where to stay — usually small pensions called out for their charm or value or both — where to find authentic food, and how to get around by train or bus. In addition to straightforward and reliable how-to advice, Mr. Frommer gave much more to his readers: He democratized travel, and not just by showing that it was financially possible to see the world within their means. By breaking down the intimidating hurdles of foreign travel — like not speaking the language or looking out of place — he emboldened legions of readers to just do it.
Why? Because everyone should enjoy the thrill of discovery.
Historically, leisure travel was for the rich. In Europe, what became known as early as the 17th century as the Grand Tour was considered an educational and cultural rite of passage for the aristocracy. It yielded pioneering guidebooks such as the German Baedeker series, which was first published in 1827.
Tourism was still packaged as a pursuit of the wealthy when Mr. Frommer first visited Europe 72 years ago, according to an Associated Press interview in 2007. As a soldier stationed in Germany in 1953, he discovered the affordable beauty of living like a local and eschewed cocooning luxury hotels that kept you from having “a genuine experience.”
He found a ready audience for his style of travel. As he told the writer Rolf Potts in 2008, Mr. Frommer sold out of the initial run of 5,000 copies of “Europe on 5 Dollars a Day” on the first day of publication in 1957. The series, updated each year, sold millions of copies, until 2007. (Pauline Frommer, Mr. Frommer’s daughter, continues to publish travel guides and run the travel website frommers.com.)
Now, as the Frugal Traveler columnist, I spend a lot of time thinking, in the Frommer tradition, about ways to stretch my budget while having experiences worth traveling for. I run my choices in trips, restaurants and lodgings through what I think of as a fast-food filter. What passes the test must be relatively affordable but substantive — meaning recreational, educational, challenging or joyful — and not a chain I can find anywhere (sorry, McDonald’s and Motel 6). I’d like to think that Mr. Frommer, who impressed me as affable, open and blunt when I met him at a conference early in my career, would approve.
When I read his obituary in The Times, it struck me that not only was Mr. Frommer an evangelist for the intellectual, cultural and world-view-widening benefits of travel, but he was also an early supporter of sustainable travel, before it got that name. He championed staying in small inns, eating in mom-and-pop restaurants, taking public transportation and talking to locals — practices that benefit your buying power while supporting communities, easing your carbon footprint and enriching your introduction to the destination.
Today, the travel industry can feel dominated by high-end providers of luxury trips, lodges and hotels. Many of them are making vital investments in environmental and social sustainability, and I encourage travelers with means to seek them out when they feel compelled to wander from the Frommer way.
But no matter what our budgets are, as we reckon with global warming, we must reconsider how we travel when we travel. We can go slower and more thoughtfully, use human-powered means like walking or biking and take subways instead of Uber. Where possible, we can choose trains over planes. We can ease overtourism by spreading out from crowded tourist centers and into neighborhoods or regions where we can support locally owned businesses, including restaurants, lodgings and attractions that would appreciate our patronage.
“Not only should one seek out the new and undiscovered,” Mr. Frommer said in an interview with Frommers.com in 2007, “but it’s increasing important to travel during off-season periods, when the Florences and the Venices of the world aren’t inundated with visitors.”
Whether we have $100 or $1,000 a day to spend, we can be conscious consumers dedicated to making travel a force for good if we follow the path blazed by Arthur Frommer.
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