Thanks to Jezebel for bringing my attention to the madness that is Political Tours, a travel company that sells to foreign lands where tourists can gawk at other peoples' messed up electoral processes. From the company's website:
Political Tours is the world's only independent travel company dedicated to news and current affairs. Our trips are led by correspondents and give you access to people and places throughout the world. They make amazing and thought-provoking journeys. The company was founded in 2011 by former New York Times and BBC reporter Nicholas Wood.
Our Group and Private tours are back up and running. Events in Ukraine have prompted us to look at Finland and the Baltic's response to Russia's actions. Later in October we return to Israel and Palestine, a tour that leaves no stone unturned on both sides of the wall. In November we look at the Midterms in a bitterly divided USA. Lastly our epic tour of South Africa takes place in late November – a perennial favourite for PT travellers.
Private tours are also available if you can travel; Colombia, Turkey, the Baltics and Northern Ireland are among the many destinations. Just call or email us for more details.
The six day US tour just came to a conclusion, and cost around $4500 per person, including all accommodation, local transportation, and meals and water:
The tour takes in a wide range of places and views: from urban Philadelphia to industrial Pennsylvania and rural Virginia, from Black-Lives-Matter to conservative evangelicals, from white working-class communities swept up by Trump to liberal progressives bent on reform.
In Washington we look at the national picture; the pandemic, President Biden's stimulus package, and soaring inflation come under the spotlight. We'll also trace the tumultuous events that followed last election culminating in the storming of the Capitol.
[…]
Our tour is focused on live events– so much of the itinerary is dictated by the timing of rallies and candidate appearances. These are arranged at short notice. The itinerary is adapted to make the most of these events.
Upcoming trips include South Africa, The Baltics, Israel and Palestine, and Lebanon! Woohoo!
Of course, having a bunch of tourists gawking at a hotly contested election is also a really convenient way to interfere with said election.
Visitors Paying Top Dollar for 'U.S. Election Tour' Are Disrupting Real Voter Turnout Efforts [Gwen Snyder / Jezebel]
