Published: Saturday, August 21, 2010
Travel industry hopes for 'Eat Pray Love' bump
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Associated Press
Fans of the book "Eat Pray Love" have been visiting the gelato shop at San Crispino in Rome where author Elizabeth Gilbert wrote of liking the gelato so much that she went there three times in one day.
In Bali, they're seeking guidance from a spiritual healer. In Rome, they're lapping up gelato. And in India, they're visiting temples.
Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir, "Eat Pray Love," have been following in her footsteps ever since it was first published in 2006. The book describes a year Gilbert spent living in Italy, India and Indonesia on the rebound from a divorce and failed romance.
But the travel industry is betting that the film starring Julia Roberts will inspire even more globe-trotting. Hotels, tour companies and even guidebook publishers are offering everything from do-it-yourself itineraries to luxury trips.
The movie even has "official" travel partners: Lonely Planet, which created a website at www.lonelyplanet.com/eatpraylove with recommendations for sightseeing and lodging; and STA Travel, which is advertising a contest for a 21-day trip to the three countries.
Naturally, it is a trip for one.
For high-end travelers, there are invitations like this one: "Eat. Pray. Fall in love with Micato Safaris' Inspirational India Tour." Price tag: $19,795.
But plenty of fans have replicated parts of Gilbert's journey on their own. Australian tourist Zoe Moran was reading the book as she stopped by the San Crispino ice cream shop near the Trevi Fountain in Rome, where Gilbert ate gelato three times in one day.
"I just got to the part in Rome, so I'm trying to follow the footsteps of Gilbert," she said.
Gilbert writes of savoring good food and soaking up sights like the Villa Borghese and Piazza del Popolo. Canadian tourist Sarah Luong, another "Eat Pray Love" fan at San Crispino, said she was "trying to do the same, take my time and enjoy Rome at its best."
Some "Eat Pray Love" devotees have found their way to Ubud, the artsy town in Bali where Gilbert seeks guidance from Ketut Liyer, a spiritual healer, and makes friends with a cafe owner named Wayan.
Gilbert notes in the book that tourism to Indonesia plummeted after a series of terrorist bombings. Liyer even says to her, "If you have Western friends come to visit Bali, bring them to me for palm-reading. I am very empty in my bank since the bomb!"
Liyer's wish came true. Since the book was published, Liyer said in an interview in his home, "I have more foreign tourists visiting me." He estimated the number of visitors to be in the "hundreds."
As seekers dropped by -- including a group from Japan who said they heard about him from the book -- Liyer offered cheerful palm and face readings, predicting luck, wealth and long life. And just as Gilbert described, he asked his guests to help him practice speaking English.
Ngurah Wijaya, head of the Bali Tourism Board, said it's impossible to quantify how many tourists Indonesia is getting because of "Eat Pray Love." But he said it has had a "great impact" in making "people understand that Bali is safe."
A number of "Eat Pray Love" packages are geared to India, but do not include the ashram where Gilbert is believed to have spent several months, Gurudev Siddha Peeth at Ganeshpuri in Maharashtra, about 85 miles from Mumbai.
Abercrombie & Kent spokeswoman Kelly Brewer explained that the ashram has a "process of application and approval, and they do not welcome casual visitors." That's why, she said, Abercrombie & Kent offers a "similarly enriching experience" on its "Treasures of Northern India: Journeys for Women" tour "without having to go through the rigorous screening process."
For "Eat Pray Love" fans who lack a passport, look no farther than Texas. The Lone Star State is not on Gilbert's itinerary, but that did not preclude the creation of a "Where to Eat Pray Love in San Antonio" promotion.
Hotels in locations unrelated to the book are jumping on the bandwagon, too: The Benjamin in Manhattan, Five Gables Inn & Spa in St. Michaels, Md., and the Red Mountain Resort in Utah all have packages themed on the book.
After all, why go flying around the world when, as a pitch from Tucson put it, "at Miraval Arizona, you can find it all in one place."
Fans of Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling memoir, "Eat Pray Love," have been following in her footsteps ever since it was first published in 2006. The book describes a year Gilbert spent living in Italy, India and Indonesia on the rebound from a divorce and failed romance.
But the travel industry is betting that the film starring Julia Roberts will inspire even more globe-trotting. Hotels, tour companies and even guidebook publishers are offering everything from do-it-yourself itineraries to luxury trips.
The movie even has "official" travel partners: Lonely Planet, which created a website at www.lonelyplanet.com/eatpraylove with recommendations for sightseeing and lodging; and STA Travel, which is advertising a contest for a 21-day trip to the three countries.
Naturally, it is a trip for one.
For high-end travelers, there are invitations like this one: "Eat. Pray. Fall in love with Micato Safaris' Inspirational India Tour." Price tag: $19,795.
But plenty of fans have replicated parts of Gilbert's journey on their own. Australian tourist Zoe Moran was reading the book as she stopped by the San Crispino ice cream shop near the Trevi Fountain in Rome, where Gilbert ate gelato three times in one day.
"I just got to the part in Rome, so I'm trying to follow the footsteps of Gilbert," she said.
Gilbert writes of savoring good food and soaking up sights like the Villa Borghese and Piazza del Popolo. Canadian tourist Sarah Luong, another "Eat Pray Love" fan at San Crispino, said she was "trying to do the same, take my time and enjoy Rome at its best."
Some "Eat Pray Love" devotees have found their way to Ubud, the artsy town in Bali where Gilbert seeks guidance from Ketut Liyer, a spiritual healer, and makes friends with a cafe owner named Wayan.
Gilbert notes in the book that tourism to Indonesia plummeted after a series of terrorist bombings. Liyer even says to her, "If you have Western friends come to visit Bali, bring them to me for palm-reading. I am very empty in my bank since the bomb!"
Liyer's wish came true. Since the book was published, Liyer said in an interview in his home, "I have more foreign tourists visiting me." He estimated the number of visitors to be in the "hundreds."
As seekers dropped by -- including a group from Japan who said they heard about him from the book -- Liyer offered cheerful palm and face readings, predicting luck, wealth and long life. And just as Gilbert described, he asked his guests to help him practice speaking English.
Ngurah Wijaya, head of the Bali Tourism Board, said it's impossible to quantify how many tourists Indonesia is getting because of "Eat Pray Love." But he said it has had a "great impact" in making "people understand that Bali is safe."
A number of "Eat Pray Love" packages are geared to India, but do not include the ashram where Gilbert is believed to have spent several months, Gurudev Siddha Peeth at Ganeshpuri in Maharashtra, about 85 miles from Mumbai.
Abercrombie & Kent spokeswoman Kelly Brewer explained that the ashram has a "process of application and approval, and they do not welcome casual visitors." That's why, she said, Abercrombie & Kent offers a "similarly enriching experience" on its "Treasures of Northern India: Journeys for Women" tour "without having to go through the rigorous screening process."
For "Eat Pray Love" fans who lack a passport, look no farther than Texas. The Lone Star State is not on Gilbert's itinerary, but that did not preclude the creation of a "Where to Eat Pray Love in San Antonio" promotion.
Hotels in locations unrelated to the book are jumping on the bandwagon, too: The Benjamin in Manhattan, Five Gables Inn & Spa in St. Michaels, Md., and the Red Mountain Resort in Utah all have packages themed on the book.
After all, why go flying around the world when, as a pitch from Tucson put it, "at Miraval Arizona, you can find it all in one place."
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