I’m a little doubtful too. I guess I can see the purpose of mentioning the positive in a certain kind of travel article – one published in the clearly promotional travel section of a newspaper, say – and also if the writer is recognising that their experience of the place was brief essentially a ‘once over lightly’, which could render criticism or negatives unfair or out of proportion.

At times, when reviewing or talking about a book, I’ve taken the approach of focusing on the positive because a) I’m not an expert or b) it’s not my preferred genre but c) there will be fans out there for it. I guess the same could be true of relating travel experiences.

However, if readers are led (by the nature of a publication or its style) to expect a well-rounded, comprehensive, deep investigation of something (be it travel or a book), I think the writer owes it to them to provide just that, with positives and negatives. As readers we can surely be discerning enough to sense whether a negative experience may be personal to the writer or indicative of some wider malaise. However, if we have not been warned of ‘the negatives’ and go on to experience them ourselves, we perhaps have the right to feel aggrieved.

Claire