I previously wrote an article about the benefits of travel and listed the reasons why we should do it during our remaining college years. Besides relaxation and mental health benefits, traveling has helped me look things in a different, broader perspective. It kept me thinking about certain thoughts after the trip and now it led me to put those thoughts into words. Since I started planning for my winter vacation, I have been wondering whether traveling is genuinely a serviceable act as a whole. Is traveling only an advantage for myself considering how privileged I am? What percentage of people are actually benefiting from tourism and what percentage feel threatened?
Even though tourism contributes a huge part of local economies, most locals don’t get much of the direct compensation from it. Many major cities in Europe have complained that Airbnb has provided less housing for the locals and contributed to the increase of rent. For instance, Barcelona, one of Spain’s most visited cities, has proposed a rule to prohibit short-term private room and apartment rentals. Although this is bad news for the incoming tourists and might not be considered as the best solution, many other cities have also expressed their concerns of excessive tourism and the limited housing market. At a time when most millennials and Gen Z can barely afford to rent a studio apartment in metropolitan cities around the world, governments that favor landlords and tourists over their citizens do not give much of a good impression to its people.
Another critical issue we should focus on is the issue between the tourism industry and the locals living in Hawaii. Even though the tourism sector contributes to approximately 25% of the local economy and sustains one-third of the jobs on the islands, many locals have expressed the discomfort towards the tourism industry and how it hardly enhances their quality of life. It is a well-known fact that large corporations and wealthy landlords, most of which are non-native to Hawaii, build luxurious resorts and own private beaches and get their own share of profit generation. This is an issue that not only occurs in Hawaii, but also in tourist areas in tropical climates known for their emerald beaches and lavish but cheap resorts, with most of them located in developing countries.
Due to the economic factors, countries or cities known for tourism are struggling with greater issues than we could possibly imagine.
The dark side of capitalism leads to a tourism industry that severely affects locals’ right to live in a safe, clean and quiet environment. Going back to Hawaii, this year when the wildfire in Maui killed almost 100 people and destroyed thousands of buildings, locals used media sources to stop tourists from coming. The moral debate whether tourists or non-natives should be allowed to settle in indigenous land rose to the surface. Many people think that it is an unethical and inhumane situation where locals are forced to leave their ancestral land because they no longer can afford the cost of living there.
It is hard to say that traveling is a purely unethical hobby. In many instances, locals are actually pleased when their hometown becomes well-known to outsiders in a positive way. Many of their businesses flourish due to the flow of tourists. Nevertheless, we should always think about how tourism can negatively affect the locals. My grandparents lived in a city next to the beach when suddenly several entertainment media and international events were held and more people started to take interest. It feels great that more people are acknowledging the beauty of the city where my grandparents and great grandparents have lived their whole lives. However, it hurts when the huge wave of tourists leads to excess littering and a rising cost of living. Next time you are traveling, instead of going straight to the resort and only spending money at locations affiliated with global corporations, think of other ethically aligned alternatives that can be put into action.