Although the wonderous world that is foreign to most people is enticing and often frightening, the tourist culture and mindset is detrimental to what were once preserved historical landmarks.
As tourism begins to grow as a major economic factor, it becomes more apparent that the act of touring foreign lands is harming the environment and locals alike. It may seem like taking a trip to Spain, Hawaii, or Mexico is just a fun, simple excursion but, in reality, it is damaging the prosperity of the land and the people.
It is without a doubt that certain areas in Mexico City, for example, are excluded from the gentrified, tourist catering parts of Mexico City. In Mexico City there are several parts of the city that are very providing for tourists.
“...Roma, Polanco, and La Condesa cater to a lot of expats – English speaking tourists,” Patricia Galindo, Algebra 1 and 2 teacher at Liberty High School, says, as she explains her experience while travelling abroad.
There are expectations that tourists have when travelling of kindness and welcoming that become more and more apparent as cities and countries become more gentrified. It becomes common to see that the heavily populated areas speak multiple language to provide for those that are travelling from European countries or the United States. This means that as tourism becomes bigger and bigger, lots of countries will lose their historic value.
Not only are countries losing their history, but locals are being pushed from their homes. Tourists that travel to certain countries, especially in Latin America, visit with more money than locals, which is extremely attractive to landlords and business owners.
This is causing lots of acts of vandalism on walls pleading with tourists to go home, “Locals are upset, but can you really blame the tourists? Landlords – maybe there's no regulation that is stopping rent from skyrocketing, that’s what’s pushing locals out,” Galindo says.
The act of tourism is extremely damaging to the world's environment, whether it be the carbon emissions from flights or the constant Ubering from place to place. By touring new countries people are causing excessive carbon emissions that are detrimental to the environment of that country as well as the whole world.
With current climate change problems already on the rise, long flights and car rides are no way to help improve that. Not only is this damaging through transportation but reports of taking the wildlife from Hawaiian Islands are extremely damaging to the culture and land. In Hawaii, tourists have taken a liking to bringing in and taking home wildflowers and plants that are key factors in preserving the islands.
While all these factors may deter people from travelling, being well-travelled will always be beneficial, but the way to be well travelled must be ethical.
“Focus on the culture. In Mexico City we did a tour of Xochimilco, it's these canals, and I specifically chose this tour company because of their efforts to restore the canals, and they do regenerative farming.”
Galindo explains how she was able to give back to the community through tour guides and companies that were able to provide sanctuary for Mexico while also enriching tourists in the culture and history of the country.
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