As mindful travelers, is tourism good or bad? Due to COVID-19, we’ve seen how some places have thrived and others devastated from the decline in tourism. So what are the benefits and drawbacks? And what can we do to be more mindful travelers and not contribute to the problems brought about by over-tourism?
This may not be true but I feel the topic of tourism has become a controversial one. The media is exploiting rage culture more than ever and forging deep divides among us.
The point of contention: Is tourism ruining countries and suppressing culture? Or is it making us better people?
As my brand builds on social media, I’ve been thinking about my core values. And one that is immediately clear is mindful travel. I use this blog to show people how healing and fun slow, ethical travel can be.
Related: Why Slow Travel is Essential for Your Wellbeing and Mental Health
And now, I want to explore the below topics to truly understand the impact of tourism on economies, culture, and the planet.
In the age of COVID-19, when tourism is uncertain, it’s good to take a step back and do some reflection on how we might be contributing to the good and the bad, and discuss our responsibility as mindful travelers.
Becoming mindful travelers
On any trip, big or small, I check myself with the same question. How can I be a mindful traveler so I don’t leave destruction in my wake?
I’ve written about this countless times on this blog, so feel free to peruse.
But here are some cardinal rules to becoming mindful travelers that should be scribed across the tourism landscape:
- Treat the land like it’s sacred: observe but do not disturb.
- Don’t leave waste.
- Try to avoid tourist hot-spots and explore lesser known regions.
- Make an effort to understand the culture: talk to locals and be respectful
- Support organizations that promote sustainable tourism and ecological conservation.
- Limit expenditure in big corporations.
- Live by the saying “Vote with your dollar”: show support to sustainability by putting your money in small, local businesses.
Related: 5 Top Tips to Be an Eco-Friendly Mindful Traveler in New Zealand
Breaking it down: Is Tourism Good or Bad?
Tourism’s impact on the economy: Good
It’s no secret that tourism benefits a country’s economy. More visitors means more money expenditure. And that has the potential to increase a country’s GDP – Gross Domestic Product, the monetary value of all goods within that country.
And economic growth means more jobs created, and an appreciation (increase in value) of that country’s dollar (read more here).
This is why most Governments these days have tourism initiatives. And this is why COVID-19 has devastated countries whose biggest industry is tourism like Bali and Fiji. We’re definitely feeling the impact here in New Zealand.
As the pandemic rages, the New York Times released this article, describing how laid-off resort workers have had to return to traditional ways of making money due to the severe impact of the pandemic.
With international travel mostly paused, you may notice your country promote domestic travel more than ever. Tourism pumps money into the economy and helps local businesses.
Economically, tourism is good.
And aligned with my commitment to mindful travel, I always make sure I spend my money in the right places, toward local and small businesses rather than into large corporations. This includes restaurants, recreational activities, and accommodation (trying to move away from AirBnB).
Tourism’s impact on the environment: Not so good
Tourism and environmental protection could be described as being at odds. And that’s confusing because preserved natural settings are essential for tourism.
It’s a sad reality that many prioritize profit over sustainability. Tourism may be good for the economy but too often it comes at a great environmental cost, and many are trying to find the right balance. This is a huge topic about which many books have been written, so I won’t go too much into it.
While it’s easy to blame the individual tourist for trampling and littering, there’s a bigger evil at work… corporations.
I know. I’ll never tire of hating on corporations.
Environmental conservation is low on their list of priorities when they bulldoze the land for hotels, resorts, golf courses, and new roads to connect them all. These often attract crowds too large for the environment to cope and lead to land degradation, waste, and pollution. Read more here.
Not to mention the negative impact of gentrification on locals, which essentially makes their own country too expensive to live in. I saw this when I visited Bali last year. We decided to splurge at a beach club one day and got to talking to our server, an Indonesian man who works 7 days a week to support his family. His monthly wage equaled what we spent in a single night.
I don’t think I can step foot in another beach club again.
Tourism for Perspective and Humanity: Good
As I said above, travel can bring about new ideas. And that brings us to a big reason why countries encourage their youth to travel. So that you bring these ideas back home, drive innovation and take society forward. Travel gives you new perspective. You see the world in a different way and you understand humanity a little better.
The more I get exposed to different cultures, the more the world seems upside down.
A drastic shift in my perspective was when I started seeing the Western world as a culture rather than the norm. A fucking weird culture.
And this is liberating. It can lead to demolition of ancient cultural expectations, both at an individual and population level.
We also can’t forget. People love sharing their culture. We can’t always assume locals hate tourists. It creates a divide that desperately needs closing.
I’m thrilled when someone tells me they visited Lebanon. That they understand Lebanese culture and spent time with her people, instead of sipping martinis in a resort. That they saw past the wars and corruption perpetuated by the media, enjoyed a Lebanese feast, and witnessed our cultural values of hospitality and generosity.
There’s joy in sharing our way of life. People get to preserve their culture and exercise their right to exist in this world and enrich humanity.
I love travel so of course I lean toward believing tourism is good. But we have to be mindful of its destructive potential.
Slow travel is a beautiful thing and I do believe the world is on its way to humbling itself. Mindfulness is the way forward, mentally, economically, politically, to nurture understanding and compassion for our planet and keep society moving in the right direction.
