In defense of tourism
To which I'd say: Let those who are without stamps in their passport squirt the first water gun.
Advertisement
Now, that's not to say there aren't serious problems caused by tourism, starting with the
Tourists have also been blamed for degrading cultural institutions, such as by thronging the Louvre to photograph the Mona Lisa. Last week, a painting at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence was
Tourists stand accused of wearing
Advertisement
At an extreme, tourism has also been accused of
Against the backdrop of so many complaints, some localities have started to impose charges in an effort to reduce the number of visitors. Locally,
Now, I'm certainly not going to defend the small minority of loutish tourists. And when there are actual safety reasons to limit the number of people in a museum gallery or in the canals of Venice, that's obviously reasonable.
But those are specific problems in specific places, not an indictment of tourism overall.
Indeed, it's hard not to see some of these high-minded critiques of overtourism as disguised snobbery, prejudice, or horror at the kids these days.
The critiques tend to either implicitly or explicitly suggest there's a right and wrong way to visit other countries — that it's fine when enlightened Boomers go to the Louvre to admire its Etruscan antiquities, but horrifyingly gauche when someone else takes a selfie with the Mona Lisa.
Tourists take a picture of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris.
AMAURY CORNU/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
Moralizing about the environmental impact of other people's travel — also known as
Advertisement
The objections also tend to ignore the benefits. Travel does create cultural exchange — and economic activity. In Europe, there's been a bit of backlash to the backlash, with defenders of tourism
Tourism is an easy bogeyman. But we all benefit from being able to see the world in ways previous generations could only dream of. Unless you're willing to give up travel yourself, trying to limit tourism or judge other tourists isn't the right approach to solving the problems that tourism can create.
This is an excerpt from
, a Globe Opinion newsletter about the future of transportation in the region. Sign up to
.
Alan Wirzbicki is Globe deputy editor for editorials. He can be reached at
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Marina Bay Sands is getting an $8B expansion
Singapore's eye-catching Marina Bay Sands hotel and resort is undergoing an $8 billion expansion. A trip to Singapore isn't complete without taking a look at Marina Bay Sands. The massive resort, made up of three 650-foot-tall skyscrapers and connected by a boat-like skybridge, is a symbol of the city-state's modernism and prosperity. Such a pricey expansion to such a national icon is, predictably, a hot-button topic. Marina Bay Sands is set to receive a fourth tower, plus a 15,000-seat arena. The makeover broke ground this month under the looming specter of public scrutiny. 6 When it opened in 2011, Marina Bay Sands hotel and resort radically redefined the Singaporean skyline. AFP via Getty Images 6 A rendering of the planned fourth tower and adjoining event venue. Safdie Architects The resort's original architect, Moshe Safdie, designed the new tower. 'The (Urban Redevelopment) Authority repeatedly said, 'This is our icon; our people of Singapore love this, and we cannot do anything that's going to compromise it,' Safdie told CNN. The 87-year-old Israeli architect told the outlet that his goal was to design an edifice that was complimentary to the originals, while bearing its own identity. The current iteration of Marina Bay Sands, owned by the US casino and resort company Las Vegas Sands, attracted 38 million visitors and the equivalent of $1.7 billion in business spending last year, according to CNN. Safdie, whose firm is headquartered in Massachusetts, said connecting the fourth tower to the other three was hardly considered. Instead, the 55-story extension will be set apart on an adjacent plot. He described the new tower as the dot of an exclamation point. 6 The fourth tower's boat-like 'Skyloop.' Safdie Architects 6 The adjoining event venue will host a massive arena, and 200,000 square feet of conference and exhibition space. Safdie Architects 'The buildings look related,' Safdie told the outlet. 'They're in the same family.' The new tower will comprise of 570 suites, as well as luxury retail and gaming facilities. The facade, twisting at a 45-degree angle, tops off with a 76,000-square-foot 'Skyloop,' featuring the resort's famous infinity-edge pools, an observatory, restaurants and lush rooftop gardens. The fourth tower will share the original resort's panoramic views of the Marina Bay and Singapore Strait. A massive event venue, designed by the team behind the Las Vegas Sphere, will sit neatly in between the two structures. The building will span approximately 200,000 square feet of conference and exhibition space, with a 15,000-seat sports and entertainment arena at its core. The new development aims to capture more tourism revenue from so-called 'Mice' travelers, according to CNBC, who flock to the city for meetings and conferences, as well as leisure travelers trekking through Asia. 6 Local reactions to the recently announced plans range from disgust to excitement. AFP via Getty Images 6 The three-pronged resort is known for its highly Instagrammable rooftop pool. Best View Stock – Online commenters reacted strongly to the development's recent groundbreaking, with some Redditors comparing the fourth tower design to a lurking neighbor of a 'huge dehumidifier.' Safdie told CNN that all the new development needs is time, saying that, before long, 'people will feel it's always been there.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Alaska Airlines requests grounding of fleet citing 'IT outage'
Alaska Airlines has requested a ground stop for all its mainline aircraft according to an advisory notice by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with the company citing an "IT outage." The airline told AFP that on Sunday it "experienced an IT outage that's impacting our operations" and that it "requested a temporary, system-wide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights until the issue is resolved." The FAA status page showed all destinations being impacted by the ground stop of Alaska's mainline aircraft. It did not immediately respond to AFP's requests for comment. Alaska Airlines apologized for the disruption, urging travelers to check their flight status before heading to the airport. "We apologize to our guests for this inconvenience," it said in a statement. "There will be residual impacts to our operation throughout the evening." The statement, also posted on X, drew a backlash from what appeared to be frustrated passengers. "This is brutal. We've been sitting at the airport for two hours," wrote an X user named Caleb Heimlich in reply. Another user, BetterDays, commented: "This started at 8 pm & you're just posting this now?! Your service has gone way down over the last 5 years." The incident comes more than a year after a door plug section of a newly delivered Boeing 737 Max 9 blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight between Portland, Oregon and Ontario, California in January last year. The 171 passengers and six crew members survived the rapid decompression, but the incident focused minds at the FAA, which grounded many Boeing 737-9 aircraft operated by US airlines. Last month, US investigators said Boeing's failure to provide adequate training to manufacturing staff was a driving factor in the near-catastrophic Alaska Airlines mid-flight blowout. Alaska Air Group has a fleet of 325 aircraft, comprising 238 Boeing 737 planes and 87 Embraer 175 aircraft, according to its website. cdl/mtp Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Alaska Airlines resumes flights after 'IT outage'
Alaska Airlines said Monday it had resumed operations after hours earlier requesting its fleet be grounded because of an "IT outage." The airline apologized for the disruption, and urged travelers to check their flight status before heading to the airport -- adding it "will take some time to get our overall operations back to normal". The airline earlier told AFP it "experienced an IT outage that's impacting our operations" and that it had "requested a temporary, system-wide ground stop for Alaska and Horizon Air flights until the issue is resolved." Before the grounding was lifted, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) status page showed all destinations affected by the halt of Alaska's mainline aircraft. "We apologize for the inconvenience," Alaska Airlines said in a statement. "As we reposition our aircraft and crews, there will most likely be residual impacts to our flights." In a separate statement posted on X, the airline said it has "resolved its earlier IT outage", without giving details. The grounding drew a backlash from frustrated passengers. "This is brutal. We've been sitting at the airport for two hours," wrote an X user named Caleb Heimlich in one of such replies. "It's 10:20 pm, people are tired, hungry, etc. This is not okay," said another. Alaska last year also experienced an IT outage that caused significant disruption to its operations, including delayed flights. At the time, multiple users complained they were facing difficulties accessing its app and website. - Active attacks? - The airline's latest outage comes a day after Microsoft warned of "active attacks" targeting server software used by businesses to share internal documents and urged security updates. Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to AFP's request to clarify whether the outage was linked to the Microsoft issue. The incident also comes more than a year after a door plug section of a newly delivered Boeing 737 Max 9 blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight between Portland, Oregon and Ontario, California in January last year. The 171 passengers and six crew members survived the rapid decompression, but the FAA later grounded many Boeing 737-9 aircraft operated by US airlines. Last month, US investigators said Boeing's failure to provide adequate training to manufacturing staff was a driving factor in the near-catastrophic Alaska Airlines mid-flight blowout. Alaska Air Group has a fleet of 325 aircraft, comprising 238 Boeing 737 planes and 87 Embraer 175 aircraft, according to its website. cdl/fox Solve the daily Crossword
