Tourism is a necessary evil, but as of late, it’s becoming more evil than necessary.

Tourism is a huge and growing industry in the world economy. According to The Guardian, tourism in 2018 was worth a whopping 1.7 trillion dollars, or about 2% of the world’s GDP, and it’s only expected to grow. With that growth brings harsh, long-term effects on earth’s already strained resources. Is that spring break getaway worth it?

Many culturally and ecologically rich places in the world are being destroyed by the huge influx of tourists.

Boracay, a famous party island in the Philippines, was ordered to shut down in 2018 because it was completely trashed. In 2017, the tiny 10 kilometers squared (4 mile squared) island was visited by over 2 million tourists according to EHL. 

An article written by the Guardian writes that Machu Picchu is in danger of cultural destruction because of plans of an airport being built very close to the ruins. The inhabitants of Cusco, a town near where the airport is to be built is concerned with the crime and erosion the new airport would bring. 

Aside from all that, there are some positives to tourism. I am a tourist myself. My family and I often make trips to the Philippines to visit family, and in visiting, I get a chance to immerse myself in the culture and experience things that can’t be replicated by a simple google search. 

Tourism also brings many job opportunities to people around the world. Along with the 1.7 trillion dollar tourist income, the World Travel and Tourism Council reported that in 2018, tourism contributed 319 million jobs to the global economy.

Even so, many of the jobs created are made on questionable grounds. “There are so many kids working in tourist spots in the Philippines,” says former Filipino local, Delia Pascua. “They sell handmade souvenirs. Their parents make them go out to sell them. They need to so they can help their families survive.” 

That is the root of the problem. Many tourists treat other countries as their playground, ignoring the effect they have on the people and the land. Think Logan Paul, an infamous YouTuber who created controversy in early 2018 by posting a vlog of him and his crew purposefully ignoring the signs that warn tourists to stay on the path outside of Japan’s Aokigahara ‘Suicide Forest.’ Soon after, they find the body of a suicide victim, filming and joking about it.

In order to fix this issue, we need to widen our worldviews.

We as global citizens need to relearn the meaning of respect when it comes to traveling and try to become ‘good’ tourists. 

A quick Google search yields many tips on how to be a better tourist: visiting lesser known spots, planning your trip out more, knowing why you want to go in the first place, even something as simple as reading up on the customs of the country one visits or learning a few phrases in the country’s language can be what sets you apart from other tourists. 

We also need to remember that we are only visitors; we choose to leave the comforts of home to explore, so everything isn’t going to come easily. Leave your entitlement at the airport gate.

Tourism isn’t going to just disappear. We need to learn to keep up with its growth, or else we could risk losing what this beautiful world has to offer.