The Last Tourist

 After this past trip to Italy, I pondered what the future of travel is. Because MJ and I avoided the most crowded of spots, we missed some of the most iconic locations in the world (the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, the Bridge of Sighs and Doge's Palace in Venice, but I just went home and watched a Youtube video in 4k showing exactly what I missed, and probably with a better view, without having to wait in a 2-hour line in sweltering conditions, feeling sweety and gross while being sandwiched like sardines into a tight narrow space while Covid is still raging in my parts of the world. I can pretty much see any public tourist attraction for free in the comfort of my living room without spending hundreds of dollars on airfare and lodging/transportation costs....so why do we even travel? There's definitely something to be said for experiencing something in-person, with one's own eyes, and say that you've been there, you were part of something....that's part of it, but I believe that many people like myself travel for the sake of traveling, to get out of one's comfort zone and go on an adventure that I haven't experienced before, to create lasting memories and to not feel like time is passing me by while I sent in my condo working, feeling like everyone on the outside world is having fun except for me. Also, time seems to go a little slower while on vacation, and there's a nice security box of memories to draw upon later on, so that I can distract myself from the fact that it's June already and almost HALF of the year 2022 is already gone. I relished the idea of waking up in a hotel room on the other side of the world, with breakfast waiting for me downstairs and a day of relaxation and doing things I want to do (instead of login to my computer and start clicking) awaits. This is also a first-class lifestyle luxury, I know, and I know how lucky I am even to be able to travel. 

On the other hand, I recently watched a documentary called "The Last Tourist" that argued that tourism is harmful, that going to animal attractions harms the animals by making them perform actions they don't want to do (similar to the argument against zoos), that visiting places actually makes those places worse off, in that everybody is drawn to the main attractions, causing resources to be focused on those things instead of dire problems of poverty and general living within the native population. Rick Steves alluded to this in his guidebook, pleading for tourists not to join large tour groups to visit certain locations on the Cinque Terre on Italy's western coast, because the coasts were just not made for too many people trampling over the land and taking up the resources. The movie advocated for "volunteer vacations," like going to different countries to volunteer and experience the natives' way of life, not just the flashy tourist cities and locations. After what I experienced in Italy, I have to agree that my experience, while enjoyable and exciting to see something different than my regular day, was dampened by the site of so many hawkers, street vendors, souvenir items, and just a general vibe of commercialims at the top sites to try to monetize the tourist experience, and tourists feeding into it all crowding into the most popular spots in a sort of tragedy-of-the-commons dilemma. I wanted to see the Colosseum, but so did everybody else, and the sheer number of people around us diluted the experience (there was a memorable guy dripping in sweat in front of us who made an impression on MJ's strong sense of smell), to the point MJ was overwhelmed by the number of people and couldn't properly enjoy reading the permanent exhibits and learning more. The Last Tourist argues for a change in the way tourists experience travel, and that tourists (the consumers) can shape how their travel will be through spending their dollars on locals and helpful (opposite of harmful) tourism. Interesting and definitely something to keep in mind for the next time I travel (likely after the summer swell subsides, and when MJ can finally get some vacation time off).