I was a hospitality major in college (concentration on Travel & Tourism). I love to travel! I love the adventure each trip brings to my life. I also love helping people plan their adventures.
I am pro-tourism in the developing world. However, sustainable tourism isn't easy.
It is easy to exploit a poor nation and its people. It is easy to come in, knock down trees, build a road, put up a fence and keep the messy reality of a developing country out of the manufactured reality of the resort. It is easy to put the profits before the people.
It is
not easy to learn the language, understand the culture, learn how to use the land or earn the respect of the locals. These things take more time and more effort but have a better pay off than cash profit. Instead the real profit is progress.
Just like any other industry, tourism must be carefully monitored by all parties involved, the government, the industry itself, and most importantly us, the consumers.
The best thing I can do (or any of us) is take chicken buses, eat at the stalls, stay at a family-run and environmentally responsible hospedaje, tread lightly and reuse that plastic water bottle over and over.
We, the travelers, are the demand that drives the tourism market. We are more powerful than any corporation! We must demand sustainability and accountability. We must support the organizations that support the local communities and the environment.
Put your money where your mouth is, do the
right thing, and sleep better at night!
