Thursday, April 25, 2013

Is tourism the most destructive enterprise?

Tourism explodes with globalization, enriching lives but destroying nature and culture

The world has serious concerns over fiscal crises, security crises and environmental crises including climate change.

And then there are vacations. Yes, vacations – the getaways when we can put aside lofty concerns and remember what living is all about: seeing friends, hosting family reunions, discovering a new artist at a provincial festival and running barefoot on the beach with salt air stinging our cheeks.

At least that was the definition of a vacation before globalization took off.

Now vacations have joined the ranks of the biggest global industrial complexes. While few noticed, travel and tourism grew into a giant business sector and the world’s largest employer – beating out health care, education and retail. At least one out of every 11 people works in the industry, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.

Tourism contributes at least $6.5 trillion to the world economy every year. Since the 2008 recession, its growth rate has rebounded faster than manufacturing and financial services. And if frequent-flyer miles were a currency, they would be the most valuable in the world, even with all those blackout dates. Full story...

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  3. Chinese boom in Swiss ski resorts...
  4. War tourism in Sri Lanka...
  5. The Saudis are bulldozing Islam's heritage.
  6. Mecca for the rich: Islam's holiest site 'turning into Vegas'
  7. Wombs for rent: Indian surrogate mothers tell their tales...

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