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While tourist dollars may be a draw for some economies, many locals don't benefit from visitors. I've lived in a couple of tourist meccas, and travellers can make life worse.
Yes they do. They just don't realize. Oh but they realized it when everything was shut down from covid. Then they found out that much of that tourist revenue makes it's way to them when the businesses and employees that directly benefit from tourists turn around and spend that money in the general local economy.
Tourists impose a lot of costs while their dollars go into just a few businesses. Some gain while everyone else pays. You say locals need fire protection? Well do you pay for emergency services (facilities, equipment, staff) for the 60,000 locals or the 250,000 when you include the "winter visitors?" Do you build roads to handle the 60,000 population or the 250,000?
Why don't you take a look at how locals who don't benefit directly from tourists fared in the covid lockdowns in tourist destinations. Without all those pesky tourists and the expenses they impose, surely the locals reaped a windfall?
A lot of social media is people posting about their travels though. The isolation part may be unrelated, but anxiety is certainly related! Travel is anxiety / stress producing! Between the airport, the booking, the unfamiliarity, time zones. It's expanding but also draining. Just like a day of skiing, it's adrenaline eye opening, but draining. I know when I take trips, I sleep more than normal cause my brain has to process everything exotic I just experienced.
Social media causes people to compare their situations to others and that can induce stress. As for the travel itself that depends on each individual (meaning not everyone finds it really stressful) as many people find traveling exciting (rather than stressful).
Travel is a form of escape, just like alcohol, drugs, gambling and sex. An occasional vacation is fine but the need for constant travel is a red flag to me.
The concept of appreciating other cultures is a lot of bunk. Most of the people I know who travel do NOT visit other countries/cultures. They have zero interest in visiting places like Mexico, South America, the Middle East or India. The main travel destinations I hear about are beaches--Aruba, Caribbean, Hawaii, Florida, etc. All they want to do is lie on a beach, slather on the sunscreen, and zone out.
A person who is addicted to travel is a person who isn't able to appreciate the blessings they've been given in their everyday life. They have no gratitude about what they already have. I walk a lot and see gorgeous expensive homes with beautiful decks and patios, patio sets, flower gardens, even swimming pools, and yet the owners aren't there. They're spending the weekend at the closest beach.
I once asked someone about why they need to go away and they said, "I need to escape from my everyday life, get away from the house and the chores here". Ok. I can understand this to a point. But anytime I hear someone say, "I need to escape" I feel it's a red flag. Why do you need an escape? It's like alcohol or drugs.
It's no surprise to me that Milennials have financial problems because of the amount of travelling they do. I know Milennials who HAVE NO JOB and are LAID OFF but yet flying here, flying there, taking vacations. I don't get it. They complain they can't afford their rent or afford to buy a house but they are travelling...???????
But anytime I hear someone say, "I need to escape" I feel it's a red flag. Why do you need an escape?
What planet do you live on? Everyday life gets to be mundane, and sometimes, even stressful and torturous. Getting away from that from time to time can be soul-saving and good for mental well being.
Travel is a form of escape, just like alcohol, drugs, gambling and sex. An occasional vacation is fine but the need for constant travel is a red flag to me.
The concept of appreciating other cultures is a lot of bunk. Most of the people I know who travel do NOT visit other countries/cultures. They have zero interest in visiting places like Mexico, South America, the Middle East or India. The main travel destinations I hear about are beaches--Aruba, Caribbean, Hawaii, Florida, etc. All they want to do is lie on a beach, slather on the sunscreen, and zone out.
A person who is addicted to travel is a person who isn't able to appreciate the blessings they've been given in their everyday life. They have no gratitude about what they already have. I walk a lot and see gorgeous expensive homes with beautiful decks and patios, patio sets, flower gardens, even swimming pools, and yet the owners aren't there. They're spending the weekend at the closest beach.
I once asked someone about why they need to go away and they said, "I need to escape from my everyday life, get away from the house and the chores here". Ok. I can understand this to a point. But anytime I hear someone say, "I need to escape" I feel it's a red flag. Why do you need an escape? It's like alcohol or drugs.
Great post.
Travel becomes a form of escape, when like you're mentioning, people feel the push to get away rather than the pull to explore something new. And it's weird because Americans have the biggest and nicest homes in the world, it doesn't make sense to want to escape that unless they don't really appreciate what's there.
The destinations get me as well. agreed, if people were looking for cultural experience, there would be a lot more people taking a quick three hour flight to central Mexico or Guatemala to go spend time around the indigenous cultures and go do some hiking in the forests there. To me that's the exciting travel. Instead it's a lot more Cancun.
Quote:
Originally Posted by heavymind
What planet do you live on? Everyday life gets to be mundane, and sometimes, even stressful and torturous. Getting away from that from time to time can be soul-saving and good for mental well being.
Mundane I can get, a change of scenery is nice when it's been a long stretch of same roads same places. Stressful and torturous I don't.
One is much better off getting a living arrangement that speaks to them and a place that they are relaxed and happy to come home to rather than booking a weekend or 2 every month getting away from somewhere they don't really like. I didn't care for my 1 bedroom apartment in Atlanta, but I did something about that and got a little house that is next to a lot of outdoor stuff here that I really like. There's no bed as comfy as your own. You don't have to figure anything out or look up any restaurants, you can live life on autopilot and shut your brain off at home more than anywhere else.
How on earth can everyday life at your own house be stressful? The only way I can think is if people book their lives so full that they have a never ending list of chores because they put too many things on their plate. Clear off the plate some and the stress will go away. I get it if there's small kids, but the kids come on trips too or you can drop them off at the grandparents and do a little staycation.
Why don't you take a look at how locals who don't benefit directly from tourists fared in the covid lockdowns in tourist destinations. Without all those pesky tourists and the expenses they impose, surely the locals reaped a windfall?
For our local tourist areas, it seems the bar and hotel owners were the loudest screamers. But the actual locals who go to work every day were quite happy not to fight the tourist traffic, drunks, and scooters running all over.
I have been to Europe 3 times, cruised around Hawaii , traveled in Mexico and Canada and most of the US. I have to say that traveling is becoming less of a pleasure than it used to be. Part of it is that wife is handicapped and can't walk very far so that is a problem in most airports ( try depending on a skycap!) Also, the lines of TSA my last trip through DIA was a nightmare. Also, it is not inexpensive and for the most part, overpriced. I guess I have become rather jaded in a lot of the experiences of traveling. That is not to say I am going to be a homebody but these people that want to live out of a suitcase 1/4 or 1/3 of the year , I say "good for them", just not for me. JMHO
BTW, I have the funds TO travel, I just am not going to be spending very much on it.
How on earth can everyday life at your own house be stressful?
Everyday life can be stressful and very hard for a lot of people. Consider yourself lucky, I suppose.
For some the chance to get away from it all is a nice break from the ordinary. Life is an adventure, no?
This discussion has turned more into people not being able to appreciate different choices than it is a Great Debate.
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