Tourism is a product of capitalism and only serves to destroy the planet. Tourism seems innocuous enough. People get to see the world… and then what? In which way does it benefit the world? Don’t get me wrong, there are people who study or work and so need to travel, but for the vast majority of people, they’re just accelerating the death of the planet with their plane travel and hiking up prices for locals with their tenure, in many cases even causing homelessness. Recreational travel is a problem for everyone and by limiting it, we can reduce flights by at least half, rent prices can be slashed and food and beverage prices can come down.
There’s a similar extremely visible movement in Barcelona. Tourism has always been a soft version of colonialism, but in Mallorca, Menorca, Formentera, Ibiza, Barcelona, and Valencia, it does double duty. These regions are economic powerhouses for Spain, but they’re former autonomous societies that were conquered and colonized by the Kingdom of Castille.
While traveling there you’re likely to meet people who speak Spanish, German, English, and French out of necessity to communicate with tourists, but even speaking Spanish in these areas is an insult to their autonomy. The native language of Mallorca is Balearic Catalan. If you go to the Basque country and don’t speak the Basque language, you’re going to get some pushback. There’s a similar independence movement centered in Barcelona but popular throughout Aragon, Catalonia, and the Balearic Islands, and assuming the people you meet prefer to speak Spanish adds another layer of colonialism on top of the tourism.
This is my reply of the day. Jam-packed full of insightful information. Thank you!
Tourism is not that bad, seeing the world opens the mind… Unless you just get in a plane to get wasted cheaply 😔
