Connecting the dots: Ethics, global citizenship and tourism

Those of us that recently flocked to popular tourist destinations, such as Barcelona, Venice, Rome, Amsterdam, Florence, Berlin, Lisbon and Palma de Mallorca and beyond, probably encountered a different, grimmer host community than we had envisioned beforehand. Although for many the sun was shining bright(er), the scenery was stunning and the food delicious, there were also signs of a changing attitude, and in some cases visible resistance, towards tourists. Pieces of anti-tourist graffiti that read “Tourists you are the terrorist”, “All tourists are bastards” and even “Why call it the tourist season if we can’t shoot them?” now (literally) troubled our view at many popular touristic sites. In some cases, for example Barcelona, resentment was even fiercer, resulting in large protests, tyre-slashing and windowsmashing. These actions went beyond merely raising awareness for aggressive and underdressed tourists drinking all day and yelling all night, but were local responses against the economics and morality of all types of mass tourism, which according to many impoverishes the poorest in society and everyone’s standards of living. While the industry has long upheld its vital contribution to the livelihood of local people, resistance towards tourism development in these touristic hot spots seems to grow every year. Although local governments are trying to cope with this so-called form of ‘over-tourism’ through scapegoats like tourism restrictions, taxes and other measures, it deflects attention away from the challenges of global tourism development. Restricting the number of tourists or tourism-related activities will do little to solve deep-rooted problems like inequality, exclusion and exploitation. Conversely, we should not forget that at the same time that many protests against yet another season of tourist hordes, in many parts of the world the tourism and hospitality industry are still vital to alleviate distressed economic conditions for many by providing access to critical income and opportunities for prosperity.