How to Be a Tourist
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I live in a small town of 3000, before the pandemic we had a major problem with over tourism. People pass through on their way to Milford Sound, a million visitors a year.
The pandemic was a revelation, revolution. It became a pleasure to live here.
The tourists have returned, we are being crowded out of our own town.
Here is the problem:
- Tourism is inherently extractive. Take Take Take.
- Tourism has an high carbon footprint, you all flew here, drive big nearly empty rental SUV’s or camper vans. The tourism industry wants to up-sell you into helicopters and other expensive high carbon activities.
- Tourism rewards a small number of people who grow wealthy with easy money, yes its the same people who moaned loudest during the pandemic from their multi million dollar houses, collecting corporate welfare and stabbing their competitors in the back.
- The tourism industry is inherently corrupt, a tourist is worth no more than the highest commission earn-able. Tourism is the dirtiest industry by a very wide margin in a generally honest and fair country.
- Tourism jobs are always poorly paid and seasonal, the tax payer subsidises the tourism industry all winter and spring when their “staff” are unemployed. No, staff will not tell you of their suffering, it’s their job to lie for their “fabulous” employers. Staff have to be super stars.
- Green washing is a way of life in the tourism industry, an institutionalised behaviour. All they want is your money and they don’t care what that costs the environment or their neighbours. Look for the helicopters, they are there somewhere, because that is where the money is.
- Rental housing for normal people becomes impossible because houses are either on airbnb or packed to the rafters with seasonal tourism staff.
- One cannot go anywhere without being photographed or videoed. Anywhere!
- Simple things like riding your bike on the road or going swimming in the lake or buying groceries become dangerous, uncomfortable or inconvenient. It’s almost impossible to buy a pie from the pie shop at lunch time, or pop in somewhere for a coffee, there are just too many of you.
- Many tourists are reckless aggressive drivers, the roads are again extremely dangerous.
My advice, don’t come.
But if you insist:
- It’s important to be sensitive to your surroundings.
- You are a guest. Behave respectfully. It’s not possible to over emphasise, you are a guest.
- Try and spread your spending to small towns and establishments that would not otherwise benefit from tourist spend.
- Take “public” mass transport as much as possible, hire bicycles or cars in smaller centres for short excursions. This is very un-kiwi, please set an example for the locals. By doing this your demand on transport infrastructure will improve mass transport for locals.
- Stay in NZ for a long time, multiple months, to dilute the heinous carbon footprint of coming and going. Get a sense of the real NZ. Your two week visit is not a good idea, stay away.
- Don’t do any frivolous flying, helicopters are out. Don’t fly to the glaciers. Think about it!
- Take less photographs, and never photograph people who are not willing participants. Your mindless tourist snaps have no value to anyone. And no, you are not an expert photographer, you are a tourist snapper, even if that is an expensive camera on a tripod. You are only padding the paid for ads on Instagram.
- Try to develop meaningful connection before you start snapping away. Photographers with a clue look with a deeper understanding of space, dimensional, temporal and emotional.
- Drones, leave it at home. You can’t use it legally in any place you want to.