When I was a child, this huge appetite for global tourism didn't exist. Most people took their holidays in domestic seaside resorts and had no wish to jet off to some far-flung location. Did that mean their lives were somehow impoverished? I don't think so. They just didn't have the modern wanderlust.
But is mass tourism necessarily a good thing? Personally I think it's gone too far. Many popular holiday spots are now so overwhelmed by tourists that the local infrastructure and services can't cope and longstanding residents up sticks and move somewhere quieter.
The huge extent of air travel that underpins this feverish globe-trotting is not only polluting the planet but has led to declining in-flight comfort as airlines cram more and more passengers into their planes.
So what is gained from all this travelling around? Are people generally better-informed, more open-minded, more interesting? Not that I've noticed. People can fly all over the world and still be remarkably ignorant and ethnocentric.
I've got to the age when I've lost the taste for long-distance travelling, now that my energy levels are less than they were. And I'm happy to stay at home. It doesn't make you an unadventurous stick-in-the-mud. It doesn't mean you're uninterested in the rest of the world. After all nowadays you can find out anything you want about other countries by half an hour's googling.
It seems to me this escalating desire to zoom all over the globe has got a bit out of hand. Why not appreciate our own country a bit more?
I’ll tell you what’s crazy here….you now need to schedule visits to some national parks (timed entrance) because they are that busy. Many have twice the number of annual visitors as just 10 years ago. It started during the pandemic. I thought it would let up once people were traveling internationally again, but it’s only grown worse.
ReplyDeleteBijoux: Yes, I'd heard about the parks visitor schedules. I gather some parks also charge an entrance fee. I wonder why the number of visitors has shot up?
DeleteMost national parks and many state parks charge an entrance fee. That's not new. Our state, Arkansas, used to. Now, though, maintenance and improvements are paid with part of the revenue from a 5/8¢ sales tax.
DeleteThe popular parks have been crowded for quite some time. We went to Zion in Utah in 2019 and it was crazy. I can only imagine what it is now.
Few people were going anywhere in 2020 because of the pandemic. To some extent that trend carried over into 2021, though a lot of people, tired of staying home, headed out. I think, this year, there has been more of that, plus a lot of people who only travel occasionally, say every 2 or 3 years, are doing a post-COVID trip this year. Like everything else, it may take a few years to get back to "normal" ... or this may be the "new normal."
Mike: The airlines were taken by surprise at the number of people who booked post-covid trips. They struggled to cope with the demand and airports were in chaos. As you say, this might be temporary or it may be the new normal.
DeleteWe don't fly anymore. I haven't been on a plane or out of the US in 20 years.
ReplyDeleteWe have a trip to the east coast in 3 months with a 3 day Airbnb stay on the way at an off-the-beaten-path small town in the Cumberland Mountains, avoiding the crowds that Bijoux mentions. We ran into those last year in Colorado. It was insane.
We will be staying in 2 very popular towns, but will be staying with my sister-in-law in Williamsburg, Virginia, and with my brother-in-law and his wife at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The trip is a family visit thing, but we can do the touristy travel thing, too.
Around here, traveling all over the place is NOT the norm and I think that is really the case in most places. The media makes a big deal about air-travel and going places, but it's really making a big deal about something a lot of people can't afford and/or aren't really interested in.
Mike: Interesting that global travel isn't a big thing in the States. Of course you've got plenty of beautiful places and scenery to explore before you think of going anywhere else. I read somewhere that Brits are responsible for more international flights than any other country. Though with the cost of living crisis there may be a pull-back from global travel.
ReplyDeleteMy observation is that global curiosity (the real kind, not those dreadful cruises and resorts) is part of being young, the backpack and the energy and the enthusiasm to learn. I think it fades naturally as we age as it all seems like so much work carrying the meds, perhaps a walker, not to mention arranging travel insurance. And who wants to sit in the toothpaste tube they call an airplane these days with our knees around our throats?
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
www: Travel insurance is another deterrent. At my age, the premiums are pretty steep. And yes, air travel can be hideously uncomfortable.
DeleteWe did some international travel then realized there's so much to see here in the USA that we sold our house and moved into an RV for several years to go see our own country. I don't think either type of travel made us better people but we did learn a lot. We were already permanently parked when the pandemic hit but there are a lot of new RVers out there who found it a safer way of traveling.
ReplyDeleteLinda Sand
Linda: Yes, I can see there are more than enough attractions in the States to keep you happy without venturing abroad. Roaming the country in an RV must be a great experience.
DeleteBeatrice's comment didn't appear on my post. She says: "All of our travels the past couple of years have been in the US. It’s not that we wouldn’t like to travel abroad, but just haven’t. We even renewed our passports last year anticipating foreign travel at some point. Our recent adventures have been in NH and within New England and we are enjoying them. One day we will venture much farther.
ReplyDeleteBeatrice: As I said to Linda, there's plenty to see in the States and you don't have to submit to uncomfortable air travel to get there.
DeleteI have had my share of globe trotting and long distance travel within India. If you are "a bit too old", I am ancient. I can't even travel outside my home city, leave alone globe trot. I am content with my daily routine at home and save my energy for the absolutely unavoidable outings within Pune.
ReplyDeleteRamana: Well, you seem to be quite content at home and not missing all your earlier travelling. Like you I've had quite enough global travel to keep me happy and I don't feel any urge for further globe-trotting.
DeleteI don't know about the rest of the U.S., but it seems like most of the people here in western NC don't have any desire to travel internationally. It seems like most people here go to TN or a beach. Our yearly vacation is to Folly Beach, SC, so definitely not world traveling. There are places outside of the U.S. that we both really want to go, but it hasn't worked out yet for us to be able to.
ReplyDeleteDanielle: Yes, my other blogmates are saying they tend to take holidays within the US. Brits seem to be exceptional in wanting to rush all over the world.
DeleteI'm one of those people that prefer to stay home. I hate traveling and refuse to fly by plane ever again.
ReplyDeleteMary: Plane travel has become more and more unpleasant over the years. The cramped seating, the crummy meals, the pre-flight security etc.
DeleteI had expected to travel more when I was younger but all sorts of situations seemed to curtail those ideas. Even when I did some long domestic flights when I became older I haven't done nearly as much as I would have because flying commercially has become so unpleasant, also more difficult for me now in recent years. I loved flying. My husband had taken me flying on our first date since he had become a private pilot earlier in the year. We did some Cessna flying for a few years. Neither of us ever liked traveling domestically where there were going to be huge groups of sightseers whatever the transportation mode. We took lots of auto trips. Currently, as you describe, it seems like much of the joy of travel is gone.
ReplyDeleteJoared: I think you're right that much of the joy of travelling is gone. Popular tourist spots are overwhelmed, air travel is increasingly unpleasant, roads are often jammed with traffic. I'm happy to have done plenty of travelling in the past so I feel no great urge to keep travelling.
Delete