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The confluence of lower travel costs, higher individual wealth and population growth is proving also an incredible stress on the cultures and uniqueness of glob

The confluence of lower travel costs, higher individual wealth and population growth is proving also an incredible stress on the cultures and uniqueness of global landmark travel locations. The attraction of tourists encourages the development of hotels over local housing, for real estate companies to put existing apartments on Airbnb instead of renting them, attracts chain entertainment companies who buy out established local restaurants/bars/spaces. Pair this with the continuing trend of residential population density increase metropolitan areas. As travel becomes cheaper and Internet-enabled connectivity improves, multinational firms expand into more and more regional hot spots, bringing external wealth, increasing the prices on goods and housing in locations where tourism is already decreasing the availability of housing for local / long-term residents. As these two effects collide, real estate prices climb, and that spike must be attractive to speculative investors -- as in SF, NYC, London, these cities see purchase prices climb faster than income increases. Then because the investment needs to be offset while the value rises, those houses / apartments are also put up for short-term rental or corporate lease. The result is that the people who made up the city and made it run get pushed out, that it's culture is washed away. Dublin, Lisbon, Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam, Prague all demonstrate this process, and it's likely to continue unless the mass tourism floods can be reversed, and pressures to move into the middle of these cities is mitigated. I'm actually really excited about burgeoning air taxis, along with things like level 4/5 microbus-augmented public transport, for reducing the pressure of relocating to cities themselves. But travel may also need to get more expensive again -- we don't yet require flights to be offset for their impact on the environment, let alone their impact on local life, and both of those avenues may need to be reviewed.

buboard 7y ago
> an incredible stress on the cultures and uniqueness Are there still local cultures anywhere in the world? The west, and a lot of asia is more or less similar now, people are accepting of each other's habits and won't make a fuss if you break whatever local customs are left. I think local cultures were a thing of tourism ~40 years ago, people now glorify tiny differences.
- mattlutze 7y ago
  > Are there still local cultures anywhere in the world? There are, yeah. Even city to city in sub-regions of different countries. > people are accepting of each other's habits and won't make a fuss if you break whatever local customs are left. This is different from cultures not existing; tolerance != homogeneity.
  - buboard 7y ago
    > There are, yeah. Even city to city in sub-regions of different countries. Maybe in asia, where there are still less developed areas. In europe, which is by far the biggest tourist destinations i don't think there is true local culture to discover. There is an adulteratered "culture" doped with conservatives, maintained mainly because of tourism in some places.
    - mattlutze 7y ago
      > In europe, which is by far the biggest tourist destinations i don't think there is true local culture to discover. I live in Europe and am happy to report that there are indeed differentiated cultures, even city to city in many areas. > There is an adulteratered "culture" doped with conservatives, maintained mainly because of tourism in some places. I don't understand what you're saying here.
      - buboard 7y ago
        > am happy to report that there are indeed differentiated cultures, even city to city in many areas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_difference... > I don't understand what you're saying here. Sorry i mean fake, non-organic "culture" and "traditions" that have only been preserved because tourists like them

buboard 7y ago

> an incredible stress on the cultures and uniqueness Are there still local cultures anywhere in the world? The west, and a lot of asia is more or less similar now, people are accepting of each other's habits and won't make a fuss if you break whatever local customs are left. I think local cultures were a thing of tourism ~40 years ago, people now glorify tiny differences.

mattlutze 7y ago
> Are there still local cultures anywhere in the world? There are, yeah. Even city to city in sub-regions of different countries. > people are accepting of each other's habits and won't make a fuss if you break whatever local customs are left. This is different from cultures not existing; tolerance != homogeneity.
- buboard 7y ago
  > There are, yeah. Even city to city in sub-regions of different countries. Maybe in asia, where there are still less developed areas. In europe, which is by far the biggest tourist destinations i don't think there is true local culture to discover. There is an adulteratered "culture" doped with conservatives, maintained mainly because of tourism in some places.
  - mattlutze 7y ago
    > In europe, which is by far the biggest tourist destinations i don't think there is true local culture to discover. I live in Europe and am happy to report that there are indeed differentiated cultures, even city to city in many areas. > There is an adulteratered "culture" doped with conservatives, maintained mainly because of tourism in some places. I don't understand what you're saying here.
    - buboard 7y ago
      > am happy to report that there are indeed differentiated cultures, even city to city in many areas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_differences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism_of_small_difference... > I don't understand what you're saying here. Sorry i mean fake, non-organic "culture" and "traditions" that have only been preserved because tourists like them