Though the right to travel and to move is precious, tourism on such a mass, industrial scale as at present has never been seen. Airports, roads, and many an ancient monument or historic city have millions of tourists descending on them. Is mass tourism destroying the environment and causing damage to native peoples and negatively affecting their rights, their lifestyles, and cultures? What about already overcrowded and otherwise resource-stressed countries, where the natives do not have enough water or electricity or living space, and hundreds of thousands of tourists come in, looking for exotic experiences or simply to mark a country as "visited", after being bussed to a few tourist sights and enjoying cheap food and luxuries the natives can ill afford?
Even in affluent, better organized Europe, locals are in revolt against mass tourism. "[Tourists are] drunk, inconsiderate, noisy, dirty …" was the opinion of many Barcelona locals during a recent survey.
So how do we compromise between the right to travel and the disturbance and destruction wrought by mass tourism and zombie tourism on native cultures?
Richard Crasta, whose travel itch has (regrettably) taken him to over 40 countries and 200 airports or railway stations, many of which are now a blur, proposes a few bold and surprising solutions in this short book.
Around 13,000 words or 52-pages
