The reading for this week by HAUNANI-KAY TRASK was very interesting. Reading this article made me realize how great amounts of tourism can affect native people in a negative way.
In the beginning, the author talks about how a wave of tourism has dishonored the Hawaiian culture over the years. Ancient culture of Hawaiian people has been used to attract tourists and advertise their land around the world. Basically, she says that tourism has brought up serious problems such as population densities, crime rate etc. Tourism is not the only complain the author gives, she also talks about the loss of precious land to american military bases.
Personally, i believe tourism can be both beneficial and detrimental. Tourism helps the economy and creates millions of jobs for the natives of these key destinations. It can also have negative effects because when a place becomes extremely popular, millions of people will want to go, eventually abusing it. Tourism should definitively be controlled and tourists should be educated about the responsibilities of preserving the beautiful places they travel. Locals play a big role is this too, they shouldn't discourage tourism because after all it helps economically and it allows the rest of the world to enjoy the place where they live.
what do you think about this situation? Do you agree with the frustration of the native Hawaiians? How do you feel about tourism?
I can understand the point the author was trying to make. We were acting the same way as the British when they controlled the colonies. Both the colonist and the author wanted independence and be separated by a unitarian government. I think tourism to Hawaii has brought a lot of things that they wouldn't see if the US didn't annex it. I don't know how well Hawaii would do if they hadn't been annexed.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Florida in a beach town there is definitely a large flow of tourists and snow birds in the winter. They didn't really negatively affect the land or the traditions like in Hawaii, just the traffic flow. As a high school student, I would have to drive thirty minutes along the beach to get to school. I could always tell when it was tourist season because I would get stuck behind cars "admiring" the beach at 20 mph in a 45 mph zone. It was always pretty irritating when I was late for school. I knew though that the tourists and snowbirds are really important to my town's economy. If they didn't come down a lot of the restaurants and stores wouldn't make the necessary money to survive. Tourism is definitely a negative and positive.
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ReplyDeleteDon't even get me started on tourism! I'm from Sarasota, home to siesta key beach, the number one voted beach in the nation. We hate tourist there. Specifically snow birds. They ALL drive way too slow and take up all the parking spots at the beach. Beach parking in sarasota is a huge issue that gets much public attention. That's just my two cents and narrow-minded thinking though. The issue in Hawaii its a lot more than dammit I can't go get my tan on or great I am going to be late to work because these slow ass drivers. Tourism is definitely a good thing for the economy but it should definitely not hard the culture and environment.
ReplyDeleteBeing from the Miami area I know all about tourism. Tourism is a strong source of income for many people. Most people underestimate how important it is. I remember one time we had a hurricane and power was out for about 2 weeks. I think it was hurricane Wilma. The beach was EMPTY no one was visiting Florida at all because of the damage. A couple months after the hurricane, stores and restaurants on the beach specifically began shutting down. It was sad because these places had no visitors front purist so they were making 0 profit. They began loosing money and had to shut down. Just from a single hurricane hitting the area could affect so many lives. These business owners had families and their kids had to suffer from this natural disaster. Tourists are a necessary component for a city to have a strong income. Being from the Miami area I know all about tourism. Tourism is a strong source of income for many people. Most people underestimate how important it is. I remember one time we had a hurricane and power was out for about 2 weeks. I think it was hurricane Wilma. The beach was EMPTY no one was visiting Florida at all because of the damage. A couple months after the hurricane, stores and restaurants on the beach specifically began shutting down. It was sad because these places had no visitors front purist so they were making 0 profit. They began loosing money and had to shut down. Just from a single hurricane hitting the area could affect so many lives. These business owners had families and their kids had to suffer from this natural disaster. Tourists are a necessary component for a city to have a strong income.
ReplyDeleteOh tourists....Since I'm from West Palm, I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS see tourists! My school was located in the heart of downtown and everyday after school you would see a crowd of them in hawaiian shirts and really short shorts walking around taking pictures in front of everything-including our school. It gets old pretty fast...especially when there's a boat/car called "Diva Duck" that takes tourists around West Palm. It sucks because this boat/bus parks right by my school so the tourists are always there!! It's funny cause every time I would complain to my Dad about them, he always would tell me not to because they're bringing in money for the economy. I mean I guess they are but I agree with what you said; they need to be informed of the land that they are touring because the last thing they need to do is damage it.
ReplyDeleteI see why the Hawaiian people would be frustrated with tourists. No one wants strangers ruining their homeland. Honestly, tourists annoy me. They are so easy to spot because they constantly take pictures and always ask where things are. I am being hypocritical though because every summer I go Europe where I am a tourist myself. When I travel to different countries I try to blend in instead of standing out. I'm open to trying different things when I travel. I can see why some countries hate Americans. We expect everything to be westernized no matter where we go. To me this ruins the point of traveling. I'm tired of going to Italy and seeing McDonalds all over the place. I'm there to eat pasta and gelato, not something I can get down the street when I am home. I wish people were more open-minded when it comes to traveling.
ReplyDeleteThe article definitely was rather interesting. I always thought tourism was good for hawaii. Now I see that our modern tourism makes a mockery of their culture. While I still believe hawaii should keep tourism due to the economic benefits the culture should be shown more respect. Another thing that caught my attention was the treatment of hawaiians by the American government. The original Hawaiians should be shown more respect. However, I believe that our government will never let Hawaii become an independent nation. Overall it was one of our more interesting pieces we read this year.
ReplyDeleteI too share the same feelings about tourism. Tourism can sometimes be the only thing to keep, the country, state, city, town, whatever alive and afloat. But, more likely than not overtime tourism takes over, and the place that was a once cherished by natives and the few tourists who knew of it has changed completely. It no longer contains it's beauty, charm, or excitement or whatever had made it that great tourist spot died. It uniqueness has been overtaken and overshadowed by tourists. It is no longer the same place, but rather a place where thousands flock to every year. Tourism is definitely not bad, and many natives I'm sure are very happy about it, but when tourism takes over I'm sure they express the same heartbroken sentiments that Haunani-Kay and many other Hawaiians have.
ReplyDeleteI have been to Hawaii several times. Tourism is what runs Hawaii's economy. Without tourism it would be similar to a third world country. It is a beautiful island with a plethora of tourists. I could see how some of the locals would feel as if the tourists are taking over their island. The tourists are the ones that put the food one their table and pay their bills. At the end of the day, the natives may not like or want tourists. But they need them in order to survive.
ReplyDeleteI actually agree with what you said. It's not a horrible thing to have tourism in your city. Over summer, I visited my sister in NYC and she was complaining about how she had to go to work (planet hollywood) in the tourist capital. I mean, it's totally true. When you think of NYC you think of Times Square and all of its commotion. But without all of those foreigners buying their stupid, silly I <3 NY shirts, the place wouldn't be running nearly as efficient as it does because of them. It probably wouldn't be as expensive if there wasn't so many tourists running through the streets of New York City.
ReplyDeleteHm I really have mixed feelings about tourism. On one hand it does bring in revenue but coming from Sarasota it is just annoying. We have one of the nicest beaches in the world and so we have a lot of tourists. It causes a lot of traffic and it is almost impossible to go to the beach because there is never enough parking. I think Sarasota would do fine with out tourists because it is not the main source of our revenue. I guess I might feel differently if tourism was taken away and I could actually see the positive effects it has on our city. Until that happens I will always hate tourists.
ReplyDeleteTourism can be difficult to think about sometimes, just because a lot of us enjoy traveling. When I do go somewhere I hate that touristy feeling and look I am given, but hey, I'm not a native so its just a part of travel. Like you said, tourism does help some places economies and provides people with jobs. At the same time though, places are becoming too revolved around tourism. Sometimes when I travel somewhere, I don't want to constantly see tourist shops and attractions. I would rather visit the country for its natural culture and life. I have been on a few cruises and I swear at every one of the stops there are a million store with the same exact products in them. The name on the shirt or other trinket is just changed to this stop. I want something original and special from this place. Not something that is duplicated everywhere I visit.
ReplyDeleteWow. There are a lot of south floridans. Me being one too, i see so many tourists. Even though they are great for the palm beach area, i hate them. They always drive slow and overcrowd every place that is interesting in palm beach. I do agree if they were educated, it wouldn't be so bad. Relying too much on tourism isn't good though. The native people get frustrated and sometimes tourists don't help the economy at all because they are cheap. Some places need tourism. But the one's who don't should regulate it better.
ReplyDeleteI come from a little beach town that has a lot of tourism. Of course we are connected to bigger areas so we do not depend completely on tourism to get by. In Hawaii, they are secluded. The people there thrive on tourism to get by in life. They are a major vacation destination. I have tourists come to my area during the winter, spring, and summer. The spring breakers take over the beach. Even though we think that they are intruding we need to accept them because without them the economy would fail.
ReplyDeleteThose Hawaiians can get over themselves. It really isn’t their land any more than it’s mine. They don’t own Hawaii. Yes maybe they own their little property but they don’t own all the land on all the islands. I could understand them complaining if people were trespassing on their private property but aside from that they shouldn’t complain. Stopping tourism would be quite unconstitutional and it really would hurt their economy tremendously. How do they think they get their money? All the fabulous farming that goes on in Hawaii? All the Industry? Oh wait… that’s right—they have none of that! They shouldn’t be complaining about our tourism, they should be thanking us. Without our support Hawaii wouldn’t be Hawaii.
ReplyDeleteI think the Hawaiians are just being stupid in this story. If you want to have an island to yourselves, then go to some random crappy island. Don't expect people to not want to vacation to some of the prettiest islands in the world. Plus, tourism brings a lot of unique opportunities to places, and is usually not frowned upon. I would love to travel to South Korea or Japan sometime, and I would hate it if I was disliked just because I'm a tourist.
ReplyDeleteBeing from the Cocoa Beach area, my town would receive thousands of people rolling in throughout the year. Whether they had come from Canada in their speedos to soak up the florida sun on our wonderful beach or to witness a shuttle or rocket launch from the Cape, they always made things for us locals difficult. Traffic tripled, and we experienced standstill or stop and go traffic. Being born and raised in Washington, D.C., this was common place for me. But to any of the natives in that area, it was unheard of. They disobey clearcut laws, run out in front of traffic (much like I do hear lol), and are very rude when they address you. I understand and appreciate how tourism can help an economy, but tourism to the point where it hinders the longevity of a culture's traditions is harmful.
ReplyDeleteTourism has it's ups and downs. The only up i can find is that it boosts the economy and other than that the people visiting are enjoying themselves. Other than that they are all bad. The worst is when (especially in Florida) when people come visit and then move down to florida (I.E. "snowbirds"). They don't know how to drive, don't appreciate old florida, and want to change it in such a way that only makes them happy. I am sorry but i refuse to let someone come to my home state and change my way of living because they don't like it. They've been trying to do this for years against airboats to basically get them banned. So i understand where the Hawaiians in this story are coming from when they say there culture is being destroyed. Also the government buying out or taking public land and closing it off also happens right here in florida. The STA's south or lake Okeechobee and the 68 in total closed off areas to the public have been taken "hostage" by the government. There was a meeting with congress about "The Headwaters Project" just last week which is a project where the NPS is trying to buy out 150,000 acres of land North of Lake Okeechobee and essentially block it off just as they've done south of the lake. But ofcourse they wont admit that just as they didn't admit it when then took the land South of the lake but oh hey look what happened. So yes all of the above will ruin and destroy a culture.
ReplyDeleteI can totally understand why the natives would feel this way. The tourists are ruining their land and culture. It is the same thing in Australia. The native aborigines feel that tourists are disresecting their land. The land mark ayers rock in Australia is very sacred to them. Unfortunately many tourists go and walk on it and to them that is the worst thing you could ever do. So i understand that to the natives tourists are bad but honestly they need us. Like it was said in the blog, tourists are good for the economy. I know for a fact that the state of Florida needs tourists to keep most of the businesses running. If we did not have them our economy would be worse off than it already is. I think that tourists should try and respect the natives and understand what is respectful behavior.
ReplyDeleteI read an article about this essay a while ago where'd it said the author does not hate allvthe tourists and tourism brought to her country. She was just upset that everything was taken way too far and becoming problematic. I can agree that it is both a bemifit and a curse. On the one hand you get a strong base for your economy,but on the other, the problems stated can occur. Its like a double edged sword. I think what would make the author happier is if tourists were more respectful of the native Hawaiian culture.
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