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Letters to the editor
Tallying the cost of mass
tourism
How much do
the cruise ships, the spring breakers and the motorcyclists cost the
residents of Key West? Few of us seem to favor the presence of these
groups, and yet the local politicians, who are supposedly working to
make Key West a better place in which to live, are still actively
encouraging the cruise ships and doing nothing to discourage the
breakers or the bikers.
We all have
seen how much our property values have jumped in recent years, and for
most of Key West's homeowners, this increased value represents a sort of
pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But now the rainbow is starting
to fade. If Key West becomes undesirable as a tourist destination, as
the National Geographic Traveler magazine has already categorized it,
what is going to happen to property values when all the travel guides
call Key West "ugly," and nobody wants to move here anymore?
A lot of paper
profits are going to vanish because nothing was done to control the
number or kind of visitors coming here. This is the real cost of
encouraging mass tourism. Over time, hordes of tourists destroy the very
qualities that attracted them to a destination in the first place.
Travel guides and magazines are popular because they advise travelers
which destinations are worthwhile and which to avoid due to
overcrowding, lack of charm, pollution, etc.
No
well-informed tourist would fly to St. Thomas for a vacation any more
because it has been ruined by mass tourism from the giant cruise ships
that dock there in greater numbers each year. The charm, quaintness, and
island flavor of St. Thomas has been destroyed by the large numbers of
tourists who travel there looking for these qualities and no longer
finding them.
Do we want to
ruin our attractiveness to tourists by having too many of them? Bermuda,
when faced with the same problem, reduced the number of cruise ships by
increasing the head tax per passenger paid by the cruise lines. As a
result, only the luxury cruise ships now stop there, but the passengers
on these ships spend more per person in Bermuda than the budget cruise
lines' passengers did. Did overall income to Bermuda from the cruise
ships decrease? It doesn't seem to matter, as Bermuda appears to be
happy with the outcome and it is still an attractive travel destination.
When are we going to realize that cheap tourism does not benefit our
island? The real spenders here are the residents, who not only purchase
a broad spectrum of goods and services available in Key West, but who
also pay property and other taxes to the city.
If a study
were ever to be done to determine how much the average resident spends
here each year, it would probably amount to much more than that spent by
whoever is in second place. It is commonly believed that tourism is
vital to the economy of Key West, but how vital is it, and at what cost?
Sure, tourism is critical to the businesses and persons who cater to the
industry, but it is likely that even they would prefer to have fewer
tourists spending more money per person than the current mass mess. We
need to increase the quality of tourism on our island -- not the number
of tourists. Since our city fathers have not been responsive to our
wishes, it is time to call for a referendum to force the will of the
voters on our politicians.
I say we
should start with the biggest offenders and circulate a petition to have
a referendum to increase the head tax on the cruise ship passengers.
This would allow the number of cruise ships to decrease without reducing
the income from this source to the city. It's time to do something to
save our island.
Robert
Schettig
Key West |
