Measuring cost/benefit ratios in Tourism

[DannyL]

you know, all the cheechako statements, declararations, and proclamations are starting to make me laugh.
user2 got his way. He played us all.
I wish all a good night.

[Arcticthaw]

WE read it on the internet so it must be true!!!

[Xa'at]

Originally Posted by DannyL

you know, all the cheechako statements, declararations, and proclamations are starting to make me laugh.
user2 got his way. He played us all.
I wish all a good night.

Very true. Xa'at's getting out of here while the gettin's good!
I'll talk to you guys over at the chat thread.

[Metlakatla]

Actually, it could have been a good discussion, and certainly one pertinent to some of our lives. Too bad there are a couple of self professed experts with nothing more to offer but plaintively flavored subjective bs. I doubt if they even knew before now that POW has no cruise ships. Kinda funny hearing them mouth off about it.

[User 2]

Originally Posted by DannyL

user2 got his way. He played us all.

If my intent was to 'play you', you'd be the last to know, or likely you'd never tumble to it.

[User 2]

I'll add a word about my neighborhood and the effect of all the boosters of tourism.

Population here used to be fairly solid, though we had no huge population base, we had enough of a tax base to take care of our common needs and the sense of community was very strong. A great place to raise kids.

The boosters of unlimited development of tourism came with their siren song and some folks fell for the promise of jobs, economic gains, etc.

So what happens? We're inundated with tourists that overload all the campgrounds, hotels, restuarants, roads, rivers and what have you.

The next step was to build more camper parks, (they're really scenic), cut the trees and pave the parks for more parking, more boat ramps, more river guides, more motels, some big box stores to cash in on the summer influx, (that killed several independent locally owned small businesses), MacDonalds, Burger King, etc.

So that brought even more tourists, the 'boosters are still singing their song, now town is gridlocked for a couple or three miles for several days during the summer, highways are expanded but still aren't able to relieve the crush. We've got more big box stores and a WalMart on the way, (more local business owners will be shuttered) and the really happy part?

It used to be that a growing son or daughter could afford to buy some land and get a start without going into hock for more money than they can earn.

The jobs created from all this boom, are all minimum wage, no benefits, and since all the 'visitors' want to park their campers and boats and three wheelers etc for when they come back and visit again, they are buying land along all the few roads and building their shacks to 'camp' in during their next summer stay. (that most of them pack off hundreds and hundreds of pounds of fish each year when they flee the winter weather is just a bonus for those of us who rely on fish for our lifestyle).

So now, since there's all this demand for land, the price of land has risen beyond the reach of some who had an idea they might have found a place to put down roots. That sense of community? It's gone. We've got itinerants, and seasonal 'campers' whose community is back where they spend their winters. The tax base is all askew because those seasonal camps aren't developed enough to assess much in the way of property tax, so those who are left with permanent homes have to pick up the slack. Services have had to be expanded to handle the peak periods of the tourist seasons, so the locals have paid for all that.

What's the trade off? I hear tourism was up last year and the forecast is for more in the next year. Retirees are lately moving in in droves because there's no income tax on their retirement income, and this is such a 'friendly, outdoorsy, neighborly place' who welcomes 'visitors', so they're buying up summer places, declaring their residency and spending their winters somewhere else warm. (all the influx of seniors, they're on a fixed income, so don't really add a whole lot to the local economy, most of their dough goes to the box stores and that goes straight out of town, but we do need to expand our health care infrastructure, those seniors require hospitals, nursing homes and all the attendent needs, too bad the cost is gonna be borne by property owners, the seniors get an exemption on their property tax)



The same thing is escalated in Hawaii, last time I was there, I was talking to some natives I know and many of the native families now have multiple generations, and extended relatives all living in the few houses they can still afford. Same thing, the tourism industry has forced the real estate market to outpace the ability of the locals to afford the increased rates.



Disneyland, yeah, everyone wants to go visit Disneyland. I only wish the tourism boosters were forced to live there too.

Those boosters don't have to put up with their aftermath, they've moved on to the next unspoiled destination. There they will sing their siren song and so goes the neighborhood.

All the 'vacation destinations' eventually degrade and get stale and overhyped. Then it's time for the promotion of the next new great vacation destination.

Wheeeeeeeee. Let's promote unregulated and ever increasing tourism. It's our economic salvation. We'll all be rolling in the dough and living the easy life of gracious hosts.


Can't you just envision the grandeur?

[Metlakatla]

A little education goes a long way- perhaps you think it stupid that said tourons were not just born with some mysterious inner 6th sense that would tell them that someday they would see a salmon for the first time, and it would be spawning, and it shouldn't be crowded or touched. Clearly they lack this sense though, so it seems to me rather than just crying foul about all those filthy people who dare have the ridiculous dream of seeing the state you call home, you could work on enacting change through education ON those cruise ships. An informational pamphlet can go a long way. Informational signs posted, like those at Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau about the spawning salmon- can go a LONG way.

Yes, education can go a long way, can't it? I suggest you apply that to yourself. Informational pamphlets et al exist in abundance on the ships and of course there are other signs besides the ones in Juneau. Maybe they're simply too dumb to read.