Currents
February 2018
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Executive Car Service
ONLINE RESERVATIONS
WWW.GO-AIRPORTSHUTTLE.COM
The Official Shared Ride Shuttle
and Express Service of the
Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood Int’l Airport
Conveniently located curbside
outside baggage claim
FOR RATES AND RESERVATIONS CALL
954-561-8888
800-244-8252
went away to fight wars. Pilgrims took long, usually
uncomfortable trips to visit holy shrines. Only the
wealthy could afford the luxury of a vacation away
from home.
Today the situation has changed dramatically.
More and more people travel for pleasure – by car,
train or plane – because travel is safer, faster and
cheaper than ever before. It’s not surprising that
tourism has become a huge, money-generating
industry.
Tourism is generally a positive force. It creates
lots of jobs in the travel, hotel, restaurant and retail
sectors. In this way, it stimulates the economy both
at home and abroad. At the same time, it also
encourages intercultural communication as people
from different countries work side by side.
Tourism is important because it lets the “average
person” admire wonderful works of art, experience
the thrills and challenges of other cultures, and taste
different cuisines. Although these trips are usually
too short and rushed, tourists have the opportunity to
experience cultural diversity. As the old saying goes,
variety is the spice of life. Visiting new and different
places is a fun and stimulating alternative to the
same old same old routine of their daily lives.
Unfortunately tourism is not always good. Too
much tourism – or overtourism, as it is sometimes
called – is bad. Unless managed carefully and intelli-
gently, it threatens the environment, the cultural
treasures as well as the quality of life of local resi-
dents. In some cities, overtourism has sparked
angry reactions where protesters have equated
tourists with terrorists!
The huge number of tourists, especially in high
season, strains local infrastructures. More tourists
means more people using public transportation, cre-
ating more waste, and congesting streets and public
spaces. Some cities are fining tourists who litter,
behave disrespectfully or create noise pollution,
especially at night.
Cities are proposing measures to control over-
tourism. For example, Venice wants to prohibit large
cruise ships from sailing down the Grand Canal past
St. Mark’s Square. In addition to creating air, water
and noise pollution, they threaten the stability of the
water-logged foundations of the palaces along the
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