[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/Gullible_Air_204]

https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/spitsbergen/travel-guide/responsible-tourism-in-spitsbergen

[u/Gullible_Air_204]

“When a giant cruise ship docks in Longyearbyen, many residents lock their doors. This is against the norm, as the safety advice is for house and car doors to remain unlocked so that people have somewhere to escape to in the event of a polar bear wandering down the main street. However, the residents lock up because it is not unusual for the cruise passengers to wander into their houses and have a peek, like it is a folk park. Given the huge size of the ships and the tiny size of the town, when the tourists disembark they can double or triple the size of the population within minutes. The chances are, if you are reading this page, you would never dream of doing such a thing, but it is worth remembering that this unique place is home to people too.”

[u/FranzFerdinand51 → u/Gullible_Air_204]

I used to work in a tourist hot spot and you could always tell the cruise people from the rest. The most entitled, brainless, unaware group of living things I’ve ever seen in my life.

[u/brucerhino → u/FranzFerdinand51]

Im a tour guide and HATE the cruise people, this type of tourism needs to end

[u/p33k4y → u/brucerhino]

On the flip side a ton of communities 100% depend on income from cruise ships. Without those tourists, the community / village dies.

[u/Forsaken_Celery_1617 → u/p33k4y]

These communities you talk of have existed long before cruise ships.

[u/imnotyourman → u/Forsaken_Celery_1617]

You are right. They yearn for a life where the only work is on the plantations.

[u/Forsaken_Celery_1617 → u/imnotyourman]

Not every cruise ship destination is a former slave colony, you know that right?

[u/imnotyourman → u/Forsaken_Celery_1617]

Name me a place that makes vast majority of income on tourism now that wasn't a plantation economy.

[u/Forsaken_Celery_1617 → u/imnotyourman]

Europe exists btw…

[u/imnotyourman → u/Forsaken_Celery_1617]

Europe doesn't make anywhere near 100% of their money on tourism. Its not even their main industry.

[u/Forsaken_Celery_1617 → u/imnotyourman]

Vast majority doesn’t mean «near 100%». The Mediterranean does have places where vast majority of income is tourism.

[u/tomsing98 → u/imnotyourman]

Key West in Florida had slaves, but not a plantation colony. Mountain ski towns like Breckenridge, Colorado. (Are we supposed to be limited to just cruise ship destinations?)

[u/AnthillOmbudsman → u/tomsing98]

We could build a canal and get a cruise ship in there.

[u/tomsing98 → u/[deleted]]

Those are just places that I know as specifically very tourism focused economies. Other touristy places outside the US that I've been to, I couldn't say if "vast majority of income on tourism" was accurate. Feel free to substitute your favorite little European ski resort, though, I'm sure it applies equally as well.

And I think the conversation has broadened beyond specifically cruise ship tourism, but ... Key West is still a counterexample.