From my archives, The Myths of Tourism:
#FanonOnMyMind
"The national bourgeoisie organizes centres of rest and relaxation and pleasure resorts to meet the wishes of the Western bourgeoisie. Such activity is given the name of tourism, and for the occasion will be built up as a national industry. If proof is needed of the eventual transformation of certain elements of the ex-native bourgeoisie into the organizers of parties for their Western opposite numbers, it is worth while having a look at what has happened in Latin America. The casinos of Havana and of Mexico, the beaches of Rio, the little Brazilian and Mexican girls, the half-breed thirteen-year-olds, the ports of Acapulco and Copacabana — all these are the stigma of this depravation of the national middle class. Because it is bereft of ideas, because it lives to itself and cuts itself off from the people, undermined by its hereditary incapacity to think in terms of all the problems of the nation as seen from the point of view of the whole of that nation, the national middle class will have nothing better to do than to take on the role of manager for Western enterprise, and it will in practice set up its country as the brothel of Europe." - Frantz Fanon
From my archives, The Myths of Tourism:
Excerpts: "“The benefits of tourism are manifold! The PR man declared, his voice rising an octave. “One instance should suffice. We are talking about people bringing and spending their money in this country. Can’t you see that?” He was really screaming.
“How does that translate into meaningful economic development in Ghana?” I was still skeptical. He regarded me as though I was the biggest moron this side of the ape’s divide.
“Don’t you think that when people bring and spend money in this country, Ghana is richer by the exact amount they bring in?”
“No,” I replied. I wanted him to explain.
He toyed with a pencil, as he eyed me suspiciously. He looked at me the way one would look at a demented relative. “Since every elementary economics textbook deals with that subject, I need not go into it here. I guess you missed your economics 101 classes.” He allowed himself a wide laugh.
“No, I didn’t miss my economics classes.” I retorted. “Perhaps you will agree that Ghana is richer by tourism only to the extent that the tourists spend money buying what Ghana produced. And perhaps you will agree that, at the moment, Ghana produces very little that tourists are dying to buy. In addition, perhaps you will also agree that most of the tourists that come into Ghana still spend the largest chunk of their money on imported items. They travel on foreign airlines since we have collapsed our own airline. The tourists come and they stay in mostly foreign-owned hotels. You don’t think that they are feeding themselves on our Banku, Kenkey or Ampesi? Of course, not. They are eating imported foods, consuming imported beverages. At the end of the day, they throw about five dollars to buy Ghanaian trinkets and beads. The drums are rolling out to sing their praises. Tourism is an overblown myth.” I cried. I was getting lyrical.
What is mythical about it?” The PR man wanted to know. “All the arguments you so lucidly posited could also be equally, and very easily, countered by more cogent expositions. However, this is neither the place nor time. I am a busy man, as you can see.”
“Let me explain.” I countered, shaking with righteous anger. “Myth No 1 is that tourism brings economic development. It does not. The empirical evidence simply does not exist to support the specious tourism leads to development hoopla. There is no country in the world that has been developed by tourism. Let us start by asking ourselves some basic questions like: do we have the capacity to cater for increased volume of tourists? I ask you because as it were, we cannot even provide enough electricity and water for our own citizens. Our sewage system is primitive and our telecommunications services are antediluvian. Do we have enough hotels with the trained personnel that will cater for those we want to come visiting? Let us not eve mention the fact that many of our cities are dirty beyond description. Since we do not have toilet facilities in our homes, towns and beaches, do we expect the foreign tourists to jin us in our Free Range? That is just for he starters. More importanly, it is fallacious to say that tourists are looking for developed places to visit. Most of them are dying to view pristine, unspoiled nature, the likes of which doesn’t exist in their lands. And soon as you developed your land for tourism, the tourists simply move to other, unspoiled, undeveloped places. Just ask Turkey. Another myth is that tourists are people with money fighting in their pockets. This is not so. They are generally a bored and tired bunch, who had worked their asses off for a whole year. Sometimes they are unemployed youth slaving to save enough money to get out of the stressful and tedious lives they live in their countries. Mostly, they are pederasts and homosexuals looking for sexual misadventures. They have very little left after paying for their tickets and hotel bills. The real rich people, the ones with money fighting in their pockets, do not come to Ghana to play tourists. They simply buy whole Islands. I hope that I am making myself somewhat clear? Those countries that believe the fiction of tourism leads to development nonsense are living a dream. Thailand was a country that threw every caution to the winds in a desperate bid to attract tourists. It is today paying a very terrible price. Socially, Thailand is a much-disrupted society. It is also paying a heavy price to cover the health bills for it citizens suffering from AIDS and other sex-related diseases brought by western sex perverts masquerading as tourists. Psychologically, many Thais children, victims of pedophile and pederasts, are maimed for life. Moreover, Thailand is lagging far behind the other Asian nations that concentrated their energies on manufacturing and producing goods for exports. All the Asian Tigers, plus the Asian miracles, decided on adding values to things, while Thailand turned itself into the world’s whore. Thailand was lagging far behind the other ‘Tigers’ before the meltdown. What do you see nowadays in Ghana but sexual perverts from Euro-America scandalously messing up our women and our children? Go to any beach in Ghana today, the sight that confronts you are truly sickening. You have sick grandees messing up, unashamedly, with our young girls. The only things that Tourists develop are the sexual diseases they carry around the world. Do you know what a Cuban minister said of tourism?
“No.” The PR man admitted.
“Tourism is like chemotherapy. It may cure your cancer, but it could also kill you in the process. Do you know what we need in this country?”
“I am sure that you are the expert on such matters.” The spin-doctor bristled with heavy sarcasm..."
Read the full article here: https://alaye.biz/the-myths-of-tourism-2/