Counter Arguement

Post a COUNTER ARGUMENT to the following: When you post your response be sure to utilize facts to support your side.

• Do you think it’s ‘too late’ for Venice to correct their mass tourism? Why/why not?

No, I don’t think it’s too late. I say this because their government could fix the mass tourism epidemic by imposing sanctions and refusing to take on more than what’s feasible for their city and their residents.

• Discuss one new solution (i.e. not mentioned in one of the videos) you feel could be helpful for Venice officials to help mitigate some of the issues they are having with mass tourism.

Venice officials should put a cap on the amount of housing that’s allowed to be purchased for the sole purpose of renting them out to tourist. This cap should also limit the amount of real estate sold to large corporations that come in and build hotels. There isn’t much regulation regarding this, and I think that if sanctions are in place, it could prevent the overcrowding of the city.

• Do you think mass tourism is sustainable in the long-term? Why/why not?

It’s not sustainable long-term because it’s harming the citizen’s livelihood. Not only is it extremely hard for them to find housing due to the housing market being taken over by private renters who only rent to tourists. But they also must deal with inflation and over-priced housing to occupy what’s left of the living spaces that are offered to them. They also must deal with the pollution coming from the giant cruise ships sailing around numerous times a day. This could lead to declining air quality as well as health issues. This is not going to get better for them. As the world population grows, so does the amount of tourist visiting these over-crowded cities.

• Should local governments be available to keep tourists out? For example, if your dream was to visit the redwood forests in California and you were told you could not visit, how would you feel about that? To whom do natural resource mass tourism sites actually belong?

I believe that the government should definitely do more to keep tourists out. It is detrimental to their city and the residents if they don’t. The issue is that people are selfish. They’re not thinking about the negative impact mass tourism is having on the citizens of the places their visiting. In the video regarding whether mass tourism is harming Venice, there was a woman who pointed out that a hotel came and bought up real estate that included a local post office. The post office had to be moved further away, and the residents are having to move because of how difficult it is to get to it. Travel is already difficult since you must go by boat, and this amplifies it.These are the types of things people are not considering. Natural resources belong to everyone, but at what point do we say enough is enough?