My Insecurities on Studying Abroad and on Tourism

By Gil Wermeling

We bookended our spring break with one week each in Monteverde, Costa Rica and Bocas del Toro, Panama. At each site we had classes, walks, and research discussions. Our living arrangements tended towards “nowhere near other humans”, which I enjoyed. However, at each place we visited we had one day in which we went into town and “observed” the tourists. The information that I received on these days, together with my own personal opinions on tourism as a practice and industry, has lead me to write this post.

            Before I even embarked on this program I felt a rather large amount of discomfort with the nature of the course. It is my personal opinion that I am better “adapted” to study temperate forests, as that is where I have grown up. I am familiar with those forests. I am not familiar with tropical forests, and though I am immensely curious about them there happen to be people who have lived there their whole lives. People who live in tropical countries know their own country much better than I ever will. They should be the ones who study tropical forests. Why, then, am I participating in a tropical biology course in Costa Rica? Honestly, I am still wrestling with my feelings on that. 

            This discomfort I feel extends more generally to tourism as well. I believe as fact that tourism has led to a loss of cultural heritage, job diversity, and environmental stability in many different countries. While I had previously based these ideas on my own research and stories from others, my experiences in Monteverde and Bocas del Toro have added much to my own beliefs. Both areas are tourist hotspots well known for their biodiversity. They both have experienced uncontrolled development. Hotels, private homes, adventure tourism; there is no check on this development. Disposal methods of trash and sewage are often horrific, buried out back or dumped into the nearest water source. The entire industry of the towns are dependent on tourism, but should this industry ever falter the towns’ economies would collapse. 

            I don’t have a very positive view of tourism, but it doesn’t look like the industry will disappear any time soon, and arguments can be made for the benefits of tourism. I do believe that within the U.S. and other nations that contribute large numbers of tourist a strong shift in mentality is necessary. We can’t ignore the effects we will have on a place we visit even after we leave. We need to try to diminish the negative effects. My personal conclusion is that we must always be questioning our motivations and actions.