06-06-2024, 07:55 AM
(06-06-2024, 04:24 AM)Punatang Wrote: LOL! Little did I know I was starting a thread on first world problems. I still marvel at the fact that we trustingly hop into metal tubes with strangers and with relatively extremely little discomfort viewed in a historical perspective, we launch ourselves through the sky and across the world, for around an average weeks wages.
Seriously though, is it good or bad that tourism is slowing down? Does it affect your income? Does it have an effect on your quality of life? Do you wish there was more? Would less be better?
For Lady Tang and I, just out here in Puna or on our infrequent trips to Hilo, the level of tourism seems entirely manageable. We don't profit directly from tourism but many of the businesses we like might disappear without the tourists. Heavy perfume and cologne is probably our biggest gripe.
Tourism doesn't affect me directly, but given that the state relies on tourism more than anything else to generate a working economy, it's a single point of failure, and that's not good. We all saw how local companies suffered during the pandemic and how much prices have risen since then.
In my opinion, until the state diversifies its economy, even if it can, a drop in tourism hurts nearly everyone.