Vacation time: Mass tourism: What’s so nice about it?

Some had believed that the pandemic would bring people to their senses, that they would and could make do and restrict themselves, for the sake of the environment, for the sake of future generations, for the sake of their own inner serenity – none of it! The opposite has happened! Things are wilder, more unrestrained and more chaotic than ever before in mass tourism, sprawling and unrestrained.

Politicians have no insight and only provide rudimentary regulation and restrictions. Unbridled mass tourism is the order of the day, something that many people in charge have so far wanted. In Greece, for example, politicians talk about the country’s “heavy industry” and say that it should flourish and thrive. But traditions and landscapes are perishing.

And what do the well-traveled masses see? Sweating, shiny, powder-red people. On the beach, in front of taverns, in supermarkets. Crowded planes! Crowded airports! Crowded ferries! Crowded ports! The hotels are also overcrowded. And sweating bodies everywhere.

Why do masses follow this urge to travel in droves? What is so desirable about it? And the local population? She can hardly control the crowds and struggles to provide them with food and lodging. In this mass operation it’s all about clearance. Hospitality or personal care and encounters, sympathy or even warm exchanges are impossible and not intended.

What’s so beautiful about it, what’s relaxing? Why do people endure these hardships? The addicts are fueled by so-called social media. Instagram is a perfect portal for this. Works like a drug. Creates following and dependency. Instagrammers plow through the regions, roaring around primarily on pick-ups and four-wheeled motorcycles, popping into places that mean nothing to them, but which countless predecessors have pointed out to them. There they quickly take their photos in a pack: “I was here too.” And then immediately race to the next meeting of like-minded people. Instagram bubbles. No more desire for discovery, just reproduction. No curiosity about the mysteries of this world, just showmanship. No sense of adventure, just ticking off pre-made lists.

But there is resistance. From Mallorca, the Germans’ favorite island, we hear about protests from the local population. Housing shortages, mountains of rubbish, water shortages, miserable wages, rising prices, clogged streets – side effects of mass tourism. “Tourist, go home!” is written on many house facades. And recently, 300 activists occupied a once idyllic beach in the southeast of Mallorca, which is now almost impossible to enter because of swarming strangers. Why? Because this bay has been hyped up to be the bay of all bays on Instagram and the masses follow the “recommendation” and in turn fuel it further with their smartphones.

Mass tourism cannot be described as carefree, relaxing or even educational travel.

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You hear something similar from Greek islands such as Santorini, Naxos, Mykonos and now also Milos. Crowds of people want to tick off exactly those photo opportunities that they find online at all costs. Long queues in front of restaurants, souvenir shops, kiosks. Endless waiting times in the scorching heat, jostling and shoving to capture exactly the same motif that can be found countless times on the internet. A reflex?

Instagram is the contact exchange for the ignorant. A swap meet for show-offs, narcissists and autistic people. A perfect instrument for self-reflection. Egocentrism is encouraged, loss of solidarity is rewarded. Instagram is a dogmatic, autocratic system that serves to stabilize and destabilize conditions at the same time. Something like a boycott barrier against any social change, against progress, against sustainability, against reason. Instagram is devastating the world.

Instagrammers don’t travel, they flip, they click, they waste their lives in channels and well-defined tracks. The location doesn’t matter. What matters is the appearance, the ambience of the hotel, the beach, drinking, sex.

This mass tourism cannot be described as carefree, relaxing or even educational travel. It’s all just for show. Ancient sites and idyllic villages as a backdrop, the locals as extras. The alienation is perfect.

A columnist in the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” recommended his readers at the beginning of May: “Just stay away.” Easier said than done? Without this crazy travel, we could enjoy days off from work in a relaxed and contented manner, and then be relaxed and balanced. Conventional tourism is reaching its limits, the columnist wrote, “it has to become less, more sustainable, more mindful, more polite, more expensive. Even without air conditioning. Have a good trip!” A pious wish.