October Break - Toey

There is a break coming up right after the students from OS get back, so that will be in October. The October break is from the 18^th to the 26^th. Where do you think you will be going? Have you ever thought that how you are getting there and where you are going affects the planet? Well, tourism contributes to the world’s climate change because of all the pollution the airplanes cause. However, they are not as much harm as cruise ships. Most families like to go on cruise ships which, after the years, spoiled the water in the Caribbean and clogged the harbors everywhere. Everybody wants to go to a nice, exotic place, but they do not think that the hotels they stay in have replaced the locals that cannot afford to stay in their own hometowns. Peasants have been evicted from their rural landscape and the land transformed into high-end tourist accommodations. According to a recent study, tourism is responsible for about 5 percent of the world’s pollution and this will increase later on if the people keep up this trend for traveling to all places. However, there is a positive side to tourism. Countries that have lower incomes are already starting to benefit. For example, Namibia has created a ‘community-based tourism’ which helps their local residents earn more money in foreign currency and preserve the wildlife by decreasing the amount of poaching. They have turned this into hunting or photo safaris and white water rafting to help animals escape from poaching and turn it into something they could make money out of instead. Water is also being affected by the acts of tourists, who use up to as much water as a local family would use, with their many toilet flushes and multiple daily showers or baths. Also, nowadays, looking for a nice and sort of isolated place to relax is very difficult; everywhere is crowded with eager tourists, even Bhutan, which a couple of years ago did not invite that many people. As you can see, tourism is having a big effect on the world, so think again before you invest in a big trip to somewhere you can escape from your daily life.