Essay 4: Myth of Tourism
How can tourism be a myth? That was my initial response once I first heard the words
“myth of tourism” in class. I soon came to the realization that it it isn’t necessarily the
tourism itself that is the myth, but the idea of what most people think it is, and what we
unknowingly want it to be. The myth of tourism is actually a selling point; it is like telling
people what they want to hear, rather than the truth. A lot of people know that the myth is a
lie and a show, but they accept it and choose to enjoy the entertainment on their vacation.
The myth of tourism is beneficial a lot of people, but harmful to many as well.
When people think of a vacation, they generally think of a perfect getaway on an island,
with palm trees, clear waters and skies, margaritas, and nice welcoming locals. Perhaps a
nice five star hotel along side the beach, or even a tiny house right above the water. I know
these are the things I would imagine while closing my eyes and hoping to be anywhere but
at my desk writing an essay for one of my classes. So how did this idea of paradise get
embedded in my subconscious? Especially since I have never been to any island in my
entire life.
Advertisements. Now that I think of it I have seen so many commercials, and imagines
online of these paradises and they are always linked with happiness and relaxation. In
Kahn there is a statement, “Images seem to speak to the eye, but they are really addressed
to the mind” (Kahn, 96). That explains how these ideas of paradise were embedded in my
mind, because that is really where they are “addressed.” It is a very clever form of
advertisement that builds such a strong desire in so many people to visit these islands,
shown also by how high the tourism rates in the Pacific Islands have been. These images
are just that, a myth, and shed little to no light on reality. Paradise, isn’t always paradise.
“From roughly November to February it is common for humidity to reach
lethargy-inducing levels and for storms to rage for days on end, leaving tourists trapped
inside hotels with nothing but board games and one another” (Kahn 97). That statement in
Kahn is exactly what I mean when I say the advertisements shed little light on reality. That
