Is luxury travel "socially irresponsible tourism"?

[LuxTraveller]

I work in travel promoting luxury holidays and some days I wonder if I should be using my skills for good instead of evil.

Is luxury travel socially irresponsible? Is it ok that, as a tourist, we're ordering cocktails on the beach while the guy making them is getting paid 50c/hour? As a travel industry employee, should I be making a crust while people in developing nations might be being exploited?

I'd love to hear everyone's opinion on this.

[EverNothing]

Short answer, yes.

However, in saying that it's hardly your fault. If you were to quit out of utter disgust tomorrow i'm sure they would find a replacement within 48 hours and thus the exploitation cycle would continue once again. The industry needs to be heavily regulated and tougher laws need to be brought in to stamp out irrespirable practices from rich multinational tourism corporations.

Unfortunately the world itself is far from perfect and this process will take an entire lifetime to achieve.

[Prawn_86]

Is luxury travel socially irresponsible? Is it ok that, as a tourist, we're ordering cocktails on the beach while the guy making them is getting paid 50c/hour? As a travel industry employee, should I be making a crust while people in developing nations might be being exploited?


I often think of this also when im travelling, not just from a luxury perspective, but from a general economic one. IE Are we exploiting the people and their labour in cheaper destinations.

I dont have many stats etc on it, but from a theoretical pro-globilisation argument one could say that if we were not there paying them 50c and hour, then they may have no work at all, or have to resort to worse work that serving drinks. That is to say, that by going there we are providing them with labour for which they get paid (in many cases paid well by their standards) and can then use that pay to save and/or spend to increase the prosperity of their own country.

Lots of governments actively encourage tourism because of the dollars it brings in, so personally while there is a slight moral dilemma, it is definitely not enough to stop me travelling. If anything i rationalise it so i see myself as helping out :)

[kennas]

Yes you can.

Being a Luxury Resposible Traveller doesn't mean you can't find locally owned hotels, transport and restaurants. It just takes a little more effort.

It's a bit of a trendy thing to be doing at the moment, so heaps of agents and operators are searching out other operators who fit the bill for all styles of travel from basic through to luxury. Must admit it's harder with luxury but it can be done!

Just a question, if the guy earning 50c an hour wasn't employed doing something, what else would he be doing?

[BlackEyes]

I don't think so. On the first place, they don't force their employees to work at them. Of course there's a process and you're out of it. I know your point that is not fair to paid them that low even the expenses of a their services are too expensive but I think the employees of that service agree on what's the salary that they can get to the management.