Island Hopping

With just one more sleep left here in Rhodes, my thoughts over the last couple of days have spanned from adjusting to a new setting far more crowded, noisy and touristy to admiring the old town once ruled by the Ottomans to appreciating authentic music and dance with our dear professor. The first few hours here in Rhodes felt strange as everywhere we walk near our hotel are just more buildings, more hotels and more tacky souvenir gift shops that we don’t see much of in Alikianos. Our first full day in Rhodes was packed with tours, lectures and food, all surrounding the idea of tourism.

This first day truly set the mood for the rest of our stay here in Rhodes as I have been even more aware of my role here as a tourist. As much as we try to separate ourselves from that title, there is no escaping it. We Americans need to understand that. Regardless of our seemingly VIP status with our dear professor whose home this is, we are no different than the fanny pack-wearing, selfie-stick-using, toilet-paper flushing tourist. And in this economy, as Nana Addae would put it, we tourists have contributed to the interruption of the Greek economy by being here.

Our first two lectures took place at a restaurant in the old town surrounding this major issue of tourism. Throughout these lectures I could not help but parallel the Greek case to that of Cuba’s case as well. Tourism, although comprising 88% of Greece’s GDP and the second most significant economic factor in Cuba’s economy, has created a disturbance to the economy and to the culture of the people of these beautiful islands. It is incredible to see the similarities in these two cases now spending time in both Havana and now Rhodes.

The issue of tourism is a misleading industry that might seem profitable for the infrastructure and economics here in Greece. Surely, there are large numbers of tourists that come in and out all throughout the year as Greece sees very little cold seasons. Surely, much of its economy depends of tourism now. But, how much good is tourism actually doing for this small island and islands alike?

In the case of Cuba, we see buildings and infrastructure being restored due to the money coming in from tourism as the blockade is being lifted. The tourist money is stimulating the Cuban restoration, creating an even more beautiful aesthetic and pleasing setting for tourists, attracting more money. Much of this tourist money, however, is not flowing the way it should flow. Tourists who come into places like Cuba and Greece are always looking for the cheapest ways to spend their time here. The amount of empty restaurants that we pass here in Rhodes as well as in Crete, waiting for tourists to come in and spend money is overwhelming. From the perspective of a bartender/server, it is heart-breaking to see how many restaurants have empty tables all day. And even when tourists do make it out to these restaurants, they are not spending the money that they are eating. In other words, ordering a beer and receiving a small bowl of food, sitting for hours after that is not profitable to the restaurant. Air BnB is growing. Tourists are not spending money. It is not being cycled into the Greek economy as well as the Cuban economy.

This leads me to question, how do economies dependent on tourism actually function? I want to know how it is that restaurants, large and small family-owned are able to give me a bowl of chips every time I order a glass of wine and every other tourist in the region for that matter. I want to know how restaurants stay in business even after hours and hours of no business until tourists are ready to come and get drunk at night. I want to know how tour bus drivers in Cuba make a living off of 24 CUC a month while driving around obnoxious tourists not contributing to the economy. I want to know how they can consider that a government job. I want to know how tourism can help or hinder the current case of Greece.

As our last two days wrap up here in Rhodes, I feel very similar sentiments that I felt in Cuba. While in Havana, I felt as an invader. We scoff at the venders and restaurant workers that hound us in the street to come in and buy their products and eat their food, yet we are the ones doing the hounding. As tourists, we have demanded to come into another country, to see their history, to see their lives, and we immediately dismiss those who want to show us and want to give us what we came for. As tourists coming into a place like Rhodes, we have demanded a certain supply and when those whose GDP is 88% of what we are demanding try to capitalize on it, tourists push back and refrain from participating. It is frustrating. Surely, we want to save money and we want to experience the enchantment of this island, but I truly feel as though there is a certain enchantment we take away from those who make this island so beautiful by being here and by being stingy and closed off. It is easy to hide behind the fact that we are “students” and that we don’t have money to blow, but it is just as difficult, if not more, for those native to this island to see outsiders coming in and in many ways exploiting their culture. They may not want us here just as much as we don’t want them selling us their island. I realize that these are all very packed statements, but I stand by them, especially now being to two very tourist-dependent islands. 

My feelings felt in Cuba resonate here in Rhodes and the biggest difficulty is understanding the role of tourism as a “good” thing for an economy, whether that be economically, socially, culturally… how could tourism ever be a good thing for such precious parts of the world? How could minimized Western invasion ever be a good thing for any society whether we are in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and even the South Pacific? Perhaps having roots also in an island appropriated and sensationalized for its “exoticness” or “escape” personality has fueled my frustration with the issue of tourism. Perhaps I feel the fish bowl effect that many of these tourist-dependent economies feel as well. Now, how do we get pass that? How do you share your culture and your home with foreigners in a profitable and moral matter? Is there moderation for that? Can we moderate tourism? If so, why haven’t we and how do we do it?