Socially Irresponsible Forms of Tourism - Essay Example

There are certain forms of tourism that are socially irresponsible. Drug tourism is one such form of tourism. Traveling to places where drugs are legally and freely available is drug tourism. Drug tourists are attracted to places where they can buy and use drugs that are illegal in their home country. The Netherlands is a preferred destination for marijuana users because their marijuana is used publicly in bars and cafes (Moore, 2011). Besides marijuana, cocaine is another drug that has attracted so many tourists to South America.

Places like Bolivia and Peru have cocaine bars and drug tourists travel there to experience the use of the highly illegalized drug without being punished by the law (McClanahan, 2013). Tour guides act as mediators between the imagined local culture and the tourists’ culture. The result is peaceful coexistence between different cultures (Salazar, 2006).  Finally, another way in which tourism can aid global understanding and peace is helping overcome propaganda. Media and governments spread propaganda about other countries and tourism offers a platform on which individuals can test the truthfulness of those opinions.

If they are found not to be true, individuals will come to embrace countries with which they would otherwise have not wanted to be associated (Zimmer, n.d).