[dimask]

Tourism is a plague for local populations. The same exact thing was happening long before Airbnb in more touristic locations. Airbnb has acted as an accelerator of the same phenomenon to bigger cities.

It is not just about "supply and demand". We are talking about different markets. When you profit more from real estate by renting it to tourists vs renting it to long terms residents you are gonna throw residents out and get into the tourist business. In this, supply is largely irrelevant due to the huge difference in margins. Unless the tourist business becomes oversaturated you always profit more from tourists. And outsupplying the tourist demand is extremely hard.

[j2bax]

Tourism is the ONLY industry for many regions... I recently lived in one. Without it, the areas would likely not exist as places to live at all.

[dimask]

The problem is that tourism often appears to be the only industry because it creates very bad conditions for any other business or industry to exist in places where it takes hold. It tends to increase cost of living, and has so high margins that other businesses are hard to compete for space etc. It makes the living conditions hard to unlivable to workers that are not linked to the tourist business, even essential workers like teachers, nurses etc. Maybe in some places they can put more control over it and minimise this impact.

In a country level, it is even worse as it makes a country totally dependent on tourists as an external flow of money, it usually ends up with most services been owned by big capital (local or foreign) in the expense of local businesses and it halts most forms and potentialities of actual development for other industries. Tourism can be some easy money at best, it is very often harmful for any other forms of activities and business in the long run.

[danlugo92]

I feel like if tourists weren't so "un-informed" consumers, things would "even out"... you know?

Like tourists bring in "bad" consumer practices, such as buying stuff/food at "tourist traps" thus actually driving up prices, instead of them going to whenever the "locals" are used to go and still contribute to the local economy.

Best example I can think of paying overpriced shitty food at some tourist trap restaurant because you don't know better because you're a tourist, meanwhile locals go to their "known" places that aren't anything remotely similar to a "trap" you know?