Apparently it is #WorldTourismDay so let’s talk about why tourism isn’t a win-win-win silver bullet that’s going to solve all global conservation challenges. 1/10

You have probably heard that #tourism can make species “worth more alive than dead,” alongside the (sometimes unstated) assumption that this means that “non-consumptive” tourism will naturally and desirably replace “consumptive” uses of wildlife. 2/10

There are some problems with this. Recognize the fundamental neoliberalism of this idea (and its relative, “ecosystem services”). Both start from the basic premise that we have to sell nature in order to save it. 3/10

In other words, this strategy claims that protection of the environment is supposed to offer the same (or better) profit/return as destructive exploitation would. A reading to wrestle with this idea: https://www.nature.com/articles/443027a

This is complicated by the reality that demand for tourism is species- and place-dependent. Of about 540 shark species, ~20 support meaningful demand for tourism—because of the habitats they’re found in (warm, nearshore) or how interested in them people are. 5/10

So what about all the species that will never attract tourist interest, that from an economic perspective are “worth” more dead than alive? How tied should an animal’s right to exist be to our interest in paying to look at it? 6/10

This thread could be so long. I want to talk about tourism’s impacts on wildlife (we know there are many). And about provisioning tourism, especially of sharks. I want to discuss how $ from tourism is distributed (hint: often not in ways that benefit local people). 7/10

Maybe I’ll write those threads later, but for this thread, I want to keep the takeaway clear: it’s SO WEIRD that we’ve decided having a healthy planet has to compete head-to-head with destroying and selling nature, and that we’re going to go with the more profitable one. 8/10

9/10: Once you notice it, you can’t unsee the message: everyone needs to consume to conserve, backed by an assurance that tourism markets will fix our long-standing failure to value nature and wildlife.

Tourism can be a useful tool, but at the end of the day, remember: