Arrogance in Hawaii

Many years ago it most likely would have been unheard of to spend a month's wages on a four or five day vacation. Recent trends have shown that the times are changing here in America. Many people today feel they must spend hundreds of dollars per night at a very nice hotel in order to get the most out of a vacation. It remains a mystery when the idea of "vacation" began to make such enormous changes. Not too long ago the idea of a good vacation was to escape the stress of daily life but not necessarily to have to do so in luxury. Recently, travel agencies have become a growing investment for businesses. In America today a great example of this packaged vacation approach is the "Hawaiian" vacation. Many dream of traveling to Hawaii their entire life simply because of the manner in which it is advertised. Also included in this idea are travelers with a destination of Mexico. Not many choose to travel to a small, poorer city that contains less commercial tourism. Instead Americans flock to cities such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Tijuana. Tourism in the United States has become more exploited, commercial, and advertised which contributes to and shows America's materialistic values. If this trend continues chances are that Americans will soon be putting themselves into debt to pay for a vacation package to the Hawaiian Islands.

The idea of vacation in the United States of America has recently changed a great deal. Accommodations have become a much more important consideration in recent years than before. Not too long ago it probably would have been quite an excitement simply to leave town. Now, however, vacation does not only mean leaving town, it means leaving town and living in the most luxury possibly affordable. This also raises the question of what Americans are truly looking for in vacation today. In "The Loss of the Creature", written by Walker Percy, he comments "Certainly they are far from 'it' when after traveling five thousand miles, they arrive at the plaza in Guanajuato only to find themselves surrounded by a dozen other couples from the Midwest." (Percy) This excerpt shows that many Americans are staying in the same places whether it is Mexico or Paris. Accommodations seem to be so important when a person is planning a trip, yet when push comes to shove he is disappointed to see that he is not the only one with this great idea of "staying at the Krystal in Mexico". The reality is that most Americans not only want to spiritually connect" in the place which they travel, they want to do so in a high class manner. The stress of planning the trip may outweigh the stress relieved from the "vacation". This once again exemplifies the fact that many people from the United States live by extremely materialistic related values.

Another recent phenomenon is vacation packages and travel agencies. Not long ago travel agencies did not even exist while today they are thriving. Travel agencies offer many vacation packages to places all around the world although it seems most are offered for tropical, sunny, and warm-climate places. The most popular place of destination for Americans is probably Hawaii. It is definitely something to ponder how Hawaii became so highly thought of when it comes to a "vacation wonderland". Most likely the trend is due to advertising and word of mouth. But it goes even deeper. For the typical American the idea of going on a vacation to Hawaii probably consists of drinking fruity drinks on lawn chairs on the golden sandy beach while staring at the sparkling blue-green ocean in front of the tall Hilton Hotel. Hawaii holds so many other treasurers than fruity drinks and the Hilton so it is a disappointment that a vacation to Hawaii has become so exploited. Travel agencies do not show photos of dark rainforest, only of people drinking their fruity drinks on the beach looking so very peaceful with their nice tan. This advertisement helps to take a person's sovereignty away in planning a vacation for himself. The island of Maui in Hawaii is extremely disrupted by tourism. Most locals one would talk to would say that they dislike the tourism that has taken over their native island. While the tourism does provide many jobs that contribute to the growth of Hawaii's economy, this is another matter. The most important idea here is that travel agencies and advertisement have distorted all that a person can and should get out of a real vacation. This advertisement shows luxury as the Hilton but real luxury for a person might really be to simply escape the fake life that Americans are living. Since Hawaii and many other places are portrayed in the way that they are, it is extremely difficult for a person to enjoy a real vacation in which he will escape the daily grind of America's materialistic culture.

One of the last things to ponder about tourism is the reason for it all. The meaning behind a trip is a wonder. Most Americans seem to be extremely susceptible to big advertisement in the business world. But there are other considerations as well. Perhaps some peoples main reason for traveling is to experience culture. But this concept seems almost inconceivable to the typical American due to his strong materialistic background. Examining typical vacations to Mexico, for example, one would find that the most visited areas are the ones that have been most Americanized. While this is ironic it is not surprising that people from the United States go to these areas when traveling to another country. This is simply because the big advertising corporations in the United States have told them to do so. In Why We Travel, by Pico Ayer, he comments travel, at heart, is just a quick way to keeping our mind mobile and awake. (Ayer) Ayer has much reasoning in his statement. It therefore can be seen through the example of Mexico that the typical traveler of America is not getting much out of a vacation since the places that he stays out of the country are usually just full of Americans. A person would most likely get more value out of a trip to Mexico by renting a small house in a village for a few days. He would experience true Mexican culture, which would open his mind and keep it awake. So, this is yet one more example that shows American ignorance on tourism.

The exploitation of tourism throughout the United States in recent years illuminates Americas arrogance and materialistic culture. The uproar in travel agencies and vacation packages contributes to the ironic ways in which Americans travel. Accommodations show further this materialism and unknowing hypnotized system of tourism. Examples of Hawaii and Mexico show the irony in recent tourism in American today. Perhaps one day the United States will outgrow this destructing type of travel.