The gentrification and class differences are the main point of resentment against tourism in some areas.
Explanation:
While tourism is good for the economy of the country, the common people who work in the tourist industry do not gain much, especially in the poorer countries. Many of the places in these countries have recently become very popular (especially due to the internet) among wester, rich tourists. This ends up making the gap between the rich and poor bigger – class differences start standing out more, and people start feeling animosity.
Local people also often see tourists coming to their home countries looking for something “unique” and “exotic” and seeing their lives (and sometimes poverty) as a playground. They come for a certain time to see how life is and can return to their rich, western lives, while local people stay there. Tourists also sometimes do not respect local customs and ideas, which angers people.
Tourism often affects local customs in the sense that they become more massive and change. There are many beliefs, rites, and customs that have been changed with the rise of tourism as they need to be performed for those who come to observe it (for example, Day of the death in Mexico wasn’t paraded before as it is now, or St. Patrick’s celebration in Ireland which is more product of North American tourists with an Irish background and it departs with traditional celebrations).
Finally, as tourism becomes more massive, it affects the ecosystem. There are big changes in pollution, as well as disruption of normal growth of plants and animals. Many of the touristic areas that are popular today used to be small settlements, adapted into the environment. As more people arrive to visit these places, everything in nature is affected.
All of this results in the rise of resentments towards tourism in certain areas. While people know they need tourism to survive, they do not like the effects it has on their communities and life.
