Railroads,ships,buses,andairplaneshavemadetraveleasier,faster,andcheaper;andthenumberofpeoplewhocansparethetimeandthemoneytotaketripshasgrownenormously.Itisnotreservedtoaluckyfew,nowadays,toadmireIncatemples,Frenchcastles,andAustraliankangaroos.Millionsofpeopledoeachyear.Butinsteadofbeingcalledtravelers,theyareknownastouristsandtheyareseenallovertheworld—floatingdowntheAmazon,cruisingtoAlaska,flyingfromTimbuktutoEasterIsland,andtakingpicturesofNorwegianchurchesandPakistanicostumes.
Surelythisrepresentsgreatprogress.ItisjustandgoodthatmostofthepeoplewhodreamofseeingtheParthenonshouldhaveachancetodoso.Itissatisfyingtoknowthatremoteruinsarenotforgottenindeepforests,tobeseenonlyafewexplorersattheriskoftheirlives.Itisexcellentthatpeopleofdifferentcountiesshouldmeetandtalktoeachother.Butisitreally?
Isitreallydesirabletohavethemostremotebeach,themosthiddentempleexposedtohumancuriosityandatthesametimetothelitterandgraffitithathumanityleavesinitspath?Woulditbebettertoleavesuchtreasurestothelocalpopulation,whichperhapsdoesn?tpayanyattentiontothem?Thesaddestaspectoftourismhasbeenbroughtrecentlytotheattentionofthepublic:itseemsthatthegreatnumberofvisitorsisdestroyingthetreasuresthattheyenjoymost.Undermillionsoffeet,ancientstoneswearout,ancientfloorsbreakdown.
PartsofthepalaceofVersaillesmayhavetobeclosedtothepublicinordertopreservethem,andsomeEuropeancaves,famousfortheirthirty-thousand-year-oldpaintings,havealreadybeenclosedbecausethepaintingsweredamagedbyhumanrespiration.Theremaycomeatimewhenonlyspecialistsinart,history,orarchaeologywillbeallowednearthetreasuresofthepast.Perhapswe’dbetterhurrytoseethem;perhapswe’dbettertakeatoursoon.
