the tourist as an invasive species

Photo: Ancia Ontour
German Tourists. Photo: Ancia Ontour

Here are some common traits belonging to invasive species . A tourist fulfills most of the criteria on the checklist.

  • The ability to reproduce both asexually as well as sexually (garbage and cultural leavings as a byproduct)
  • Fast growth
  • Rapid reproduction (not restricted to babies)
  • High dispersal ability (planes trains tour-buses cruise ships)
  • Phenotypic plasticity (the ability to alter one’s growth form to suit current conditions) (dress native, get all the right travel gear, dip in and out of cultures)
Tourists in Alaska
Tourists in Alaska
  • Tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions (generalist) (again, specialized gear)
  • Ability to live off of a wide range of food types (generalist) (when in Rome…)
  • Association with humans (anthro-fetishism and the McDonald’s phenomenon)
  • Other successful invasions (war and peace)

(from wikipedia)

Tourists buying postcards at Yellowstone National Park, 1946. Photo - Alfred Eisenstaedt
Tourists buying postcards at Yellowstone National Park, 1946. Photo - Alfred Eisenstaedt