‘Overtourism’ Worries Europe. How Much Did Technology Help Get Us There?
I see complaints&#x2F;worries about overtourism, housing prices in cities, overfocusing on restaurant reviews, and other problems not as arising from the use of Instagram as some people think, but more basically as an unavoidable side-effect of globalization. Basically it used to be harder to find the &#x27;perfect&#x27; restaurant, vacation, or house because information was not transferring efficiently. With the internet, a process of arbitrage has commenced, where all people are able to put themselves where they feel they will be happiest based on their economic power. Obviously people living in sleepy picturesque villages in Europe would rather no one visited, but these places are just going to have to deal with it in the same way that San Fransisco, Seattle, Austin, etc. are. The truth is that some places are nicer to live or visit than others, and if you don&#x27;t have the money to play the game then you aren&#x27;t welcome.<p>Once my wife asked her father how people chose what restaurant to eat at when all you had was a phone book, and his answer was telling: &quot;There just used to be fewer places to go.&quot;