Nowadays many people travel to foreign countries for pleasure. Some believe this travel has a negative impact on the countries travelled to. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

More and more people today are choosing to travel internationally. This positive development is mainly because of a rise in middle class income coupled with advances in aviation. People today can afford to travel as it has become more convenient. The last half century has seen wages in both developed and developing companies climb with the concomitant expansion of the global middle class. Workers have the disposable income to travel that they lacked in the past. This has been complemented with safer airplanes so individuals are not afraid to fly. Airfares have also become cheaper as companies like Boeing produce more efficient planes, competition intensifies between competing airlines, and the supply more than meets demand for flights. These factors combined have spawned a golden age of international travel. Looking at the opportunity in perspective, it is hard to see the advent of international travel as anything less than one of mankind’s greatest achievements. For the entirety of human history, most people lived and died near to where they were born. Anyone who wanted to travel to another country had to possess enourmous wealth, time, and courage. Today, the average employee can save up and travel to see the wonders of the Rennaissance in Southern Europe, the vast monuments to history and modernity in China, or explore any other corner of Earth that has piqued their interest. This is an unprecedented opportunity unavailable to past generations. In conclusion, international travel is a byproduct of the modern age and we should all be grateful for its possibility. There are clear environmental drawbacks but those should not blind people to its benefits taken as a whole.