The Internet Globalization Effect
We’re travelling at the moment, that’s fine, we’re western, British and the world is our oyster, we can go where we like and more or less do what we like, a British passport holder can walk into more countries than any other nationality without any interference from anyone. And when we get there we stay in nice hotels and dine in shabby chic restaurants on almost any beach. What’s the issue!
Really this is globalization, the fact is that these days, we can go anywhere in the world and sleep and dine in the conditions we’ve become accustomed to back home. We think if Globalization as this incredible force of trade, delivering goods from china, services from London, military weapons from America, but really it is so much more than all of that. It’s a ticket for the Western World to play anywhere they like. It really is.
Some examples… look up www.budget.com – rent a car, you’ll pay $20 a day for virtually any country anywhere, if it’s a developing country you’ll pay $20 because it’s expensive to pay for a car, whereas if you rent a car in a Western country you’ll pay $20 because it’s a competitive and developed market place. Check out www.airbnb.com, a room will cost the same world wide, the standard might vary, but if you try and pay $10 a night in Taipei you really will get a $10 room… you need to pay $100 a night to get something decent. Airlines have this sewn up as well… if you want to fly from A to B, book in advance, it makes no difference where you fly to, the longer you leave it the more it will cost.
Bring in the Internet Globalization Effect and it won’t take long to realise that a Thai fisherman can see that his counter part in New England , USA is charging $100 a night for his room… it won’t take long for the ABC Rent-a-cheap-car local agent to realise if he becomes a Thrifty Franchise he’ll treble his income and it won’t take long for a Uruguayan to realise if he sets up his restaurant according to international desires he’ll be charging $50 a head.
Is it good – is it bad, the jury is out – but it really is a fact, the world is getting smaller and the Internet is helping do that in dozens of ways, flights, travel, hotels, taxis, food, drinks, it’s all fine and completely understandable, except I worry is the Internet Globalization effect destroying something special in the world, is it destroying local cultures, local ways of life and frankly turning the world more into a playground for the well off that previously thought.
Just to take that line of thought one small step further, we know about the Super-Rich they can do what they like, houses here and there, boats, holidays, that we can understand, but what happens when it’s average British or Western Joe that gets to travel in this way… what if the masses in the West reach a stage where the world is the playground. I don’t want to deny anyone these advantages… but what’s the cost and more importantly how can we protect the cultures and values that we will probably accidentally change for ever.
Does it matter – yes I think it does and as I am travelling myself I a disheartened when I see the spanking new hotels going up and cheered up hugely when I find the unique and true parts of a country, usually in the more poverty stricken areas.