Tourists Are Ruining The Ruins

An article in the Houston Chronicle says the recent designation of the “New 7 Wonders of the World” is increasing tourism and putting Latin American landmarks like Chichen Itza’s ruins in Mexico and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, a nominee that didn’t even win, at risk. Machu Picchu is in the same boat:

“If we open up Machu Picchu to more tourism, the place will be destroyed within 10 years,” said David Ugarte, a former Peruvian Culture Ministry official and a leading voice promoting conservation of the site. “We don’t want to turn it into an Incan Disneyland.”

Awww, they never let us do anything fun. Especially when modern people are basically wiping any evidence of ancient people off the planet:

“Human activity has become the greatest threat of all to the world’s cultural heritage, causing irreparable harm,” said Bonnie Burnham, president of the World Monuments Fund. “The rapid rise in global tourism is bringing more and more people to often fragile and unprotected places.”

Guess we should all just stay in our pods.

Conservationists fear for Machu Picchu’s future [Houston Chronicle]