Tourism in Inecuria

**Tourism** has been a fixture of Inecurian society for centuries, with the tourism industry originating in the 5th and 6th centuries AD to cater to wealthy travellers - especially Nesarians, Onshians and Kalzuranuris - who wished to see the sights of the now-united continent. Overseas tourists began to arrive in the 1880s and 1890s, taking advantage of the low prices in the wake of the Civil War and the new closeness of European territory to Inecuria after the East Indian War.

However, tourism from overseas would not become a truly significant part of the Inecurian economy until after the Bloodless Revolution of 1980; the relaxation of the Imperial borders and economy - and perhaps, more importantly, its new image as a (relatively) liberalised society - coincided with the explosion of commercial airlines due to widespread international deregulation, drawing millions of new visitors from all kinds of social classes.

The fact that Inecuria plays host to people and places known only in myths and legends in the rest of the world - and which were considered mere fairytales until just a few centuries ago - makes it the world's greatest curiosity to those from outside the continent. Inecuria's rich history, abundant natural beauty, bizarre inhabitants and generally well-maintained infrastructure mix together to create by far the world's most popular tourist destination, catering to both domestic and foreign tourists.

Tourism is the fastest-growing industry of the Nesarian Empire, and is rapidly approaching the status of the largest industry of the service sector. Though the presence of over a hundred million foreign tourists each year is a great economic boon, it has also come to pose risks to important environmental or cultural sites, and interactions between Inecurians and foreign visitors are certainly not always positive. Misunderstandings between Inecurians and foreign tourists, largely as a result of mutual ignorance of each other's values and traditions, routinely occur and do nothing to improve popular relations between Inecurians and overseas foreigners.

## Anti-American Prejudice

Although the Cold War nominally ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of fascist rule in the Empire, one would be hard-pressed to describe relations between the Empire and much of the West as friendly. Though not outright hostile, the Empire and the West - particularly the USA - continue to be antagonistic towards one another, and the geopolitical situation is often reflected in how the people of these nations treat each other.

For the most part, Inecurians take little issue with Europeans and tend to separate European people from the actions of their governments - though those who are especially set in their ways often remain suspicious of the British, a long-time historical enemy of the Empire. Negativity towards Europeans is generally restrained to those countries that took part in the East Indian War - Britain, France, the Netherlands and Portugal - as the Imperial defeat still remains a somewhat sore point. Other Europeans tend to be respected, particularly the Swiss and Italians; the former for their neutrality, well-ordered society and perceived politeness, and the latter mainly for their food. The situation is not the same with Americans, who are widely disliked across Inecuria.

The United States advises its citizens who visit Inecuria to not brandish their American identity, particularly to never openly wear the American flag. Many American tourists pretend to be Canadian to receive more pleasant and polite treatment from Inecurians, though those who live in tourist-heavy areas are often capable of distinguishing Americans from Canadians through behaviour and accent, particularly given that English proficiency is much higher in these areas.

The history between the United States and the Empire plays a major part in why Inecurians dislike Americans so much; the two have a long history of conflict that never truly ended, instead only reducing to a low simmer towards the end of the Cold War. The governments and societies of the Empire and the United States are ideologically, philosophically and geopolitically opposed, with values that are considered incompatible, and most Inecurians are not open-minded about interactions with Americans for this reason.

However, compounded onto this is the general behaviour of Americans, which most Inecurian cultures consider impolite, obnoxious, rude and arrogant. Inecurians particularly do not like how loud Americans tend to be, as almost every Inecurian culture values quietness, particularly in public - which, incidentally, causes them to greatly respect the Japanese, who also highly value quietness. Though there are always some rude tourists from any country, the sentiment towards Americans is largely a result of mutual ignorance. Inecurians often do not truly understand that American tourists do not intend to come off as obnoxious or arrogant, and American tourists usually do not understand Inecurian standards of public behaviour and what they consider polite and impolite.

A major factor in this is the pre-judgement of Americans. Inecurians, who are culturally predisposed to be suspicious of Americans, are quick to find fault with them and often exaggerate their mistakes, shortcomings or misunderstandings because of this. Some Americans have argued that American tourists are not worse than any other in Inecuria, rather it is the case that Inecurians will become irritable over mistakes made by Americans that they would forgive in others, and that Inecurians are looking to find faults with Americans; they argue that it is not the Americans being unpleasant to Inecurians, but rather the other way around. Inecurians, for their part, counter that it is the duty of foreigners to learn and adapt to the culture of places they visit; they especially demand knowledge of at least some basic Nesarian, which the vast majority of American tourists do not have, rejecting the idea that Inecurians should have to learn English to cater to overseas foreigners. Third parties who are neither American nor Inecurian often regard both positions as arrogant and stubborn.

## Anti-Tourism Sentiment

Although tourism is unquestionably a huge economic boon for Inecuria, a growing number of Inecurians have become increasingly critical of the level of tourism the continent receives. Many object to the perceived commodification of their culture or even their race itself, believing that the increasing degree to which the country panders to tourists degenerates Inecuria into a curiosity for others to ogle at rather than a dignified collection of nations.

Non-human Inecurians often complain that foreign tourists see them as intriguing spectacles rather than as actual people, and Inecurians of all shapes frequently complain about the lack of respect tourists show to their sacred religious sites and historical monuments - again, merely seeing them as curiosities and giving them no respect or dignity.

A growing number of Inecurians are also raising complaints about the damage caused by tourists. Some of it is unavoidable wear and tear that comes with so many visitors going to a specific location so often, but the lack of respect towards culturally significant sites shown by a minority of tourists can occasionally translate into deliberate vandalism. For example, an international incident occurred in 2002 when an American couple carved their initials into a Bound Eagle in Epsilucia, seemingly regarding it as nothing but an ordinary statue and clearly unaware that the penalty for vandalising a Bound Eagle is death. The USA negotiated for their death penalty to be reduced to 10-year imprisonment, but were unable to secure their release - and the whole incident not only soured Imperial-American relations, but significantly contributed to the negative opinion of Americans that most Inecurians hold.

Some of the more sensitive sites are protected by excessive security measures as a result of the damage that has occurred, or due to the paranoia of potential damage. Despite this, some tourists continue to mistakenly believe that the presence of armed soldiers is ceremonial - perhaps because, in some cases, they are Imperial Knights wearing a full suit of armour, and western visitors often regard them as a novelty rather than as real soldiers - and incidents remain an issue, albeit an extremely rare one.

To avoid incidents, the Imperial state stresses to visitors that the guards of culturally sensitive sites are authorised to arrest any who damage the sites, and are permitted to use any degree of force they deem necessary to restrain offenders. For some especially notable sites, such as the Old Tree, the guards are instucted to respond to "deliberate, grevious and potentially irreparable damage" with immediate execution.