During the COVID pandemic, legal cannabis use increased in the United States and Europe. Some people used marijuana to cope with lockdowns and disrupted routines. Meanwhile, compared to earlier decades, fewer people now believe that the medicine is hazardous.
These elements may have contributed to a trend toward cannabis-related tourism, as seen by locations creating new travel offerings to entice tourists and an increase in travel reservations to countries where marijuana is legal. But embracing this trend carries hazards for tourist locations as well.
According to research by MMGY Travel Intelligence, 29% of leisure travelers are curious about cannabis-related travel. According to a research by the Dutch government, 58 percent of foreign tourists chose Amsterdam as their destination for drug use. And since the outbreak began, business at Dutch coffee shops has skyrocketed.
Nearly 30% of cannabis sales in Illinois in the nine months after the state’s legalization of recreational use in January 2020 were made by non-citizens. Thailand just legalized marijuana and hopes that this will increase travel.
The travel industry and particular locations have swiftly created experiences that incorporate cannabis, hemp, and CBD-related products in response to the demand for those products. Additionally, they are reacting to the anticipated economic potential relating to higher hotel occupancy, tax receipts, rising property values, business development, job creation, and advantages for public health and safety that may be associated with cannabis sales.
Data is only now starting to be gathered, despite the rising popularity of travel to other places where marijuana is legal. And as of yet, no location is prepared to be called the “next Amsterdam.”
massive potential
Authorities don’t want to copy the Dutch model, which resulted in a huge concentration of cannabis coffee shops in Amsterdam and aroused concerns over hard drug usage and criminality, even though cannabis-related travelers are thought to be high spending and well educated.
Meet-the-farmer events, gastronomic tourism, and occasions like cannabis festivals are the main emphasis of new business models. Visitors can select between farm tours, “bud and breakfast” hotels, city tours, cannabis festivals, “ganja yoga,” cuisine, wine, and marijuana pairings, as well as packages that include both lodging and cannabis-related activities.
Cannabis tourism has enormous potential all around the world. Cannabis has now been made legal for recreational use in more than 19 US states, as well as Washington, DC, Canada, Mexico, and other countries. In Europe, Luxembourg permits the use of cannabis grown by the consumer, and Switzerland is testing the selling of cannabis for recreational reasons via pharmacies.
Initial moves toward legalizing recreational usage have been taken in Malaysia and Thailand. Morocco and Costa Rica have also supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes.
Tourists’ risks
Few nations, nevertheless, have legislation addressing recreational cannabis use by citizens that makes it clear when cannabis use by tourists is legal. This implies that visitors run the risk of unknowingly breaking the law when they deal with street vendors and law enforcement, as well as with the health effects of using real and fake narcotics.
There is some evidence that cannabis can relieve pain and help with some mental health issues. However, visitors who already have mental health conditions, for instance, run the danger of jeopardizing their bodily and mental health. Even persons without a mental health diagnosis are susceptible to cannabis-related mental health problems, such as depression.
There are still uncertainties regarding the legality of consumption, the transportation of cannabis vape pens internationally, as well as concerns about insurance coverage and health care, both during and after travel, due to the patchwork of complicated laws and regulations governing recreational cannabis use by international tourists.
Tourists won’t be able to legally purchase cannabis in countries like Portugal, where it has been decriminalized since 2001, despite Uruguay’s plans to permit usage. In Spain, cannabis clubs allow patrons to pay to the organization rather than buying something. Instead of drawing in foreign tourists, Spain and other developed nations like South Africa are concentrating on domestic cannabis tourism.
Few nations have thoroughly examined questions of land and water use, police powers, and advantages to local populations, much alone conducted a cost-benefit study of legal marijuana and tourism. The goal of sustainable development is endangered by theft, racism, and a market that is skewed against small local entrepreneurs that frequently struggle to acquire funding or insurance. Cannabis tourism can increase tourists and jobs while weakening the influence of organized crime. Additionally, there could be an increase in pollutants as well as issues with public safety and health.
While New York aims to establish a US$200 million (£162 million) public-private fund to support social equity objectives, Mexico and Canada have committed funds for indigenously owned firms to promote social and racial equality. Support from locals and ongoing discussions with communities about how to plan the sustainable growth of cannabis tourism should play a key role in the sector’s development.
While it seems that the COVID pandemic contributed to promoting and legalizing marijuana use—dispensaries were even seen to be necessary services in some areas of the US during the pandemic—tourism may assist spread and normalize marijuana usage.
Risk perception may change, and guilt over traveling may fade. Cannabis tourism is probably going to merge with other parts of the travel business.
