Mega Events and Their Hidden Costs: A Conversation with Christopher Gaffney

Professor Christopher Gaffney teaches at the Tisch Center for Hospitality at New York University. Just in time for the Olympics, RISE’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Vincie Ho, sits down with Chris to discuss his work examining the impacts of mega events throughout the world.

In this interview, Chris explores the reasons behind criticism of mega events such as the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and Pan American Games. He highlights the evictions, displacement, and gentrification caused by these events, particularly noting his active involvement with the anti-Olympics group in Brazil. He argues that the infrastructure put in place for these events does little to serve the communities that actually live in these areas. Once the events are over and the stadiums are no longer in use, the social issues that existed before the games often remain or are exacerbated.

Chris’s current projects include the Global Tourism Risk Index co-developed with his colleague in 2018, which identifies countries and regions most at risk from the impact of overtourism/lack of tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and assesses the systemic risks places are exposed to on the economic, social, ecologic, cultural, and political levels.

Host: Dr. Vincie Ho - Founder and Executive Director of The RISE Travel Institute
Video and Audio Editing: Kate Mulvihill - Video and Podcast Producer at The RISE Travel Institute
Graphic Design: Shirley Wong - Freelance Art Director
Music: "On My Way" Kevin MacLeod (License) 

Website: https://www.risetravelinstitute.org

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