Space Tourism Debate and Progress

Blue Origin’s flight drew ire, but tourism may make space affordable.

An all-women’s spaceflight organized by Lauren Sanchez, the fiancée of Jeff Bezos, rocketed into the Texas sky on April 14, 2025. At first, it seemed like another routine success for Blue Origin, with the capsule landing safely and smiles all around from the new “astronauts,” friends, and families.

However, a few negative comments before the liftoff cascaded into a torrent of criticism after the landing. It isn’t easy to summarize why so many people were so upset, but it seemed that many critics found the flight to be a kind of “conspicuous consumption” by wealthy people when so many of those on Earth were suffering. Moreover, they bemoaned the fact that spaceflight is not good for the environment and shouldn’t happen frivolously.

Clearly, the fact that celebrities like Katy Perry and Gayle King were part of the crew drew the ire of other critics, especially rival stars and influencers. Lauren Sanchez came in for her share of criticism, perhaps largely because she is married to one of the wealthiest men on the planet.

The other three crew members, Aishe Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn, were largely ignored, even though each of them could have shared their significant accomplishments with those who reported on the flight.

It seemed that, for the critics, doing something “for the experience,” rather than for “scientific research,” or for a “meaningful” result did not justify the cost of a spaceflight at this point in time.

Was the Flight a Hollywood Hoax?

Then, suddenly, a new theme emerged: the flight didn’t take place at all; it was a “fake,” perhaps shot at some Hollywood backlot using green screens and CGI!

Logically, you can’t have it both ways, of course. If the flight were, indeed, “faked,” it didn’t pollute the stratosphere and it didn’t cost very much money. A fake flight would have been deceptive and even deceitful, but it was not environmentally harmful, nor was it a joyride for a few wealthy women while the rest of us suffered down on Earth.

Can Space Tourism Survive the Criticism?

I may share my opinion in more detail in another blog, but for now, I want to ask the question, “Will the negativity around this flight hamper the development of a space tourism industry?” It certainly could. For example, spaceflight providers like Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic might pull back from pursuing something might continue to prove controversial. Investors might retreat from the enterprise and put their money in something less risky. And customers, especially celebrities, might decide to take a long ocean cruise instead of a short spaceflight.

These questions are not simply hypothetical musings. In addition to satellites, space tourism has a great potential for near-term revenue that will benefit the entire industry. Tourism on Earth reached pre-pandemic levels in 2024 with 1.4 billion international tourists worldwide. Over time, there is no inherent reason why off-world tourism could not see similar activity. (1)

“Space tourism is the catalyst that will unlock the economies of scale necessary for humanity to live, work, and thrive in space,” says Tim Alatorre, COO of Above Space. “In the near term, the costs of spaceflight are undeniably high, but as we scale operations and refine technologies, those costs will plummet—just as we’ve seen with every transformative industry in history. The benefits of space exploration, from technological innovation to expanding our understanding of what’s possible, far outweigh the initial investment. Tourism will drive the revenue and demand needed to make space accessible to a broader population, paving the way for a multi-planetary future.”

From Earth to Space: Tourism’s Evolution

These setbacks might have a long-term impact on space tourism, but on reflection, I doubt it. There was a time when the idea of “Earth Tourism” did not exist. Travel to foreign lands was too difficult for people to do it “for fun.” Over time, however, it became easier, and (before the current situation around tariffs) it was not exotic for a middle-class family of four from Houston, Texas, to travel to Venice or Paris.

This doesn’t mean that “Earth Tourists” are any more immune from criticism than “Space Tourists.” In fact, Venice recently announced its intention to curb the number of people visiting the city. It was a source of revenue, yes, but it was also putting quite a strain on the residents and their quality of life. (2)

If you travel to Paris and do your best to speak French to the residents of the “City, of Lights,” they will be nice to you, even though you are American. If you insist on having them speak English, the interaction will be strained. (This is something I know from experience.)

There may be a time in the future when Earthlings spend a lot of money to visit the Moon, even though the Lunarians wish they would stay home. Like the tourists or not, Space Tourism will probably survive!

---

References

1. B. Landeau and J. Guy, “Venice limits tour groups to 25 and bans megaphones in fightback against overtourism,” CNN, August 1, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/01/travel/venice-overtourism-initiatives-scli-intl/index.html
2. S. Ekstrom, “Global Tourism in 2024: A Year of Resurgence and Growth,” March 10, 2025, https://blog.learntourism.org/2024-global-tourism-statistics