Few people would knowingly pay twice as much to arrange a tour through an operator in their own country if they believed themselves capable of arranging it locally, or doing it themselves independently. So tour operators have a vested interest in promoting fear, disempowerment, and ignorance on the part of would-be travelers, and in keeping people from learning how to travel on their own, as part of persuading them that they can't or wouldn't want to travel on their own and that it's worth paying the price to book a tour in advance.