The advantages and disadvantages of tourism

When we say tourism we think about escapades in exotic places, about carefree vacations in foreign countries or, otherwise we think about spending more time with our families developing and connecting boundries. Tourism allows us to have new experiences, gives us the chance to know new and interesting people or unusual and special cultures. Through tourism we discover the world and also we discover ourselves. In another manner, the definition of tourism would be that is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel. Becoming a popular global leisure activity, tourism has become vital for some countries, due to the income generated by the consumption of goods and services by tourists, the taxes levied on businesses in the tourism industry, and the opportunity for employment in the service industries associated with tourism. These service industries include transportation services such as cruise ships and taxis, accommodation such as hotels, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues, and other hospitality industry services such as spas and resorts. As it is in many things, tourism has it's advantages and disadvantages. First of all, I will review the disadvantages, and secondly I will show the benefits and advantages of tourism. First of all, tourism can have social costs. It may attract visitors whose lifestyles and ideas conflict with the community's. An example may be the visitors use of drugs and alcohol; it may change individual behaviour and family relationships. Also, it can lead to the loss of traditional values and culture through imitation of visitor behaviour or cultural diffusion resulting from normal, everyday interaction. It may result in harassment of visitors perceived to be wealthy and an increase in crime, and can involve violations of human rights. For example, people have been displaced from their land and beaches have been reserved for hotel guests while access is barred to local people. Secondly, the environmental costs. Tourism can affect specific natural resources such as beaches and coral reefs or historical sites, it may increase litter, noise, and pollution. It can bring increased competition for limited resources such as water and land, resulting in land degradation, loss of wildlife habitats and deterioration of scenery. Not only that, but also the emissions generated by forms of transport are one of the main environmental problems of tourism. Thirdly, tourism involves a lot of economic costs: tourism development of infrastructure (airports, roads, etc.) can cost the local government a great deal of money,it may inflate property values and prices of goods and services. If outside interests own the tourism development, most of the economic benefits will leave the community. Considerable amount of foreign exchange revenues leaks back out of the destination countries for tourism-related imports. Employment tends to be seasonal. Workers may be laid off in the winter season. Many jobs in the tourism industry are poorly paid. Tourist numbers can be adversely affected by events beyond the control of the destination eg terrorism, economic recession. Tourism follows a "product life cycle", with a final stage of decline, where the destination no longer

offers new attractions for the tourist, and the quality has diminished with the rise of competition and tourist saturation. The advantages of tourism are, however, numerous. First of all, the social benefits: it brings in outside money to support community facilities and services that otherwise might not be developed, encourages civic involvement and pride, provides cultural exchange between hosts and guests, it encourages the preservation and celebration of local festivals and cultural events. Facilities and infrastructure developed for tourism can also benefit residents. Also, tourism encourages the learning of new languages and skills. Tourism related funds have contributed towards schools being built in some areas. Secondly, the environmental benefits are that it fosters conservation and preservation of natural, cultural and historical resources, encourages community beautification and revitalization it could be considered a clean industry. Least but not last, the economic advantages brought by tourism are: it helps diversify and stabilize the local economy, provides governments with extra tax revenues each year through accommodation and restaurant taxes, airport taxes, sales taxes, park entrance fees, employee income tax etc.. It creates local jobs and business opportunities. These include those jobs directly related to tourism (hotel and tour services) and those that indirectly support tourism (such as food production and housing construction). The multiplier effect : it brings new money into the economy. Tourist money is returned to the local economy as it is spent over and over again. It helps attract additional businesses and services to support the tourist industry. In conclusion, tourism can turn out to be a profitable business for countries, if managed carefully and correctly. Otherwise, the disadvantages of it can become disastrous for the country. Also, the people gain new and exciting experiences and get to make new aquaintances due to tourism. I can say that tourism can get together people and it can help at the development of countries.