The marketable organization and procedure of holidays and visits to places of significance is known as tourism. It is a very profitable business which has enriched the knowledge of mankind in several ways. However, they have a number of drawbacks! Tourism is beneficial when it is done not in the cost of the environment, but in careful harmony with it. When man’s greed to acquire money exceeds its conscious, tourism becomes a harmful game for the host as well as the guests. It is a boon for rural areas and developing countries, but mass tourism can prove to be a bane as well! Let’s find out, in detail, what the pros and cons of tourism are.
Positive effects of Tourism
Employment and economy progress a great deal through tourism. Jobs are generated, not only in the tourism sector, but also in the manufacturing sectors and its like. Small scale industries get the much needed boost and appreciation due to tourism and handicraft also flourishes. When people directly in the tourism sector earn, they spend on other goods and services which is known as the “multiplier effect”. A lot of alternate employment opportunities like security guards, tourist guides, etc are born due to tourism.
When local crafts and arts are given a boost, the local heritage and culture is preserved. This is a very positive global effect. Eventually, the infrastructure of the locality changes and betters. This helps raise the standard of living in the tourist spot. Also, when hosts and guests interact, a worldwide exchange of lifestyles and understanding of cultures takes place.
Through this change in the level of understanding, awareness regarding poverty, wildlife abuse and illiteracy is raised. The whole world pools in to make a section of our society better. This way, funds are collected for environmental undertakings and animal care.
So, apart from creating jobs for local people and giving a boost to the economy of the host locality by increasing their income, tourism assists in protecting the village services’ welfare like the bus services and post offices, in promoting local crafts and in preserving the wildlife and scenic beauty of a place.
Negative Effects of tourism
Terrorists, natural disasters and economic recession seem to hit the tourist spots hardest. Also, the work provided by the tourism industry is seasonal, therefore making people lazy as well as utterly dependent. A lot of funds are drained out through hotel chains and other such multi nationals.
It isn’t a surprise that tourism causes irreparable damage to tourist spots. Though measures are being taken to curb obnoxious activities, yet constructions done and a lot of crowd drawn is doing more harm than good to the wildlife of a specific region.
Another major problem is the increase in crime rate. Problems like child labor, drugs, alcohol, smuggling and prostitution often rise in areas that are inhabited by tourists. Tourists are always known to be well spending; hence such expensive racquets are on the rise in tourist spots.
While tourism does give us amenities that we would otherwise lack, it takes away the real essence of the place. The natural beauty of the tourist spot is somewhat subdued by tourism. For example, hotels often provide all sorts of food to their customers. This leads to the customers choosing something they’re habituated too instead of going in for something new and locale. This keeps the tourists from experiencing the real place.
Another problem is the corrosion of traditional values. For example, due to western influence, people in India are forgetting their traditions and are keener on following their steps to become seemingly “cool”. Like girls in India prefer roaming about in hot pants rather than their traditional salwar kameez. Though it has a certain amount of comfort attached to it, girls who were supposed to know how to tie saris at 12 don’t know the same at the age of 20! There, of course, is no issue in girls wearing pants, but they must not forget how to adorn their traditional clothes.
The area of tourism is often subjected to congestion, pollution and overcrowding. This harms the local people. Also, along with people of the foreign land, diseases of the foreign land migrate to the tourist spots, bringing about epidemics which can be fatal.
To bring out the stark reality and actuality in the problems stated above, I’d quote Henning Mankell,
“Go to Mozambique! As long as you don’t expect to find flawless infrastructure, just go. Because this is a country where people have not quite grown accustomed to tourists. You still feel a genuineness that no longer exists in countries where tourism has been industrially developed.”
It shows the amount of damage done, it’s time to stop.
1 reply on “Positive and negative effects of tourism”
The positive effects of tourism outweigh the negatives. If you can bring a lot of tourists to your city, locals will get the most benefit out of it. Their businesses will bloom. The negative effects can be minimised with a proactive approach from the government.