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Impacts of tourism - Positive or Negative
The travel and tourism industry has witnessed an explosive growth in recent times. Based on current trends and economic prospects, UNWTO predicted an upsurge of 3% to 4% in international tourist arrivals in 2020. There is no doubt about the fact that tourism has given a boost to the world economy, and there are countries whose economy rely solely on foreign earnings from International tourists. And, this expansion has, in turn, encouraged ancillary industries, travel agencies, as well as, travel software development companies to grow and expand their businesses, courtesy the insatiate desire for people to explore the unknown.
Now, there are towering benefits of tourism. But, over-tourism can be detrimental to the environment on a broader scale, and to the flora and fauna indigenous to a particular place. Nevertheless, people will travel and tourism will flourish even more. In fact, travel agency software services have made it easy for small and medium agents to easily find their own space in the industry, thereby, offering a plethora of budget-friendly holiday packages to encourage more and more people to travel away from their homes.
So, here is a list of positive effects of tourism -
Example of positive effects of tourism
But, travel and tourism are not all about damaging natural habitats and killing Nature. Again, as mentioned earlier, some countries rely solely on tourism which provides earning opportunities for the locals in, otherwise backward areas.
For example -
The administrative region of China, Macau is highly reliant on tourism in the world and earns 26.6 Bn US$ in revenue.
UNWTO said that internationally there were just 25 million tourist arrivals in 1950 but 68 years later the number jumped to 1.4 billion international arrivals per year. And, travel agent software development companies exist in the market because people enjoy travelling and prefer OTAs for easy planning/booking of their travel itineraries.
Side by side, the hospitality and aviation industries are expanding, all thanks to the growth of tourism in recent years.
Following is a list of benefits obtained from the exponential growth of travel and tourism -
Benefits of travel and tourism
More jobs created
Expansion of tourism in a country gives birth to other ancillary industries because tourism creates demand first. And, the birth of different software development companies for travel is directly related to tourism. Again, local food joints and restaurants, hotels and hospitals, beer and medicine shops, local travel and transportation, shopping malls and other entertainment activities also receive a general boost, courtesy large-scale influx of tourists. More jobs are created, large-scale infrastructure development takes place and the overall economy of the place improves simultaneously.
A greater source of foreign exchange earnings
More international tourists entail greater foreign exchange earnings, and eventually a rise in the country's overall growth and economy.
Boost to local cuisines and indigenous crafts
The concept of 'travel like a local' has inspired vacationers to taste local cuisines, buy indigenous crafts and live like the locals. More and more travellers prefer tasting the authentic flavours of the local dishes more than munching onto MacDonald's Burgers and Fries. Instead of visiting top brand outlets, they prefer buying local handicrafts as souvenirs. Eventually, these small-scale indigenous industries promote their artworks through 'word-of-mouth' of travellers.
Better facilities for the locals
Finally, development of infrastructure and modern amenities for visitors eventually benefit the locals, who, otherwise faced deprivation from modern-art-of-living due to negligence on the part of the authorities.
But, every coin has two sides, so also the tourism industry which has its own share of cons that can impact the environment, as well as, the indigenous culture negatively.
A few examples of severe effects of tourism
Iconic sandstone 'Duckbill' rock formation of Oregon
This natural and iconic sandstone formation of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, Pacific City, Oregon, was knocked over purposefully by some irresponsible tourists.
Shutting down of Maya Bay, Thailand
This stunning beach of Maya Bay with its aquamarine waters and white sandy beach rose to fame with Hollywood actor, Leonardo DiCaprio's 2000 film The Beach. However, its popularity attracted tourists in greater numbers that eventually damaged the marine life here. Finally, in 2018 the beach was shut down for the tourists for four months to restore the exotic aquatic life and coral reefs.
The famous Stonehenge of Wiltshire, England
Recent years have seen tight security and continuous patrol of armed police in Stonehenge, Wiltshire, for obvious reasons. This iconic site has always astounded people and attracted tourists in greater numbers. But, the heavy influx has robbed the site of its beauty. Tourists stick chewing gums, leave behind traces of their creativity in the shape of wall graffiti on the stones and a few even tried to set them on fire. Vomit, urine and faeces were also found here.
The stunning Uluru aka Ayer's Rock in Australia
A large number of tourists have converted Uluru literally into a wasteland who found no other possible means of relieving themselves. The rock is considered a sacred site for the Indigenous Anangu people. But the remains of human faeces have not only damaged the beauty of this site, but their irresponsible attitude towards Nature has also succeeded in wiping out an entire fairy shrimp species that once inhabited the rock's small pools of water.
The cited examples are self-explanatory.
It is true that young millennials travel more than generation gone-by. This is because the present generation has more disposable income than their parents and also because they are bombarded with lucrative loyalty programs and discounts offered by the travel agencies. And, the ease of booking travel itineraries online, courtesy travel agency software services made holiday planning and booking a child's game altogether.
Negative impact of mass tourism
The first and foremost negative after-effect of mass tourism that comes in our mind is the irreplaceable damage of nature and habitat loss.
Destruction of Nature and Loss of Habitats
In order to accommodate the heavy influx of tourists every year, more and more forests are cleared to build hotels, restaurants and other spots for tourists' interest. But, absence of proper environment protection policies or any sustainable development plan, loss of natural habitats is a fact. And, it is always the flora and fauna that lies on the losing end. Loss of habitat, loss of food, and frequent conflicts with humans prove detrimental to their survival.
The marine life is not spared from the same predicament even, courtesy untreated sewage water that is dumped into the ocean every year. The exotic marine life and coral reefs pay the price for the unmindful behaviour of the people.
For instance -
Australia's Great Barrier Reef is under threat of disappearing soon from the face of the earth.
Loss of Indigenous culture
North Sentinel Island of the Andaman archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, is home to the Sentinelese, an indigenous tribe which has rejected, often violently, any contact with the outside world. Even the Government of India has taken upon itself to safeguard the naive culture of the indigenous tribe.
This is a fact that local people, at times, start imitating the lifestyles of the tourists - they want to dress like the tourists, talk and behave like them, thereby losing their native customs and traditions completely.
The exploitation of flora and fauna
Wildlife safaris are pretty common in some countries, which form an important part of the holiday packages.
For instances -
Elephant safaris are popular in Asia, wherein, clicking pictures with lion cubs are common in South Africa. Again, there are street vendors who carry animals, especially monkeys to perform tricks to entertain the onlookers.
Even though such activities are designed to make visitors laugh and enjoy, but the animals exploited for such shows do not enjoy performing publicly or caged for public exhibition. Visitors are unaware of what goes on behind the screens, but the truth is these animals are tortured and kept in extremely poor conditions.
Such acts deserve strong condemnation and tourists need to abstain from attending such shows for fun. After all, this is no fun for the poor animals.
Environmental pollution
Environmental pollution, whether it is air, water or sound, is one of the major negative effects of over-tourism. Tourists care less about the places they are visiting and tend to discard paper tissues, cups or plates, food wastes and other bric-a-brac wherever they feel like. The famous Stonehenge is a standing example of how tourists tend to ruin iconic landmarks by throwing wastes outside the garbage cans or water-bodies that eventually affect the health of the fauna.
Again, this fact was seen at Ayer's Rock, Australia.
Same goes on with light and sound pollution. The bright light emitted from LED signs on the streets, hotels and loud sound of night-clubs pushes animals away from their natural habitats and alter the simple living habits of the natives.
Irreplaceable damage of historical sites and landmarks
The iconic sites and landmarks face a similar fate as Nature itself. Wall graffiti or 'M+A=Love' marks on stones or vandalism of statues and others are examples of how irresponsible tourism can damage the beauty of those sites. A large number of such iconic landmarks have been destroyed, courtesy negligent attitude of tourists.
Roads and spots congestion
Take a step away from the Insta-worthy posts of the Great Wall of China or the famous Machu Picchu. These popular tourist spots might not be as appealing in reality as they are in such edited social media posts. And, this is because, the new-age Insta-influencers have contributed to raising the flow of tourists to such places manifold, thereby robbing them of the general charm.
All you get to see is the dark heads of the crowd at Nusa Penida, Bali, not to mention the long queues and heavy traffic.
High prices of local goods and services
The heavy influx of tourists has boosted the growth of small and big businesses in certain areas. This benefits the business owners, but prove to be expensive for the locals at times.
Increased crime rates
Every nation has its own set of norms, rules and regulations, but it is the responsibility of the visitors to do their homework before visiting a place.
For instances -
Wearing shorts in Bali is acceptable but locals of other islands in Indonesia will object to such attires. Likewise, tourists are restricted from eating or drinking outside their hotels during the month of Ramadan in Dubai.
Out of ignorance or carelessness, tourists often tend to ignore such customs which disturbs the local culture of the said place and cause unrest amongst the locals.
At times, under-privileged locals, easily tempted by the easy money from the tourists, can resort to criminal activities. Such behaviours eventually lead to a loss of moral and religious values of the people.
Key Takeaway
As mentioned earlier, people will travel and explore to conquer the unknown but adopting a responsible attitude towards indigenous culture, flora and fauna, and the overall environment of the particular place will preserve them for your future generation. And, this is the duty of every single person including the travel agencies, travel agent software development companies and other key players in the industry to ensure tourism brings about positive changes to a place and not impact it negatively.
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Why do online travel agencies and market disruptors put traditional travel companies out of business? Checkout this blog
https://www.behance.net/gallery/94771035/online-travel-agencies-and-market-disruptors
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