Some commentators such as Medlik (1991) in his book has said that tourism in developed countries can be regarded as a mainly social activity with economic consequences, whereas in developing countries it is largely an economic activity with social consequences. To support Medlik’s statement one could look at developing countries to see the social and economical impacts of tourism.
In countries that primarily rely on a single industry, such as agriculture, the introduction of tourism has often led to decline of the agricultural base of the country (McIntosh et al, 1995). In developing countries agriculture is a low productivity industry. The promise of higher wage draws more people to the tourism industry and away from farming. Agricultural output declines as a result, which causes social upheaval and rise in food prices. In the mid 1970s, some Caribbean countries experienced a wave of protests and even attacked tourists, because they were dissatisfied over rising prices. One believes that the events in the Caribbean reflect the social consequences that Medlik (1991) had mentioned.
Having dealt with the public and private sector, one could say that the private sector has a strategy of serving market demands and requirements to maximise profit margins. Private businesses such as Airtours or JMC provide most services that the tourist needs to get to the destination and the product consumed while on site. The public sector on the other hand owns and manages the destination’s infrastructure and is concerned with the countries overall well being. One could say that after reading the literature available, both the public and private sector are ultimately concerned with developing tourism because of the great demand for it and the economic benefits it brings.
Impacts of development
Tourism and tourist destinations will continue to grow in both developed and developing countries. The consequences of such development will be both positive and negative. As we have seen so far, the positive aspect is predominantly economical benefits and also the public sectors actions of improving and maintaining tourist destinations. Now we will be looking at the negative impacts of tourism development.
Tourists and tourism itself seems to create many problems, many literature available have mentioned its detrimental effects of the environment and culture. Plog S.C in Theobald has argued that touristic experiences just create ‘physical deterioration of the facilities, destruction of the environment, destruction of local cultures’ (1996:41-42).
There are numerous examples of negative impacts from tourism, one such example would be the problems faced in the Mediterranean. In 1992 it is estimated that 100 million visitors went to the Mediterranean coastline, the major problem from this mass tourism was water pollution and erosion (Burns et al, 1995). This is not an isolated case other tourist destinations have also been affected example being the deforestation of the alpine areas in the Himalayas (Croal. J, 1995).
Directly or indirectly tourism is a fabric part of the worlds industries including retailing, advertising, transportation, food industry amongst others. Communication from one side of the planet to the other are very easy now thanks to advancement in technology, ‘greater knowledge of the world and the perception that it has shrunk thanks to television, the internet and high speed transportation links’ (Brown, 1998:18).
This idea that the world is shrinking is known as globalisation. Some academics such as Plog are concerned with this globalisation process, they see it as a negative aspect of tourism. The worry of Plog is further reinforced by Brown (1998), he has hinted that globalisation process could result in cultural homogenisation or a large amount of pressure to retain cultural identity.
From the work of Brown (1998), one could worry that the ongoing process of globalisation is creating an environment where it’s possible to lose one’s sense of place and identity. Tourists visiting countries can be accused of exporting their own western values onto the local culture. A case study as cited in Burns et al (1995:128) mentions about Tourism in Solomon Islands. The article states that the culture, art forms, dance and songs of the Solomon Islanders have become a tourist commodity. Ultimately these acts are becoming devoid of their true meanings.
In some countries mass influx of tourists has resulted in increased levels of crime. Ross’s (1992) study of residents in an Australian city showed that residents recognised the major positive impacts of tourism on the economy, however they believed the major negative impacts were on housing and crime levels. A study of South Dakota by Caneday and Zeiger (1991) implied that residents acknowledge the importance of tourism, however, they were concerned about potential impacts caused by the reintroduction of gambling into the community. McIntosh et al (1995) have mentioned in their book that resentment by local people towards tourists is caused by the gap in economic circumstances, behaviour patterns, appearance and economic effects. Negative social effects of tourism could be related to South Africa, particularly in the form of racial tension between hosts and the visitors.
In short other undesirable activities which affect the society are gambling, pollution, destruction of natural scenic areas, prostitution, pollution, traffic congestion amongst others due to the influx of tourists. Having mentioned the negative impacts of tourism development, one has to now consider possible ways of promoting tourism in a constructive manner in the future.
Ways of promoting constructive tourism
Some countries have already taken actions actions against the problems created by mass tourism. The UK body Tourism Concern has cooperated with Nepal’s Anapurna Conservation Area project to produce a set of guidelines for tourists, aimed at preserving the unique environment and ancient cultures of the Himalayas. The code expresses the wishes and needs of the people (Croall, 1995:82). Some of the codes suggestion include limiting deforestation by making no fires, follow local customs for eating greeting, giving and receiving, leave plants to flourish in their natural environment amongst other sets of codes.
Other ways of planning tourism more constructively in the future is greater government intervention in policies and tourism regulation. One example of such form of development taking place is in Papa New Guinea. The Papa New Guinea five year development plan (1990-5) was conceived at the first National Symposium for Tourism held in early 1987 (Burns et al, 1995:193-4). Some of the objectives included development of training and education opportunities, encouragement of village tourism through technical and financial help amongst others.
A large amount of tourists in small communities will have greater impacts on local residents, whereas larger communities are likely to remain unaffected by tourists (Sharpley 1994:194). Conversely to reduce the negative impacts whilst maintaining the economic benefits of tourism, some smaller destinations such as the Seychelles are adopting policies of promoting themselves as an upmarket destination. These countries are hoping to attract smaller number of higher spending tourists (Sharpley, 1994).
Having looked at the literature available, one has to summarize and say that the impacts of tourism have been immense. One has looked at ways of promoting tourism in a more constructive way, and with so many methods and ideas available it is impossible to fit all in one assignment. Therefore there are so many ways of developing tourism constructively I have only looked at a few options.
From a personal perspective one believes that the impact of tourism development has been both positive and negative. One would agree with Brown (1998) and say, that the process of globalisation is creating an environment where it is possible to lose ones culture as tourists implement their own western lifestyle onto the locals. This process of losing ones culture is called “acculturation”. Pioneers of the conflict theory, epitomised by Marx and Nash (1989) believe tourism works as an agent of social change. People like Crick (1989) as cited in Sharpley (1994) have argued that tourism has become a scapegoat for socio-cultural change. This view of Crick is supported by Smith (1989) and points out after her study of Eskimo tourism in Alaska, that it is the effort of the government to improve housing, education, medical care and infrastructure rather than the growth of tourism, that has been the key element in bringing about modernisation and social change (Sharpley, 1994:197).
As we have seen, some academics have pointed out the detrimental effects of tourism such as crime in tourist areas. However, Pizam et al (1995) have found that tourism had a negligible effect on crime. They mentioned that tourism is a potential determinant of crime, negatively affecting the quality of the environment. One could say that the tourism development cannot be held responsible for occurrence of crime, ultimately it is the criminals who target tourists and local businesses.
In conclusion I believe that one needs to understand the impacts that tourism has had on the world we live in. Many academics have mentioned the problems of development of tourism, others have showed the benefits it brings. From the discussion above one can make up their own mind and say that tourism is an essential part of life, whether it’s good or bad it’s open to debate. It is the worlds single largest industry and it affects every one of us, and it is safe to assume it will affect us for the rest of our lives wherever we live.
References:
Brown, F. (1998) Tourism Reassessed: Blight or Blessing. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
Burns, P and Holden, A (1995) Tourism a New Perspective. Prentice Hall UK.
Croall, J (1995) Preserve or Destroy: Tourism and the Environment. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
Glen F. Ross (1998) Psychology of Tourism 2nd edition. Hospitality Press.
McIntosh R.W, Goeldner C.R, Ritchie R (1995) Tourism: Principles, Practices,
Medlik, S (1991) Managing Tourism. Butterworth Heinemann Ltd.
Philosophies 7th edition. John Wiley and Sons Inc.
Priestley, G.K. Edwards, J.A. Coccosis, H (1996) Sustainable Tourism. Oxon:CAB International.
Sharpley, R (1994) Tourism, Tourists & Society. ELM Publications
Theobald, W. (1996) Global Tourism. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
Bibliography:
Haralambos and Holborn (1995) Sociology: Themes and Perspectives 4Th edition. Collins Educational.
WTO (1997) International Tourism: A Global Perspective. World Tourism Organization.
Singh V, S. (1999) Tourism Development in Critical Environment. Cognizant Communication Corporation.