To what extent do the benefits of tourism outweigh the costs? (25)

Chris Kenny Page 13/12/2005

To what extent do the benefits of tourism outweigh the costs? (25)

The benefits of tourism to an area or country will nearly always outweigh the costs provided the resources and area are carefully managed. Tourism will bring increased benefits to the local environment and economy as well as culturally and socially, however there are many risks and negative affects that can also arise from tourism without careful management.

Countries in the LEDW have the most to gain economically from tourism as it can often be turned into a successful income generator such as in Kenya where it accounts for 0% of the GDP. Tourism will benefit an area both directly (in the form of hotels, shop, amenities etc) as well as through the multiplier effect whereby there will be an increase in the number of secondary resources and attractions, as well as in the informal sector. An increase in tourism will result in the improvement of local infrastructure to accommodate the tourist, local people will also usually benefit from this. The government will gain an increase in revenue by means of the extra taxes tourists will generate, this can then be put back in the economy to stimulate further growth. Tourism will also provide work for the local populace, such as in hotels or as tour guides, there is also likely to be a growth in the informal sector, such as street traders selling traditional artefacts and knickknacks. There may also be a revival in local small-scale economies such as craftwork or agriculture.

Although tourism appears to give a lot to the local economy a large amount of the money can leak out of the economy back to the MEDW as in LEDCs most of the tour operators are large multinationals based in MEDCs. As tourism is likely to only be popular in one part of a country a core/periphery division may develop as the government puts the extra revenue tourism has earned it back into the popular areas, rather than the areas where it may actually be needed. This means that the poor outside of the tourist areas may not often feel the benefits of tourism due to poor govt. spending. Local economies may also be harmed by tourism rather than benefiting from it due to the seasonality of much of the jobs provided by it, this as much as a problem in the MEDW as it is in the LEDW. The jobs that tourism provides may also not be of a very high standard and the workers may be exploited in favour of higher profits, higher quality skilled jobs are also likely to be given to workers from the MEDW as multinationals take their own personnel abroad with them. As a resort becomes more popular large multinational shops may move in, such as supermarkets, which aim to provide tourists wit the standards they expect at home, the effect of this is that local shops and business will be put out of business, as well as the cultural impact this will have on an area. Tourism is also a very “fragile” economic commodity and can be effected very severely by external effects such as war, terrorism and disease. The Foot & Mouth outbreak in the UK this year had a huge negative impact on tourism, with both internal and external visitors staying away from the countryside. The terrorist attacks on September 11th have resulted in tourism to the UK to fall by 1/3 since them, and many travel and airline companies have folded. Terrorist attacks at the Pyramids in Egypt several years ago also had a significant impact on tourism, destroying peoples confidence in the country’s safety. If a country is placing most of its faith in tourism then the effects can be very significant when things go wrong and the visitors stop coming.

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As well has having economic advantages and disadvantages to an area there will also be socio-cultural effects. Tourism may stimulate a renaissance in local arts and crafts and dances etc. These may have died out long ago had it not been for tourists willing to pay for them, such as the Maasai of Kenya who sell jewellery and perform ritual dances. There may also be an advancement in societies way of thinking, such as an increased role for women, brought about by tourism, though in some peoples views this may be looked upon as cultural imperialism. Cultural exchanges may also help and reduce racial prejudices and bigotry by to promote understanding between different peoples and races. Cultural and historical sites that may otherwise have gone to ruin can be saved by charities and organisations such as UNESCO, which has protected buildings and sites such as the archaeological site of Olympia in Greece. UNESCO also helps to protect environmental aspects of places as well and has recently designated the Galapagos Islands a World Heritage Site in order to protect it from the ever increasing numbers of tourists which threaten its very fragile ecosystem.

Socio-cultural problems can also arise from tourism and these are much harder to assess and control than economic ones. “Cultural imperialism” is an often used phrase to describe how other cultures, usually Western, can often completely overrun the traditional culture and way of life. The local people in tourist areas can be made to feel as though they are living in a museum and are subjected to “cultural voyeurism” whereby they must put up with people walking and gawping round their homes and villages. The upside of this is that the locals will often not mind this as they will see the economic benefits that they are gaining, such as primary schools and infrastructure etc. Traditional customs though may be changed and “dumbed down” to entertain western audiences or commercialised up to a pint where they are no more than cabaret. A good example of is on Hawaii where the local dances have essentially just been turned into another commercialised dance to entertain American tourists, who want to see what their idea of Hawaii is rather than what it is really like. There can also be an increase in social diseases and problems such as drug addiction and trafficking, prostitution (male and female) and sex tourism (such as in SE Asia). There can often also be a culture clash, such as in Muslim countries that have beach resorts, where Western women will wear swimming costumes that clash with local ideas. The effect of this can be that the native youth also want to dress like that, ignoring their traditional way of life, causing the local culture to be more assimilated in the Western one. Around tourist resorts the local cuisine can often change to cater for the tastes of the tourists, as well as companies like McDonalds moving in, which although it may boost the economy will do so at a price, usually to the local business and way of life.

Tourism can also have a huge effect on the environment of an area. Hotels and resorts may look out of place and can cause a blight on the landscape, as well as pollution of the atmosphere as well as noise pollution chemical, such as from the waste. Some ecosystems are too fragile to support an high level of tourism, such as the Alaskan tundra, Costa Rican jungle and the coral reefs scattered around the world. Heritage sites such as the Acropolis in Greece have low carrying capacities and need in place measures such as limiting visitors and restricting their actions when there. Coral reefs are very fragile and can easily be destroyed by tourists walking on them or picking them. Animals can also be affect by tourism, such as on safaris, where the minibuses can disrupt mating and feeding patterns etc. With all these problems caused by tourism a higher level of protection and management will be needed to protect. Tourism can raise the profile of an area in need of protection and can lead to charities and international bodies helping to maintain an area, such as the WWF which has helped to establish the National Parks in Kenya. This can however have a huge impact on the local people, such as in Kenya where the Maasai were forcibly cleared from their traditional lands because of conservation. If they had been shifted away from their homelands for political or social reasons there probably would have been some degree of outcry, but apparently when it is for conservation it is acceptable.

All the positive and negative effects of tourism require careful balancing and managing. The economic benefits will often outweigh the costs to the local economy but usually not the much harder to measure costs to the local people and their way of life, as well as the permanent damage it can do to the environment. All primary resources, both natural and manmade need careful management in order to protect and preserve them for future use, if they are left to ruin then the country will lose in the long term in favour of short term gains.