Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Increased employment
and the profi ts are taken away from the local area. Also,
larger travel and tourism companies buy their goods
and services centrally in order to get the best prices.
This means that local suppliers are often overlooked
when work is being allocated. Responsible tourism
aims to keep leakages from destination areas to a
minimum by, for example, employing local people and
using local suppliers.
Tourism's ability to create jobs is one of the main
reasons why governments encourage its development.
When compared with creating employment in the
manufacturing sector, service sector jobs in tourism are
seen as a relatively cheap and easy way of making jobs
available, since the associated capital start-up costs
are usually much lower. Direct employment in tourism
occurs in areas such as hotels, transport operators, travel
agencies, tourist attractions, tour guides, government
departments and tour operators. Tourism also
creates indirect employment in industries not directly
associated with the sector, for example in construction,
banking, design and transport companies.
Decline of traditional employment
and seasonal unemployment
Tourism development can lead to the loss of traditional
jobs, when workers move from industries such as
farming, forestry, mining and fi shing into service jobs
in tourism. This was the case in countries such as Spain
and Greece in the 1970s and 1980s during the rapid
growth in package holidays to the Mediterranean,
when people left their work at sea and on the land
for jobs with better working conditions in the tourism
sector. Developing countries that are working hard to
attract tourists experience similar problems in keeping
workers in primary industries. Seasonal unemployment
can be a problem in tourist destinations that are not
active all year round, putting extra strain on local and
national government resources. Measures to extend
the tourist season not only create extra revenue for
businesses, but also increase employment.
Improved infrastructure
As well as generating revenue and creating jobs,
tourism development also contributes to infrastructure
improvements in destination areas, e.g. road and rail
improvements, airport developments, improvements
in telecommunications and utilities such as water and
power supply. In this way, local people can benefi t
from improved facilities that are provided for tourists.
Member states of the European Union can apply for
fi nancial help with infrastructure projects from the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and
other sources, while developing countries are often
supported with funding from the World Bank, United
Nations and multinational corporations to build new
roads, improve water supply and create new tourist
facilities.
Increased living costs
An infl ux of visitors to a holiday area can push up
the prices of goods and services, particularly when
demand is high in peak season. This disadvantages
local people who may have to pay higher prices for
food, drinks, entertainment, transport, events, etc.
Extra charges may be levied on the local community
to fi nance facilities and services for visitors. Through
their taxes, local people may have to pay for facilities
such as tourist information centres and museums,
which are primarily for the benefi t of tourists. Local
people sometimes resent having to pay for the costs of
running travel and tourism facilities that they never use.
Areas of the country that become particularly popular
with tourists may lose their local shops in favour of
retail outlets geared specifi cally to the needs of the
visitors, such as gift shops and cafés. This means that
Negative economic impacts
Although the economic impacts of tourism are generally
positive, it can have some negative economic effects,
including leakage, decline of traditional employment
and seasonal unemployment, and increased living
costs.
Leakage
A leakage occurs in tourism when money is lost from a
destination area. This could be because the hotels are
owned by companies that operate in other countries
