Tourism in Perspective - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 25

Reinforces preservation of heritage and tradition

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Justi es environmental protection and improvement

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Provides employment for artists, musicians, and other performing artists because of visitor interest
in local culture, thereby enhancing cultural heritage

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Provides tourist and recreational facilities that may be used by a local population

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Breaks down language barriers, sociocultural barriers, class barriers, racial barriers, political barriers,
and religious barriers

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Creates a favorable worldwide image for a destination

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Promotes a global community

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Promotes international understanding and peace

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On the minus side of the ledger, we find a number of problems that can be created by tourism,
especially by its overdevelopment:

Develops excess demand for resources

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Creates the dif culties of seasonality

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Causes in ation

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Can result in unbalanced economic development

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Creates social problems

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Degrades the natural physical environment, creates pollution, and contributes to global warming

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Degrades the cultural environment

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Increases the incidence of crime, prostitution, and gambling

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Increases vulnerability to economic and political changes

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Threatens family structure

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Commercializes culture, religion, and the arts

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Creates misunderstanding

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Creates con icts in the host society

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Contributes to disease, economic fluctuation, and transportation problems

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Like all change, tourism exacts a price. However, it is here, it is huge, and it needs to be planned and
managed. The challenge is to get the right balance, which is to have the bene ts outweigh the costs
and take steps to lessen the unfavorable impacts that are a part of change. Tourism development must
be a part of overall economic development and must be done in a manner that is sustainable.

SUMMARY

In this chapter, we have examined the subject of tourism. The rapid growth in the movement of people,
both domestically and internationally, has brought about an industry of vast proportions and diversity.
Also, the industry is universal—found in all countries of the world, but in greatly varied qualities and
proportions.
The economic importance and future prospects are also worthy of careful study. These considera-
tions lead to the ways in which the study of tourism can be undertaken. There are a number of basic
approaches to the study of tourism, and in this topic we include all of them in the various chapters. By
the time you complete the topic, you will know a great deal about the social and economic
implications of tourism, and you will have developed a keen interest in our world and the fascinating
panorama of places, peoples, cultures, beauty, and learning that travel provides in such abundance.