Benefits and problems of tourism
Tourism can bring both benefits and problems to an area.
Positive effects of tourism
- Ceates employment opportunities for local people
- Promotes cultural awareness and can help preserve local culture and
traditions e.g. Masai Mara in Kenya
- Income from tourists can be used to develop local infrastructure and
services e.g. new roads and airports. In LEDCs money can be spent on developing access to education, clean water and sanitation
- Foreign currency can help local people
- Natural features that attract tourists in the first place can be
protected using income from tourism
Negative effects of tourism
- Tourism can have a negative environmental impact. This is at a range
of scales. The increase in air travel has contributed towards
increased carbon dioxide emissions. On a local level natural features
that attract tourists are themselves under threat due to human
actions.
- Often local people are employed in low skill, poorly paid work in
unsatisfactory working conditions
- Travel agents, airline companies and hoteliers benefit more than local
companies when holidays are booked to destinations in LEDCs
companies based in MEDCs set up luxury hotels in LEDCs. The profits
usually return to MEDCs. They also create more competition for locally
run guest houses
- Help destroy local culture and traditions
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