Tourism is an activity of visiting places of interest for recreation or business purposes. Some of the fundamental reasons people travel are cultural exploration, trade, and commerce, recreation (sightseeing and adventure activities), Research, Religious pilgrimage, etc. The activity can be domestic or international not limited to a single purpose. The people who travel to the place for tourism purposes are called tourists. In broad, tourism offers opportunities for tourists to interact with the local people and experience their culture. As most of the human activities tourism has its own set of disadvantages along with the advantages. In this essay, we will evaluate both aspects of tourism.
The primary advantage of tourism is economic opportunities. the locals get the opportunity to raise their economic status by facilitating visitors with facilities. Establishing accommodations and facilitating the travelers as a guide employs the people directly and services like travel agencies can flourish. Tourism requires infrastructure and facilities like transportation, baking, and insurance, health services, communication facilities, developing these help generate jobs and create economic activities for the people.
With great experience, direct Word of mouth recommendation, a key factor for tourism promotion, Promotional activity is easier with tourism. People who have explored the place would convey the essence of the palace and attract more tourists to the place. The local people are highly benefited as their local culture gets flourished to different corners of the world and the exchange of culture is possible. The environmental aspects are also benefited as they hand economic incentives to their preservation and promotion. Both urban, as well as rural settings, can be managed with tourism to enhance its prospects in further days. The developing countries can raise their status in various ways through the provision of tourism.
Tourism can also be a major cause of cultural clashes as the minority might not be able to defend their traditions that affect their ethical values. The resources might be degraded and pollution can be felt as a consequence that victimizes the local people living in that area. Tourists might not be responsible for their obligations of preserving the original statue of the environment and pollute them during their visit. They may also leave a negative influence on people in the name of western culture that acts as an obstacle for cultural promotion.
Tourism is not a reliable economic opportunity as the flow of tourists is seasonal. There can be peak hours as well as dry seasons where the local people will be affected. The low remuneration of hard-work is very common that demotivates the involved staff. Foreign poaching also demotivates the local people and unbalanced funding is created. Robbery of valuable weapons of ancient monuments would leave the country in a loss as tourism cannot flourish in the absence of the essence of places. Therefore, it is a threat to economic stability and a question mark to cultural promotion.
As a whole, tourism is an ultimate way to mark the place in the world map with its peculiarities. Tourism is an interesting field that can help a country thrive their ethics and welcome visitors from different corners of the world. There has to be a reliable agency to look after them to avoid damages to the natural environment and ancient monuments. Hence, it can be a platform to get recognition for culture, place, and local people.