Exploring Economic, Environmental, & Socio-cultural Impacts of Tourism

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the development of contemporary tourism and its multifaceted impacts on economic, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects. It begins by outlining the historical evolution of tourism, highlighting key factors such as globalization and technological advancements that have shaped the industry. The essay then delves into the positive and negative economic impacts, including employment generation, investment attraction, multiplier effects, and infrastructure costs. Furthermore, it examines the environmental consequences, such as funding for conservation efforts versus environmental degradation and pollution. Finally, the essay explores the socio-cultural impacts, focusing on cross-cultural interactions, awareness creation, socio-cultural tensions, and the exploitation of vulnerable populations. The conclusion emphasizes the need for sustainable tourism practices to mitigate negative effects and maximize the benefits of tourism for both host communities and visitors.

Understanding the World
of Tourism

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
Describing development of contemporary tourism along with discussion of its positive and
negative economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts...................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Tourism refers to travel for business or pleasure. It is an act together with process to spend
time in pursuit of relaxation, recreation and pleasure at place which is away from home while
using commercial provision of services. World of tourism includes collection of services,
practices and industries that deliver travel experience including accommodation, food and
beverage establishments, entertainment businesses, transportation and other types of hospitality
services that are provided for people or groups which travel far from home (Tourism industry:
Everything about Tourism, 2021). Tourism industry is diverse, however, plays key function in
economic prosperity of various nations. It provides ample number of benefits for countries
attracting large proportion of visitors.
The essay discusses about development of contemporary tourism. It also highlights
positive and negative impacts on environmental, economic as well as social cultural aspects.
MAIN BODY
Describing development of contemporary tourism along with discussion of its positive and
negative economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts
Contemporary tourism is said to an approach that entails activities concerned with short
term movement of individuals and group to locations that are away from the places where they
live. Tourism industry is world’s largest industry which drives economy of a country to huge
extent. Tourism first began to develop during 17th century in which wealthy Europeans follow
Grand Tour of western Europe that started in UK prior travelling to Italy (Sharma and Nayak,
2019). Throughout the period of 18th and 19th century, various developments are experienced by
the tourism industry through producing costs as well as price reductions that brought more
locations and destinations into affordable consumer choices. By 1975, World Tourism
Organisation was established to promote responsible, sustainable addition to universally
accessible tourism. The changing face of political structure in UK fostered development of
tourism through enhancing cross border relationship, border restriction began to ease and
regulation began to develop. It produced growth of interest among population, from which
tourism industry benefitted because of development of infrastructure and various places of visit
due to enhancement of inbound tourists.
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Globalisation is one of significant factor that played key role in development of
contemporary tourism. It enabled promotion of destination to wider marketplace internationally
and provided opportunity for enhancing number of tourists (Hamouda, 2018). Moreover, till
2005, it opened tourist market of UK to global corporations including hotel groups, travel
operators, etc. in the period of 2006 to 2018, tourism of UK analysed adaptability and
technological development enabled tourism to provide wider destination productions that
addresses demands of mass market addition to individual tourist consumer requirements. Being a
vast country, ethnic and family factor is significant factor that represents desire of citizens to
visit one’s friends and relative or meeting new people in order to seek new friendships. It is
significant factor that developed contemporary tourism with each passing year.
Identification and discussion of positive and negative economic impacts of tourism
Tourism is among most significant components of international economy. While actual
value of tourism is complex to determine accurately, economic potential of tourism is
indisputable. It is determined that it generate employment for mass people of country. It is seen
that UK have tourism industry worth over £257 billion that is just under 10% of GDP which
supports more than 3.8 million jobs. Economic impact of tourism is amplifying as it employs
local people that improves their spending level and living standards (Hales and Jennings, 2017).
Another positive economic impact of tourism is attracting investment. Tourism develops
infrastructure and build interest among investors to make investment of substantial amount to
gain huge profits in return. In the field, attraction of investment plants a sense of exchange of
values among foreigners and citizens. For example, attracting investment results in improving
balance of payment, stimulation of domestic household and regional development in economy.
In contrary, there are various negative economic impacts of tourism. One is multiplier
and leakage effect as money invested or generated by tourism is lost to another economies of
nations. Economic leakage because of tourism depends on specific destination and its
development. It leads to neutralise money that is generated in particular destination and restricts
its development. For instance, in developing economies, money is utilised for development of
infrastructures for tourism by government, but, profit earned from tourism industry is exported to
other developed nations at the time of when investors finance hotels and resorts. Another
negative economic impact of tourism is cost of infrastructure. Development of tourism could
cost local government along with local tax payers huge monetary resources (Lewis and
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D'Alessandro, 2019). Moreover, tourism require improvement of infrastructure facilities that are
costly in nature which impacts maintaining amount of required reserves in an economy.
Identification and discussion of positive and negative environmental impacts of
tourism
Tourism relies as well as widely impacts on natural environment of a country in which it
operates. In various situations, environment is significant resource which outdoor recreation
along with ecotourism cannot exist without. Environment is total conditions wherein biotic and
abiotic species interact and live. Tourism bring wider people to a particular area continuously
which possesses diverse attitudes. One of positive environmental impact of tourism is it raises
funds to protect environment. Investment is sustainable option in tourism which assist in raising
funds to put in place various policies and framework to protect environment along with boost the
industry at international level (Hillman and Radel, 2018). Moreover, with enactment of
regulatory measures for developing environment of destinations, government is working towards
adopting and implementing regulatory measures. These measures assist in controlling visiting
number of vacationers, limiting accessibility in protected area along with setting restrictive
legislations that are directed for conserving environment, such as offset programs.
On other hand, it is analysed that tourism impacts negatively on environments of a
country through degradation as well as loss of aesthetic landscape and natural ecosystems.
Improper development of infrastructure including extensive paving, unplanned construction of
buildings along with waste disposal system resulted in increasing number of tourist visits that
degrades natural ecosystem and causes loss to natural habitat (Lubowiecki-Vikuk and Sousa,
2021). Tourism leads to many kinds of environmental pollution as tourism and some of
practices by tourists adversely impact destination area through certain environmental pollution
such as air, land, soil, etc. For example, various tourists litter and leave garbage and waste such
as plastic wrappers that causes plastic pollution addition to land pollution. Also, cigarette butts in
nearby areas causes air pollution on environment,
Identification and discussion of positive and negative social cultural impacts of tourism
Society is community as well as broad grouping of individuals living in certain area
having common interests, traditions as well as activities. Society is a system of relationship of
population that shares sense of common identity. Impacts which tourism have on social and
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cultural aspects are based on guest to host as well as host to guest changes or influences (The
positive and negative effects of tourism on the social-cultural environment of a country, 2021).
One of positive social cultural impact of tourism is increasing cross cultural interaction among
society. It is determined that when wider number of people come from far distance places
addition to interact with local residents of the destination, it enhances cross cultural interaction. It
fosters exchanging of culture that develop mutual sympathy among citizens and develop
understanding about thinking of each other which reduces prejudices. Another socio cultural
impact of tourism is creating awareness among people. It is analysed that development of
tourism build awareness among group of people about significance and value of cultural,
archaeological, natural and historical sites. Moreover, it stimulates feeling of pride within local
together with national heritage that builds consciousness of more and more people.
Despite of positive impacts, there are certain negative impacts of tourism on aspect of social
cultural. One of negative impact of tourism in social cultural dimension is commercial
exploitation of young women and children. In growing tourism industry in various parts of
globe, commercial sexual exploitation of children along with young women has been increasing
(Seyfi and Hall, 2018). For example, children are exploited in tourism sector through forced
labour, human trafficking and enforced begging. In various cases, exploitation occurs through
forced interaction with volunteers, increased risk of abuse and loss of rights to privacy. Tourism
also results in socio-cultural tensions as there is growing comparison among ‘haves’ as well as
‘have-nots’ in less economic developed nations.
CONCLUSION
From the presented information, it is concluded that world of tourism is rapidly developing
across the globe. It has resulted to establishment and development of various infrastructures in
tourist origin as well as destination regions. There is wider interaction of tourist with economy,
culture and environment of particular area when they initiate along with reach while endeavour
tourism. Some of economic impacts of tourism includes generating employment, attracting
investment, cost of infrastructure as well as multiplier and leakage effect. Various
environmental impacts of tourism are raising funds, adopting and implementing regulatory
measures, environment pollution, degradation as well as loss of aesthetic landscape and natural
ecosystems. social cultural impacts of tourism are increasing cross cultural interaction among
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society, creating awareness among people socio-cultural tensions and commercial exploitation of
young women together with children.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Hales, R. and Jennings, G., 2017. Transformation for sustainability: The role of complexity in
tourism students' understanding of sustainable tourism. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure,
Sport & Tourism Education. 21. pp.185-194.
Hamouda, M., 2018. Understanding social media advertising effect on consumers’ responses: An
empirical investigation of tourism advertising on Facebook. Journal of Enterprise
Information Management.
Hillman, W. and Radel, K., 2018. Qualitative methods in tourism research. Channel View
Publications.
Lewis, C. and D'Alessandro, S., 2019. Understanding why: Push-factors that drive rural tourism
amongst senior travellers. Tourism Management Perspectives. 32. p.100574.
Lubowiecki-Vikuk, A. and Sousa, B., 2021. Tourism Business in a VUCA World: Marketing
and Management Implications. Journal of Environmental Management &
Tourism. 12(4). pp.867-876.
Seyfi, S. and Hall, C. M. eds., 2018. Tourism in Iran: Challenges, development and issues.
Routledge.
Sharma, P. and Nayak, J. K., 2019. Understanding memorable tourism experiences as the
determinants of tourists' behaviour. International Journal of Tourism Research. 21(4).
pp.504-518.
Online:
The positive and negative effects of tourism on the social-cultural environment of a country.
2021. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/positive-
negative-effects-tourism-social-cultural-prince-mdusman>
Tourism industry: Everything about Tourism. 2021. [Online]. Available through:
https://www.revfine.com/tourism-industry/
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