Understanding World Tourism: Development, Impacts - Essay

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the contemporary tourism industry, focusing on its development and various impacts. It highlights the importance of factors like transportation, pricing, and customer relations in the growth of the industry. The essay discusses both positive and negative economic impacts, such as the tourism multiplier effect and leakage effect, as well as environmental impacts like cleanliness initiatives and damage to natural resources. Furthermore, it examines socio-cultural impacts, including cultural education and the preservation of cultural heritage, alongside negative aspects like the degradation of local monuments and disrespect for local customs. The conclusion summarizes the key factors and impacts, providing a balanced view of the tourism industry's role and effects on the economy, environment, and society.

Understanding
the World of
Tourism

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Travel and tourism industry of UK is the highly growing industry and it contribute to
increase GRP rate of UK. There are various kind of business in this industry like food and
beverages, event organising, lodging accommodation and many others. It is service providing
industry hence it ids essential for this industry to focus on customer satisfaction with their
effective services (Cohen, 2018). Most of the hotels and restaurants work to modify their
services and interior décor of their building in such a manner which will help them to attract
more customers. People travel from destination to destination for different purposes like
entertainment, business purpose, educational purpose and many others. The following file covers
essay on travel and tourism industry of UK which further include development of contemporary
tourism, the positive and negative economic and environmental impacts of tourism. Beside this,
it also include positive and negative impact of socio cultural factors upon this industry and their
future impacts.
MAIN BODY
The study of tourism within an nation or international level is considered as
contemporary tourism. Here, researcher identifies the issues, trends, factors impacting the growth
of this industry and many others. Development of tourism industry refers to the growth of this
industry while resolving each challenge successfully (Dixit, 2019). In context of different kind of
businesses in this industry, it is essential for them to promote their products and services well to
aware their customers and attract them to purchase offered services. Secondly, the most
important factor for the growth of tourism industry is the honesty and loyalty of travelling
company toward their customers. It is essential for the companies to provide actual and and true
services to their clients which they offered in their promotional activities. It will help tourism
industry to grow well by gaining their customer's satisfaction. Some other important factors for
tourism industry growth in UK are given below-
Transportation- It is essential for every hotel and restaurant to check that the area where their
hotels are located must have proper transportation system (Rashid, 2018). Without having any
transportation system will acts as obstacle for their customers to arrive at their destination.
Hence, location for the hotel and restaurant must be selected by focusing on transportation
system.
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Affordable prices for their target customers- It is also essential that the business in this
industry must set the prices of their services according to their targeted customers. For example,
low luxurious hotels and bars have targeted high standard of customers who is having high
income. Therefore, their prices are also high (Hung, 2018). On the other hand, the hotels which
which target medium income customers will have affordable prices of their services for common
their targeted customers. This will help the industry to grow well by satisfying their customers.
Customer relations- It is also essential for any tourism company to maintain good relations with
their customers because it will help them to maintain their brand image in market which further
help them to attract new customers. This factor will contribute to attract new customers for
tourism industry.
The tourism industry provides benefits to the economy and also has negative economic
impact. The primary positive impact of tourism can be showcased through the Tourism
multiplier effect. As per this effect tourism not only creates jobs in the tertiary sector but also
helps in the development of primary and secondary sector. This refereed to as the multiplier
effect in which the money spent by tourist circulates through different levels of the economy
leading to development of all economic sectors (Seyfi and Hall, 2018). Every time money
generated by tourism changes hands it provides new income and continuous series of conversion
of money from tourists. For example money generated by tourism in bath helps in development
of business in bath through multiplier effect (Impacts of tourism, 2021). Another positive impact
of tourism is employment generation across a region. The tourism and travel industry involves
contribution from different business including accommodation services, food and dining services
and transportation business. This leads to employment generation across different sectors which
is highly beneficial for economic development. In case of London, the employment created
because of tourism is equivalent to 2 million jobs (UK TOURISM Statistics 2020-2021, 2021).
The leakage effect showcases the main negative impact of tourism on economy. This refers to
the ways in which revenue generated from tourism is lost to economies of to other countries.
This effect occurs when the money generated by tourism does not benefit the local economy and
instead is leaked to multinational businesses, foreign firms and companies. The leakage effect
has vital impact in case of developing countries that in some cases the revenues generated is
neutralized because of this leakage effect. In case of third world countries such as Thailand 70%
of total money spent by tourists does not benefit the local economy because of leakage effect.
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Another negative economic impact of tourism is that development of tourism in the region
increases the price of various services available in the land. This has negative economic impact
as residents have to purchase various products and services related tourism industry at higher
price. An example is increase in price of visiting local monuments such as Colosseum at Rome
because of heavy tourism (Rome is increasing ticket prices to the Colosseum, 2019).
The positive environmental impact of tourism is that is leads to government investment
in cleanliness drivers and beatification programmes which help preserve natural resources of the
areas. This positive environmental impact is created as governments want to maximise economic
benefits of tourism and attract large number of tourists to clean and environment friendly spots.
The pandemic has increased after the pandemic because tourists are concerned about their
hygiene and safety (With increased demand of cleanliness and hygiene, hotels eye a very distant
future, 2020). This depicts the positive environmental impact of tourism as it encourages private
and public sector stakeholders to take steps towards increasing cleanliness of the region. Tourism
increases local awareness about sustainability which is another positive impact of tourism.
Increase in sustainable tourism has helped build environment friendly travelling destinations and
increased local sustainability awareness. The primary negative environmental impact of tourism
is influx of tourists leads to damage of natural resources through commercialization. Heavy
tourism in Rome and dysfunctional waste management has lead to piling up of trash in the city
polluting the environment (Rome City : the Ancient City of Italy Piling Up the Rubbish, 2020).
Another negative impact of tourism on the environment disturbance of natural ecology because
of tourism. The rise in tourists in a region leads to increased pollution caused by transportation
and other tourists activities. In case of a region which has abundance of natural resources,
tourism activities disturbs natural ecological balance of the area (Sharpley, 2020). This occurs
because the flora and fauna of the region is damaged because of unsustainable tourism.
Unsustainable tourism in Komodo Island has disturbed the natural ecology of the region ans is
threatening the UNESCO status of the area (Destroying the world's natural heritage: 'Komodo is
reaching a tipping point, 2018).
The positive socio-cultural impact of tourism is depicted through educational tourism.
Educational tourism in a specific region helps promote and educate tourists about the heritage
and culture of the specific region. This type of educational cultural exchange helps people
develop mutual sympathy and reduces prejudices. Another positive impact of tourism is that it
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helps in preservation of cultural resources. International tourists provide investment and income
to local communities and they gain the opportunity to showcase their cultural heritage though art,
traditional dance and textiles. Africa has been able to preserve their cultural values and traditions
because of tourism. This is because it gives local talent such as musicians and actors to perform
their cultural traditions in front of an international audience (5 Reasons Your Trip to Africa has
impact, 2021). This promotes and preserves the cultural heritage of the region. The primary
negative social cultural impact of tourism is that influx tourism in specific region can burden the
infrastructure of the region and damage culturally significant areas. Managing large number of
tourists while also maintaining functioning regional infrastructure is difficult tasks. In addition to
this misbehaviour of tourists can lead to degradation of local monuments and invasion of privacy
of local residents. The residents of Rome which is one of the most visited tourist destination in
the world are negatively affected by tourism. This is because many tourists trespass private
property in order to click perfect photos. Apart from this ancient monuments of the city are also
damaged by tourists as many tourists carve their names on the tournaments and break pieces of
such places (News analysis: Rome struggling to manage more tourists while balancing city's own
needs, 2019). Another negative sociocultural impact of tourism is that tourists fail to respect
local costumes which causes cultural clashes in the region. This negative impact can be seen in
case of Kyoto, japan where tourists misbehaved with Gieshas who are part of the ancient cultural
of Japan. Tourists misbehave and take pictures of Giesha without their consent (Japan's Kyoto
Temporarily Bans Rude Tourists from Taking Photos of Geisha Without Consent, 2019).
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CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it is determined that the contemporary tourism industry
includes different types of businesses. The major factor associated with the contemporary
tourism industry includes transportation, affordable pricing and consumer relations. The positive
economic impact of tourism are multiplies effect and employment generation. The negative
economic impacts of tourism are the leakage effect and increase in prices of commodities for
local residents. The positive environmental impact of tourism includes increase in cleanliness
programmes and local sustainability awareness. The negative impacts of tourism on environment
are damage of natural resources and disturbance of natural ecology. The positive sociocultural
impacts of tourism are cultural education and cultural preservation. The negative socio-cultural
impacts of tourism are degradation of local monuments and disrespect of local costumes by
tourists.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cohen, E., 2018. The philosophical, ethical and theological groundings of tourism–an
exploratory inquiry. Journal of Ecotourism, 17(4). pp.359-382.
Dixit, S. K. ed., 2019. The Routledge handbook of gastronomic tourism. Routledge.
Hung, C. T., 2018. Communist tradition and Market Forces: Red tourism and Politics in
contemporary China. Journal of Contemporary China, 27(114). pp.902-923.
Rashid, A. G., 2018. Religious tourism–a review of the literature. Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Insights.
Seyfi, S. and Hall, C. M. eds., 2018. Tourism in Iran: Challenges, development and issues.
Routledge.
Sharpley, R., 2020. Tourism, sustainable development and the theoretical divide: 20 years
on. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(11). pp.1932-1946.
Online
5 Reasons Your Trip to Africa has impact, 2021. [Online] Available through
<https://ntabaafrica.com/reasons-your-trip-to-africa-has-impact/>
Destroying the world's natural heritage: 'Komodo is reaching a tipping point, 2018. [Online]
Available through <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/18/destroying-
the-worlds-natural-heritage-komodo-is-reaching-a-tipping-point>
Impacts of tourism, 2021. [Online] Available through
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z782pv4/revision/1>
Japan's Kyoto Temporarily Bans Rude Tourists from Taking Photos of Geisha Without Consent,
2019. [Online] Available through <https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/japans-kyoto-
temporarily-bans-rude-tourists-from-taking-photos-of-geisha-without-consent-
2365061.html>
News analysis: Rome struggling to manage more tourists while balancing city's own needs, 2019.
[Online] Available through
<http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/20/c_138241728.htm>
Rome City : the Ancient City of Italy Piling Up the Rubbish, 2020. [Online] Available through
<https://earth5r.org/rome-italy-circular-economy/>
Rome is increasing ticket prices to the Colosseum, 2019. [Online] Available through
<https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/colosseum-increase-ticket-prices>
UK TOURISM Statistics 2020-2021, 2021. [Online] Available through
<https://www.condorferries.co.uk/uk-tourism-statistics>
With increased demand of cleanliness and hygiene, hotels eye a very distant future, 2020.
[Online] Available through
<https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/with-increased-demand-of-
cleanliness-and-hygiene-hotels-eye-a-very-distant-future/articleshow/76332105.cms?
from=mdr>
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