Tourism Industry (Essay Sample)

TOPIC: HOW INTERNATIONAL TOURISM HAS UNDERMINED LOCAL LIVELIHOOD IN THIRD WORLD TOURISM.
INTRODUCTION
Tourism is the fastest growing industry and the fastest growing of it is ecotourism. According to the world travel and tourism council, tourism is the world’s largest industry generating 12% of the global gross domestic product. It has been trying to determine tourism due to amorphous nature of the activity and because some business travelers and convection goers can join conferences and tourism class activities.
Some scholars have tried to explain tourism although their interpretation are uncertain.
Mathewson and Wall (1982) defines tourism as the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their traditional place and work area, the activities undertaken during the stay and the facilities created to cater for their needs. A central part of tourism is just one of this leisure and recreational activities. Tourism is generally viewed as being multi dimensional, possessing physical, social, cultural, economic and political characteristics.
DISCUSSION
Although tourism is said to be an revenue generating business, it has particularly affected the local employment particularly in the third world countries. It has affected the political, social, economic and environmental sectors of the indigenous people. Some of the adverse effects include the following among others, eviction of the people from their ancestral lands, economic dislocation, breakdown of traditional values and decay.
In the 1950’s, the colonial government of Tanzania and Kenya under the British, legalized the hunting and piece of the wild animals by white settlers thus paving the way for the mass tourism. They set up zones for the exclusive benefit hunters and prevented access to the local inhabitants. Lodges and camp sites were established near the area making them substantial income earners. Some 70% of the protected areas and wild life preserves, however, straddled lands of the maasai land. The maasai used these lands for their economic activities and traditional practices. The removal so dislocated them economically.
Destruction of properties by wildlife has also been reported , but the government has not given any damages to affected residents. This has caused disruption in the relationship between the tribes and animals, which gives priority because of tourism. Consequently the maasai are coming to an abhor the real crazy animals they have successfully coexisted for centuries.
Tourism has brought about economic dislocation. The local people in order to secure greater cash income, abandons subsistence agriculture to reach the visitor labor force, with the result that local food production declines. Imported products need to be fed to both hosts and guests, all other services increase in value and inflation commences in an upward spiral.
Tourism brings about the breakdown of traditional values. Its request for souvenirs in their search for local color have caused a decrease in cultural and aesthetic standards. The craftsmen have responded by changing the design and implementation of these products to make them in line with the taste of the tourists. Most of the traders rely mainly on the tourists to buy their products. Therefore, the design has transformed to fit the current requirement of tourist and therefore the visionary argument is not taken into consideration. It lacks the cultural significance and aesthetic value to set African art.
Social systems of the local people affects young people in traditionally closed societies perceive freedom of movement of tourists, especially among western women traveling alone. Young people violate their community rules and regulations and also create touring their country. They consume their limited resources and to get more they engage in deviant behavioral norms. E.g young girls have engaged in prostitution with tourists so that they can give them money. Also, they have engaged in practices they follow from the tourists like use of narcotics, scanty covering among others.
Unfavorable development has resulted from tourism. The advents of largescale tourism often necessitates the removal of local control to a central government, which has the potential to compete internationally for the tourist traffic by offering concession in the form of favorable taxes or negotiated property values to cause a considerable hotel chain to construct facilities. When a potential tourist attraction is recognized e.g roads, hotels in tourist sites like in mombasa, kilifi among others. The money might better have been spent on farm support and endemic health problems since tourism would benefit only a few individuals locally.
Tourism is often seasonal, leaving hotels free, carriers and tour operators with peripheral wheels and employees jobless. Unless a extensive sound financial base live, individuals tied to tourism either feast or famine.
Access to beaches and parks for tourists that are closed off to local people in favor of tourists and richer residents make jealousy among the locals and defiant attitude progress towards foreigners.
Misunderstandings may result in the process of tourism i.e among the locals and also the guests. For tourists to change in the new environment, they should be ...