Unit 10: Tourism - benefits and disadvantages of tourism to receiving areas

Evaluating benefits and disadvantages of tourism to receiving areas

Source: http://hubpages.com/politics/Advantages-and-disadvantages-of-tourism

(From Ibike):

Advantage (depending upon implementation some of these can turn into disadvantages)

• employment (1 emp/1000 tourist) (labor intensive, few administrative positions, little upward mobility.)
• infrastructure development (roads, water, electricity, telecom and cybercom, but not necessarily local priorities.)
• cultural preservation (economic incentives to preserve food, fashion, festivals and physical history, but these tend to be superficial elements of a culture.)
• environmental protection (econ incentives to preserve nature, wildlife and urban cleanliness)
• foreign exchange (generates resources to import food, pharmaceuticals, technology, consumer goods.)
• development of health care services (those these aren't always available to local people.)

Disadvantages (depending upon implementation some of these can turn into advantages)

• cultural destruction, (modernization (world mono-culture), freezes culture as performers, loss: language, religion, rituals, material culture.)
• primary products (sun, sand, surf, safari, suds, ski, sex) (little value added, neo-colonialism)
• environmental destruction (game drives, resorts: golf, ski, beach, desert, world as play ground, SUV.)
• marginal employment (low skill, low wage, menial services, prostitution, drug trade, gambling, hustlers.)
• low benefits (no job security, no health care, no organizing, no work safety rules or enviro standards.)
• development of illegal and/or destructive economic activities (markets for drugs, endangered species, etc.)
• outside hiring (skilled middle and senior management recruited out of the area and transferred in.)
• concentration employment (walled resort enclaves.)
• seasonal employment
• outside decision making (decisions made outside of the area, corporate dollars corrupt government.)
• unrealistic expectations (divert young people from school and brighter futures.)
• anti-democratic collusion (industry support of repressive governments)
• land controlled by the elite (people relocated, agriculture eliminated, prohibited from N.P.)
• negative lifestyle's (STD's, substance abuse, begging, hustling)
• diverted and concentrated development (airport, roads, water, electricity to tourist destinations, development not accessible to locals),
• little forex stays in country (airplanes, vehicles, booze, hot air balloons, generally have foreign owners),
• package programs
• cruises (eat and sleep on board so the economic benefits to the ports-of-call is very thin and limited.)
• unstable market (fickle, affected by local and world events, generally highly elastic)
• health tourism (traveling to get medical procedure at lower cost) has it own set of unique challenges, which include: Determining the credential, skills and quality of the facility and personnel. Language communication challenges on topics requiring a lot of details, sometimes even when both parties seemingly speak the same language. Different cultural issues and expectations around health care and the body.  Post-treatment complications, after the "tourist" has left the facility.

Source: http://www.ibike.org/encouragement/travel/tourism.htm