Tourism a Curse or a Blessing

Over the past thirty years tourism has grown very rapidly as well as becoming one of the main sources of income for countless countries around the world. At the same time, awareness about issues such as its possible harmful effect on the natural and cultural environment as well as the local economies has been raised. Meetings such as the 1992 Earth Summit, which was attended by 178 nations from all over the world, reflect the importance of theses issues.Although it has been claimed that this important industry has many drawbacks,tourism responsibly developed is a powerful tool to fight against poverty and to protect both the natural and cultural environment.

On the one hand it has often been claimed that the influx of tourists on the region or site can be so numerous that sooner or later it starts to become degraded, and the very reason for being a 'tourist destination' gets lost. Actually there is sound evidence of the damage that tourism can cause to tourist resorts such as Barbados. However, this evidence does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that the industry should be banned or limited. It rather means that tourism should be planned more carefully in order to protect not only the natural but also the cultural heritage of usually underdeveloped countries. According to the Tourism Council of the South Pacific (TCSP), tourism, soundly managed has probably become the single most important economic incentive for environmental protection. As a consequence, this council has proposed that an ecotourism policy should be developed in its member states. This involves respecting the cultural and natural heritage and retaining it in its original state.

On the other hand, critics of the tourist industry, maintain that it is organized in such a way that 75% of profits are siphoned off by first world entrepreneurs which end up exploiting local people in underdeveloped countries. They take as an emblematic evidence the case of the classic holiday paradise of Maldives where nearly half the local population are living on just over a dollar a day. Nonetheless, this evidence should lead us to think of better ways of planning the industry.The point lies not in halting the tourist industry but in a better management. For example, providers of tourist holidays could be organized as cooperatives so that benefits are equally distributed among the local communities.

It should be evident, that the arguments usually used against tourism are not valid. On the contrary many people involved in the tourist industry agree that it is a tool which, seriously planned, is intrumental in providing jobs for thousands of people and in helping to conserve the natural and cultural environmet as well. Despite the fact that tourism has affected some countries in a negative way, it would be a big mistake to banned or limit the industry. The local economies as well as natural and cultural heritage sites are not safe just because they hardly received the influx of tourism. On the contrary, it would cause local people to pay less attention to their natural and cultural heritage sites which no longer benefit them in an economic way. Therefore, in my opinion, tourism is a powerful tool which properly used can be a blessing to humanity.