Advantages and disadvantages of tourism

So many places in the world rely heavily on tourism as a key source of income and employment nowadays, but tourism can also be a source of problems for places. The constant flow of foreign visitors can often undermine the beauty, uniqueness and social coherence of a tourist destination over time, unless the process is properly managed. This article seeks to list all the main advantages and disadvantages of tourism.

It brings in money. This is probably the main advantage of tourism and the reason why it has been promoted so much in recent years in developing countries especially.

It provides jobs for the locals. Hotels, bars, transport, shops and restaurants all need staffing and tourism can provide much-needed employment for people.

It raises the profile of the place generally. Tourism gives a locality the chance to show itself off and raise its profile in the world.

It can provide a incentive for investment in infrastructure such as roads and rail networks, as well as funding local medical and education facilities.

Tourism can provide economic incentives for a place to preserve and upkeep their urban and wildlife areas.

Tourists often cause environmental damage, with things like pollution and forest fires. Even if tourists behave responsibly, the sheer number of the them can cause problems. Things like ancient buildings, monuments and temples often struggle to cope with the vast amounts of tourist traffic and suffer wear and tear, or damage.

The commercialization of culture can undermine the soul of a tourist destination. Local traditions that have a rich cultural heritage are reduced to wearing costumes and putting on acts for the tourists in return for money.

Tourists can often lack respect for local traditions and culture, not following local dress standards, for example, or getting drunk in public, or behaving rudely or inappropriately towards locals.

Tourism can also bring with it unwanted behavior such as petty crime, prostitution and drug dealing.

Although often jobs are created by tourism, most are relatively low level, such as bar work, hotel service, restaurant serving, etc. with little prospect for promotion.

Tourism jobs are quite commonly seasonal and insecure with no extra benefits, such as pensions, sick pay, or health care.

Money can end up being directed to tourist areas when it could be used more effectively elsewhere in a country - the locals who don’t live in specific tourist areas miss out and suffer relative decline.

Often much of the tourism industry (travel companies, hotels, etc.) in a developing country is actually owned by big foreign companies, who make the major profits, leaving locals with relatively little benefit.

Tourism can create an imbalance where it becomes so successful that other forms of income generation are neglected and an economic dependence on tourism forms. This is fine in the good times, but can leave the country vulnerable to economic ruin, if it suffers political upheaval, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters, and the tourism consequently dries up.