The Price of Tourism - A Burden or a Benefit?

I have travelled a lot, but I find myself questioning the validity of Tourism more & more.  Almost all human actions have good & bad repercussions, often things we haven't anticipated. Holidays are important in our busy lives, but I do think we need to be aware of the possible consequences of our actions. I can see it when I go into Oxford, which is literally swamped with tourists & I can see it when I travel abroad.

Tourism puts huge stress on land use & environment leading to:-

• Soil erosion & damage to landscape
• Increased pollution, litter & vandalism
• Increased water use resulting in lowering of the water table
• Habitat loss & impact on endangered species
• Fires
• Traffic congestion  & air quality

There are also a financial issues:-

• Local goods can become expensive because tourists will pay more
• Tipping becomes expected & disproportionately high in comparison to wages
• Changes in the local population's relationship to material goods
• Higher living costs
• Loss of local businesses
• A high proportion of tourism wealth does not filter down to local communities, but goes to big multinational companies.

 Sociological changes:-

• Erosion of local culture 
• Acceptance of "Western" mores which may not be appropriate
• Conflict due to the above

Our desire for more authentic and challenging experiences results in our ever increasing desire to go to more remote destinations, to the few remaining pristine and natural environments left on the planet. Our actions & presence can destroy the things which made tourism develop & flourish in the first place.

Eventually tourism constructs a huge superstructure & infastructure to meet it's needs - hotels, restaurants, shops, roads, water & power supply. The destination develops, more tourists arrive. Their impacts increase accordingly.

There is a huge demand for water. Rivers can be altered, excessively extracted, and polluted by the demands of tourists. Noise & light pollution increase, disturbing wildlife and altering behavior.  Generators provide power & increase noise & pollution. An increase in food and drink consumption creates waste, much of which is not biodegradable.Waste disposal is an issue in places which do not have the sophisticated methods that we are used to in the West.

Tourists can be toxic to both people & places.

 

 https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/05/tourism-four-times-worse-planet-previously-believed