Clara Soo Wen Lin (8)

4E

Geography Essay Tertiary Industry: Tourism Question: Which reference to examples, discuss the impact of mass tourism on destination countries. [15m] While tourism generally refers to the temporary, short-term movement of people to places away from home for at least one night, mass tourism entails highly organised movement of large numbers of people travelling to mainstream destinations a one time or on a particular destination which has been over-exposed by single tourists having been there repeatedly. Just over a hundred years ago, tourism was only available to the very wealthy, but notable advancements in air travel technology from the mid 20th century triggered mass tourism, attracting those on lower incomes because of the increased transport affordability. Since then, the world has been experiencing phenomenal increase in international tourism, from 25 million tourists to almost 600 million by 1997. Not only so, popular tourist destinations areas, which refers to the places that tourists travel to, have experienced a gradual shift from traditional holiday locations like Europe and North America to more exotic places such as Asia, North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. The growth of the tourism industry has made it one of the worlds most important service industries, generating approximately 5% of worldwide gross domestic product (GDP). Like any other influential industry, the tourism industry brings about its own effects including both the upside and the downside to the economic, socio-cultural and environmental aspects of the destination countries. Infrastructural developments, foreign exchange earnings as well as the generation of employment and government revenue due to the expansion of the tourism industry brings about great economic developments for destination countries. Thailand is an example of an increasing popular tourist destination largely due to its weather, rich culture and history. International tourists are mostly concentrated in Thailands fabulous beaches and bays such as Phuket, Ko Chang, and Ko Samui. With over 9 million foreign tourist visits to Thailand in 2000, the tourism industry earned Thailand US$6,695 million about 17% of the countrys total GDP. In addition, nearly half of all jobs in Thailand are in the service sector, with a large proportion either directly or indirectly involved in the tourism industry. Being an industry with very strong multiplier effect, the income earned in the tourism sector has helped the country to carry out much needed infrastructural developments such as the Bangkok monorail system which aids in easing problems of traffic congestion in the capital. Despite the long list of advantages mass tourism can bring, there are several hidden costs to tourism that can result in unfavourable economic impacts to countries of tourist destination, especially among the LEDCs since major corporations are usually owned by the MEDCs. Thailand, being an LEDC, is a victim of such tourism leakages. An estimated 60% of total income generated by Thailands tourism industry is sent abroad yearly, with most of this going into the pockets of transnational corporations (TNCs) that own many of Thailands hotels as well as restaurant chains like McDonalds. This is often due to the inability of the destination country to meet the demands of the tourists in areas of infrastructure, facilities, food, and other products, which leads to LEDCs relying on MEDCs investments to provide suitable

conditions that will attract tourists. As a result, the situation of leakages in the earnings from the destinations tourism industry arises when overseas investors who finance the r esorts and hotels take their profits back to their country of origin. Mass tourism also provides opportunities for exchange of cultural values and allows preservation of the heritage in tourist destinations. The presence of tourists promotes interaction among tourists and the local people, allowing both parties to better understand various cultures and social practices. Heritage, on the other hand, encompasses anything of value inherited from the past and can be in the form of hardware or software. Tourist interest in local heritage ensures the survival of cultural skills of practices. For example, tourist demand helps preserve Thai crafts and tradition such as making paper and lacquerware that could otherwise be lost, thus playing an important role in the preservation of Thailands unique culture. Yet, Thailand is also gradually losing its cultural identity when the introduction of foreign culture occurs to suit tourists. The arrivals of many TNCs such as McDonalds that are familiar to the fo reign tourists taste buds also mean that there is the dilution of Thailands rich cultural heritage since it may influence the eating habits of the Thai people. The large numbers of visitors to Thailand has also resulted in conflict of resource use. For instance, Ko Tao, one of the small islands of Thailand, has begun to suffer from severe water shortages as tourist demand for showers and toilet facilities has increase. Besides its impacts on the economic and socio-cultural aspects, increasing trends of mass tourism have also brought about positive and negative impacts on the destinations natural environmental, whether directly through tourist activities or from the provision of infrastructure for tourism needs. In the recent decade, many have flocked to Switzerland to experience its spectacular scenery like the Alps and to engage in many recreational activities available in holiday resorts. Although large numbers of people have learned more about the natural environment of the country such as the Alps, the country has suffered from extensive environmental degradation. Threats posed by mass tourism on the environment include extensive deforestation as a result of land alteration for the provision of hiking trails, ski runs, cable car systems and sports grounds and so on. Pollution by huge amounts of waste disposal associated with the manufacture and disposal of sports equipment and the construction and demolition of buildings is also evident. Activities such as white water rafting and skiing have caused negative impacts on the river gorges and snow regions respectively. Thus, it is of paramount importance for tourist destinations to achieve a balance between the need to sustain the industry and the need for environmental preservation. Therefore, with the increasing trend of mass tourism, the increasing power and influence of ever-growing tourism industries encapsulates not only the positive, but also inevitable negative impacts at the same time. (999 words)