Nowadays it is more convenient and easier for people to travel to other countries.

Is it a positive or negative development?

Travel industry has experienced a major boom in the later part of the 20th century
and has been a boon in disguise, which has helped some weaker nations to uplift
their failing economies. While questions have been raised regarding the negative
impacts that accompany the growth in the travel sector, these definitely do not
outweigh the associated benefits.

The economic boost that accompanies a successful travel industry is quite well
recognised and Thailand is the best example. The entire Thai economy revolves
around tourism and the country had been able to uplift its socioeconomic status
through its flourishing hospitality sector. Egypt is another nation that is heavily
dependent on its hospitality sector. The growth in the number of incoming tourists
leads to innumerable prospects in terms of local entrepreneurship and employment
generation. This is also associated with international investments and infrastructure
development. The national authorities, in order to ensure safety of the international
visitors provide better law and order enforcement, improved transportation and
healthcare facilities, which in turn benefit the local population.

On the other hand, the rising influx of holidaymakers is associated with increased
incidences of crimes, prostitution and antisocial activities like drugs, human
trafficking and gambling, which affect the values of the indigenous society. The local
population are also affected by the growth in property value indices.
Environmentalists are also concerned regarding environmental remodelling, that is
associated with increased tourist activities in natural reserves. In this context, it is
worth mentioning that, by enforcing stern law and order and implementing strict
legislations, governments can control most of these negative impacts of tourism.

Henceforth, it can be confidently conveyed that, even though the growth in travel
industry has accompanying negative social impacts, these do not outweigh the
contributions made by this sector towards social development.