3.

4 TOURISM
A tourist is a person who travel or visit places for pleasure. Tourism therefore refers to the occupation of
providing information, accommodation, transportation and other services to tourists.

Tourism is the world’s fastest growing industry especially in LEDS. It is the biggest employer and biggest
contributor to GDP. In recent years, tourism has grown faster than any other industry. It provides jobs to
over 200 million people worldwide. The economies of a growing number of countries especially in LEDCs
depend on income from tourism and jobs it creates.

Origin of tourism. The medical profession is largely responsible for the growth. During the seventeenth
century doctors encouraged people to visit other places for fresh air and experience the benefits of
mineral waters. Later, people started building seaside resorts and people started enjoying the sea
bathing and developed an appreciative approach to coastal landscapes

The growth of tourism in relation to the physical and human landscapes

Physical landscapes

The presence of beautiful scenery has influenced a lot of people to move from one place to another

For example; people travel to see

Mountains

Forests

deserts

lakes and rivers

Volcanic areas

However, the physical landscapes also provide habitat to wildlife which attracts more tourists

Human landscapes such as historical sites

Economic factors

- Availability of good transport networks and increased car ownership eases mobility
- Increasing levels of income, more people are now earning more money encouraging that to use
part of it for relaxing. This allows them to visit various places for leisure.
- Decreasing cost of holidays. More tourist attraction places have been established in the physical
and human landscape. More hotels have been built, thus there is now competition among these
places thereby resulting into the reduction in the costs of these places.
- Globalization has increased business travel and marketing of places so more people have
developed interest to visit such places

Social factors
- Increase in the average number of days of paid leave. Most people are given more holidays in
the year thereby allowing them to explore places of interest.
 - Increasing desire to experience different cultures and landscapes by individuals.
- Raised expectations of international travel with increasing media coverage of holiday, travel and
nature
- High levels of international migration means that more people have relatives in different parts
of the world this therefore encourages them to move from their places to other places for family
reunion
- Elderly – increased life expectancy and early retirement means there are more elderly people
wishing to travel
Political factors
- Many governments have invested heavily in tourism sectors. Making these places look more
attractive thereby encouraging people to visit such places. They have also allowed more foreign
tourism companies to operate in their countries thereby making their countries more attractive
to tourist
- Availability of peace in a country also encourages people to move around

Advantages of tourism to receiving areas

 Economic – it brings money. This is money invested in hotels, attractions, airports, roads and
other aspects of infrastructure that facilitates high volume tourism. It provides government with
considerable tax revenues for provision of various services. It brings in foreign currency which is
used by receiving countries to pay for goods and services they import from abroad
 Tourism can also create openings for small businesses such as taxi firms, beach facility hires
companies and small cafes. It can also support many jobs in the informal sector which plays a
major role in the economy of many developing countries.
 Job opportunities – it provides jobs. Hotels, bars, transport, activities, shops and restaurants all
need staffing. Tourism can provide much needed employment for people. By providing
employment in rural areas it can help to reduce rural to urban migration. Such migration is a
major problem in many developing countries
 Infrastructural – it provides a means and incentive for investment in infrastructure such as
roads, rail networks, electricity, water developments, telecommunications, and local medical
and education facilities
 Environment – it can provide economic incentives for a place to preserve, maintain and
regenerate the environment in both urban and rural settings. For example, in natural forest
parks, people are encouraged to avoid poaching so that the forests are able to attract more
tourist there helping to conserve the wildlife
 Social or cultural impact– When people of different cultures meet, the share ideas, experiences
and cultural beliefs thereby enriching each other’s cultures. E,g New language learning. It can
lead to greater understanding of people of different cultures. It promotes international
connections which can bring more business and cultural linkages in the long term.
 Promotional of an area– it ‘puts a place on the map ‘. Tourism gives the locality a chance to
show itself off and raise its profile in the world.
 Reduces migration
Disadvantages of tourism to receiving area

 Environmental - tourism can often cause environmental damage air, land and water
pollution and congestion (particularly from cars, aircraft and general litter, the loss of
natural habitats and forest fires. Sometimes land is cleared for the construction of hotels
and restaurants
 Cultural and social impact– some local cultural aspects are lost due to the coming of tourist
to that particular area. Local traditions that have rich cultural heritage are changed due to
coming in of tourists. Tourists often lack respect for local traditions and culture, refuse to
follow local dress standards, get drunk in public or behave rudely or inappropriately towards
locals. Local people denied access to beaches to provide exclusivity for visitors. Alcoholism
and drug abuse as drinks and drugs become more available to satisfy the demands of
foreign tourists.
 Growth of tourism contributes to loss of land to tourism companies which was previously
owned by locals, this may contribute to low agricultural yields.
 Tourism dependence – Sometimes tourism becomes so focal that other forms of income
generating activities are neglected and an economic dependency on tourism forms, this is
fine in good times but it can leave the country in vulnerable economic ruin in the long run
and can contribute to political upheaval or natural disasters
 Foreign poaching – Often most of the tourist attraction places are owned by foreign
companies. They make the major profits, leaving the local business with relatively little
benefit
 Tourism labour is intensive however most of the jobs created are low paying and seasonal.
Overseas labour may be brought in to fill the middle and senior management positions
 Money borrowed to increase the necessary infrastructure for tourism increases national
debt. This therefore may increase poverty in the country and slows the development since
more money is spent on repaying back the loans than on development projects
 Some tourists spend much of their time in the hotels with minimum benefit to the wider
community
 The tourist industry has a huge appetite for resources which impinge heavily on the needs of
the local people.
 Economic leakages which are part of the money the tourist pay for a foreign holiday that
does not benefit the destination country because it goes elsewhere. These include;
transport costs paid to airlines and other carriers, the cost of goods and services imported
for tourism.

MANAGEMENT OF TOURISM

As the level of tourism increases rapidly, it is becoming more and more important for the
industry to be responsibly planned, managed and monitored. Sustainable tourism Is tourism
organized in such a way that its level can be sustained in the future without creating irreparable
environmental, social and economic damage to the receiving area. Management strategies may
include;

 Protected areas – These are designated areas to preserve and conserve wildlife and
natural environment. Electric fencing or other forms of security measures are used to
 protect these areas. These include National parks, game reserves. Preservation is
maintaining a location exactly as it is and not allowing development whereas
conservation is allowing for developments that do not damage a character of the
location.
 Tourism hubs – The idea is to concentrate tourism and its impacts in one particular area
so that the majority of the region or country feels little of the negative impacts of the
industry. Benidorm in Spain and Cancum in Mexico are examples where this mode was
adopted.
 Quotas – It involves limiting the number of visitors to particular locations so that the
numbers do not exceed a sustainable level.
 Eco tourism or green tourism– it involves responsible travel to natural areas that
conserves the environment, sustains the well- being of the local people, eco tourists are
more likely to merge and live with local communities and to appreciate local cultures
rather than stop, take photo and move on. These include tree planting, cycling, hiking
Principles of eco-tourism include;

- provide direct financial benefits for the conservation.

- Build using only local products

- Use renewable energy sources
- Recycle all waste
- Employ local stuff
- Promote local culture
Case study: The Maldives
The Maldives is a collection of nearly 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean. Many of the islands
are uninhabited and none lie more than 1.8 m above sea level. The country is classified as a
MIC. The Maldives are located off the southwest coast of India.

The growth of tourism

The Maldives opened its first tourist resort in 1972. Since then, tourism has increased and
2015 saw the highest numbers ever.
The majority of tourists come from Europe. They come to see the coral reefs, clear blue seas
and white beaches. Tourists spend over US $200 million per year, which means that tourism
generates the biggest income for the country. Fishing is the second largest industry, but this
does not bring in as much money.

Managing tourism in the Maldives

Tourism in the Maldives is closely monitored by the government. The Ministry of Tourism
keeps detailed records of tourists and manages numbers on uninhabited islands and coral
reefs. Within 20 years, resort islands could make up about 20% of the Maldivian islands. The
country needs tourists to visit, but the damage that tourists can do when large numbers of
them visit fragile environments must be limited. The Ministry of Tourism has created rules,
such as:
- for each island resort that is created, one island must be left as a reserve

- any new resorts must only be two storeys high

- only 20% of the land area of an island can be built upon

The impact of tourism

As a result of the income from tourism, gross national income - GNI per capita - in the
Maldives is increasing. As much as 11% of the Maldives' population is employed in the
tourism industry. Tourism generates around $600 million a year and makes up around 90% of
the government's income from tax. This additional money has led to many improvements in
the country. It has been invested in schools, hospitals and other sectors of the economy.
Advances in healthcare means that life expectancy has now reached 78 years.it has also
promoted the area to be well known on the world map and more people are getting attracted
to this area
There are also negative impacts of tourism in the Maldives. Foreign companies own many of
the resorts, which means that a lot of money leaves the country. Some resorts are owned by
Maldivian people and this has created a big divide between the richest and the poorest
people in the country. Enrolment in education is decreasing and the country still has high
levels of debt.
EXERCISE