Impacts of International Tourism

The impacts of international tourism are explicit and according to Bagley et al, 2002, "a desecration of the indigenous environments, economies and culture of places that tourists frequent". Tourism is one of the fastest growing international industries. According to WTO (World Tourism Organization) International tourism receipts for 2004 are estimated to be $525 billion (www.wto.org). The trend suggests that tourism is on the increase and as globalization occurs, the ease and accessibility to the developing and fragile countries becomes easier. The development of a sustainable and harmonious industry may be overlooked to create a quick profit margin. Lockwood et al, 2001, suggests that tourism impacts are influenced by the characteristics of tourists including age, sex, disposable income, motivation and attitude, number of tourists and length of stay. Therefore, each individual is different, requiring different services, visiting different attractions and using the natural, man made and human resources of the country that the tourist visits.

English: The Great Wall of China, near Beijing in ...

World Tourism Organization

English: Ecotourism in Svalbard. Français : Écot...

It according to Annan, 2001, it is this dependence and draining of resources that impact upon the sustainability and success of tourism in countries. Therefore, for this essay one will predominantly look at the impacts of international tourism in the world we live in.

As previously mentioned, tourism is one of the most lucrative industries in a country. It is able to generate billions of pounds of revenue for the government in a rather short period of time as compared to the other industries, such as agriculture, which is a dominant industry in the more developing nations, (Harris, 2002). Tourism provides revenue which can be used to finance government expenditure, reduce the country's national debt or improve the country's economy. However, the government is pressurised to promote the country in order to ensure enough tourists visit the country and make use of the facilities...