Tourism's economic benefits are well known, but concern has been rising over its environmental and social impacts. Using a destination of your choice as a case study, show how these impacts have changed in the past and how policy makers and managers have responded to these changes.
Tourism has had a profound and irreversible impact on many destinations worldwide. As the demand to travel to these destinations increases, there is an unrelenting pressure for development in order to satisfy the growth of this pervasive industry. Between 1986 and 1996, revenues from tourism almost tripled and have expanded by over 50% since then, the highest growth rate of any mainstream economic activity. "Today tourism is regarded as an integral part of the society and economy in terms of contribution, and is widely regarded as the world's largest industry." (WTO, 1998)
"Tourism is the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations, and the facilities created to cater to their needs."
English: Concise presentation of Ayia Napa
English: paradise Ayia Napa street in the early af...
English: Agia Napa Fountain(Mathieson & Wall, 1982, p.1). It is an important and sensitive industry and a principal element for economic development and growth. The economic impact of tourism has rendered the industry to be considered as one of the most highly significant and integral parts of every national economy.
International mass tourism came of age in the islands of the Mediterranean in the decades after the late 1950's. Spain and Italy were among the first to become popular, then in the late 1960's, Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Yugoslavia all began attracting unprecedented numbers of tourists. The Mediterranean has since become a byword for mass tourism in the summer months. Changes in tourism practice and policy around these regions are therefore of significant interest to coastal regions around the...