Social Impact of Tourism Development in Manchester - Essay Example

?The tourism industry, by attracting tourists from different parts of the world, ensures that local residents, governments and all people should maintain their cultural and natural heritage, which is necessary for economic development and for transferring impaired natural resources to the future generations (Bhattacharje, 2003). Conservation of cultural heritage for future generations is mandatory as it makes them have a clear picture of the history of their beloved country. Environment is also one of the most important entities that need to be conserved for future generations so that they can acknowledge the boundless beauty of God Almighty. Tourism development starts with the construction of hotels, resorts, restaurants, shopping malls, beauty salons, maintenance of infrastructure, art galleries, museums, water parks and much more. Construction of all these spots is essential if any country wants to earn high revenues from the sector of tourism. Many countries have been famous for their tourism industry namely Rhodes island, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Manchester and Mauritius. In this paper our focus of discussion is Manchester. The tourist culture of Manchester offers tourists an opportunity to discover Manchester’s art and cultural scenes for which it has been and still is famous for. You can have an idea of its beauty and diverse culture scenes either by reading through different articles or by walking through the city. Most of the individuals visit this place because of its remarkable and endless and take with them unforgettable memories of their visit. Though, tourism industry is still going through development but then, that also serves as an additional aspect to its natural and incredible beauty. Positive and negative aspects of tourism: Tourism affects economy in many ways. Few of the positive aspects of tourism development on economy includes increase in employment, uplifting of economic growth, avoiding migration of local residents, helping in interchanging local products, ideas, costumes and developing a sense of conserving environment in local population as well as in tourists (web 1). Apart from this, visiting other countries helps in developing long term and cordial relations. It builds positive attitude and respect towards each other (Mirbabayev and Shagazatov, 2003). It also provides an opportunity to study and understand each other’s culture and traditions without destroying each other’s cultural heritage. It increases self-esteem of host country as well as of tourists and one attains psychological satisfaction through interaction. Apart from positive aspects, tourism also affects economy negatively by increasing the consumption of ground, water and energy. Moreover, for the purpose of attracting more tourists huge attention might be paid to the development of new infrastructure that leads to the destruction of landscape (web 1). In addition to these, introduction of new species of plants and animals that might alter the ecosystem can be one of the reasons of tourism effecting economy adversely. Here, the focus of discussion is social impact of tourism development in Manchester. In order to analyze this topic in detail, semi structured interview was conducted, in which local residents were interviewed and the information collected helped researcher to probe into the minute details of the issue under study. Research strategy: Research strategy constitute of primary data collection and secondary data collection. For the purpose of carrying out this research, data was collected through primary source and the instrument used for data collection is unstructured interview. Interview: An interview consisting of 15 questions was conducted in which local residents of Manchester were interviewed in order to evaluate their perception regarding social impact of tourism development in Manchester. Following are the questions that were asked from individuals: 1. What is your name, age and nationality? 2. To which income level you belong to? 3. For how long you have been living in Manchester? 4. What are the most fascinating factors that made you to love the place you reside in? 5. Do you think that Manchester is famous for its diverse culture tourism? 6. Do you think that tourism affects culture and economy? 7. Do you think that tourism industry of Manchester needs to go through development process? 8. To what degree of extent you think that tourists behave in an environmentally conscious way? 9. Do you think that inclination of tourists towards spending their holidays in Manchester has increased because of its unpolluted environment and good infrastructure? 10. Do you think that developments made for attracting tourism are contributing something bad towards the beauty of Manchester? 11. Do you think that tourism is helpful in sharing norms and traditions with strangers? 12. Do you think that increased tourism in Manchester is increasing crime rate, gambling and prostitution thus, affecting society as a whole? 13. Do you think that promoting tourism is better for a society as a whole? 14. Do you perceive that Manchester will remain preferential place for tourists because of its hospitable residents? 15. Do you think that tourism in Manchester has some social impact? After the collection of relevant information through interview, I moved on to the analysis of results, which is important for evaluating social impact of tourism development in Manchester. Profile of respondents: 15 residents were interviewed for this research. Their age ranges from 25-50 years and 5 of them belonged to middle income level, eight of them belonged to upper middle and two of the respondents belonged to higher income group. All of them were UK nationals. Three of them were living in Manchester for 10 years, whereas the rest of them were living there for 20 years. For the purpose of analyzing results, responses from all respondents will be included because all of them responded to the questions very well and cooperated a lot. Detailed analysis of results will be carried out for the purpose of deriving positive results from the information gathered from the interviewees. Each questions analysis is given as under: Analysis of results: Manchester city has not been cultivated and developed for tourism, instead it was built and developed in a way that it attracts huge number of tourists every day from different parts of the world (Smith, 2007). When asked from the respondents regarding fascinating factors of Manchester, they reported many factors that make them love this place. Manchester’s fascinating factors: Manchester is a place with attractive and unforgettable sights. It has a history of diverse culture and music. It not only offers beautiful landscape, but also offers many other recreational activities and things to see and enjoy. This very aspect of Manchester made it the most preferable place for the workers and firms to establish their offices at this place (Nolan, 2010). Residents of Manchester also reported the same aspects regarding the fascinating factors of Manchester. They were of the view that its endless beauty, unpolluted environment, access to all the facilities and luxuries of life has made them fall in love with this place. As they have been residing there for many years, they reported that apart from all the factors, locality and clean area is most desirable and Manchester offers them exactly that. In addition to this, beauty salons, water parks, restaurants, hotels, beauty spa, health facilities and huge shopping malls have also made their lives easy. Thus, we can say that Manchester is a place that is housed with all the facilities and luxuries of life and its beautiful landscape and surrounding further enhances its beauty and makes it the most preferable place for the residents to live in. Most of the respondents attributed their love for this place to its natural beauty. They were of the view that fresh air, beautiful surroundings, green plants, sunny mornings, cold weather and tasty food is what that makes this city perfect and this is one of the reasons that they prefer this place for their living. Manchester: diverse-culture speciality: When inquired regarding Manchester’s diverse culture that is promoting tourism, respondents gave somewhat surprising responses. Manchester city is housed with many beautiful art galleries and museum that are the master piece of art and design and depict past of this beautiful place. The master pieces displayed in these art galleries and museums show evolution, architecture and engagement of people from all walks of life for designing those master pieces. They have designed them in a way that they depict popular culture of Manchester. In addition to this, there are several other master pieces housed in these art galleries that depict the culture of various other countries and so it is also famous for the depiction of diverse cultures. People from different countries pay visit to this place and the reminiscences of their historical events depicted in the form of beautiful master pieces get carved in their memories. Thus, the diverse-cultural specialty of Manchester has made this place the foremost preference of the tourists. Moreover, the residents of Manchester also reported that during vacations people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds visit this place every year and spend memorable time here. Tourism effects culture and economy: When the residents were inquired about tourism effects on culture and economy, most of them responded that tourism does affect culture and economy. Cultural heritage and progressive economy are the marks of identification for every country. Manchester, being the most favorite and preferable place for tourism, do have some social impact when it comes to culture. People from different parts of the world, having different norms, traditions and belief systems come to this place, thus sharing their culture and traditions with local people, which when persisted for a longer period of time, can cause severe threats to the cultural practices of the local residents. Coming to the economic growth and development, tourism has always been considered as a contributing variable towards the growth and development of the economy. Tourism creates employment opportunities, increases revenues collected from imposition of taxes and also increases income of local residents, consequently improving their quality of life. Thus, this implies that tourism is contributing towards the uplifting of economic growth and development and has on impact on cultural values of the local residents as well. Though, tourism contributes a lot to the economic growth but most of the respondents were of the view that people coming from different areas are deteriorating their cultural values and traditions by modifying them into their values and beliefs systems. Uplifting of economic growth helps Manchester to create more employment opportunities, consequently attaining the goal of full employment and satisfied citizens. Tourism development: According to the statistics, United Kingdom is the country that is earning huge international tourists receipts. This showed that United Kingdom is going through huge development of its tourism industry that is helping it attract a huge amount of customers every year. When respondents were inquired regarding the development of tourism industry in Manchester, they replied that Manchester is one of the tourists’ places that have undergone huge development in past few years and apart from its social impact on Manchester, tourism industry has continued its development with the aim of earning high revenues each year during vacations. Manchester’s tourism industry has always paid huge attention to the availability of facilities that provide convenience to their guests. For that purpose, huge shopping malls, parking lots, beautiful buildings, play lands and much more have been built so that people can come and enjoy their vacations to their full. Thus, the respondents were of the view that tourism industry in Manchester need not to go through further development as it has already destroyed much of the natural beauty of Manchester. Environment conservation: One of the largest growth areas in UK i.e. recreation and tourism, has huge environmental implications. Need to conserve environment and directing individuals’ behavior that are environment friendly is desirable for promoting tourism in Manchester (Publishing, 2001). It happens most of the times that people while visiting recreational places do not value its beauty and throw litter everywhere. This thing not only destroys the natural beauty but also creates pollution. Most of the respondents, when inquired regarding conservation of environment by tourists, were of the view that people coming and visiting this place from different parts of the world do not behave in environment conscious way and seem indifferent to the factor of conservation of the environment. This implies that tourism in Manchester has serious environmental implications and tourists need to be educated regarding this aspect. Manchester’s unpolluted environment and good infrastructure: Manchester is famous for its beautiful surroundings and landscape. People from all over the world prefer Manchester during vacations as their destination because of its unique and adorable beauty. It houses many worth seeing places like water parks, cafes, shopping malls and much more. One of the most famous parks of Manchester city is Heaton Park. In addition to many worth seeing places, fresh and relaxing air also adds a lot to its beauty. When respondents were asked about the possible reasons of huge inclination of tourists towards Manchester, they reported that beautiful infrastructure and unpolluted environment are one of the most important reasons. Manchester no doubt, is bestowed with many beautiful and worth seeing places. Huge buildings are the hall mark of her beauty. However, the natural beauty has got affected with the construction of huge buildings and shopping malls. Tourism industry claims that they are improving infrastructure for attracting tourists but in real terms they are ignorant of the fact that they are destroying the natural beauty by cutting trees and reducing greenery from different places for the purpose of maintaining good infrastructure. The respondents were of the view that huge developments in tourists industry are deteriorating the natural beauty thereby, depriving Manchester with master pieces of nature which were considered as the hall mark of her beauty 10 years ago. Most of the countries, for the purpose of attracting huge number of tourists, ignore the fact that they are destroying natural beauty by constructing huge building and continue to do so for their self-interest. This is the reason that pollution has increased a lot in many countries because of reduction in greenery and green plants that are so necessary for a healthful environment as we all breathe in it. Sharing norms and traditions: Each nation has its own culture, values, beliefs and traditions. Most of the times, they get affected when outside entities try to modify them. Respondents when inquired regarding this aspect were of the view that they have their own traditions, values and belief systems. Individuals from other countries, when visit this place and stay for a longer period of time, do affect their culture and traditions. They were of the view that it is difficult to share ones traditions and beliefs with strangers but being hospitable requires them to behave in a way that tourists feel at home and for that their cultural values get hindered because of external entities. It is natural phenomenon that when people visit other places, for whatever reason, they try to seek comfort and for that reason they tend to change host country’s tradition by incorporating at least some of the flavor of their cultural values and traditions. Thus, this implies that tourism development has social impact in a way that it tends to change cultural and traditional systems of host country. Tourism: source of increasing crime rate: The responses from the respondents during the interview do not signify clearly that there exists any relationship between crime rate, gambling, prostitution and tourism. They were of the view that only 1% of the people are involved in such activities and involved in worsening the situation. As a matter of fact, most of the people plan their vacations with their families and prefer to spend time with them and do not indulge in such activities. However, those who come along with their friends are involved in such activities and have serious social implications. This thing not only destroys their image but causes severe problems for host country as well. Social impact of tourism: Manchester people, famous for their hospitality, invite people from different parts of the world every year. Tourists around the globe come and visit this place and admire it for its famous beauty and beautiful landscape. Though, tourism brings huge revenues for UK’s government but it has some serious social implications as well. Most of the aspect like sharing of norms and traditions, increase in crime rate, threats to natural beauty due to improvement in infrastructure have been discussed in detail initially. Answer to the question that whether tourism is better for the society as a whole is twofold. Based on the analysis of the respondents’ responses it has been inferred that most of the people living in Manchester are in favor of tourism. A relationship between income group and favoring tourism has been observed. As people from high income group are more towards enjoying their vacations at various tourism places, hence they are of the view that tourism is better for a society as a whole as it creates employment opportunities, increases income of the people by making them charge high prices for the products sold during peak season, consequently improving their standard of living. On other hand, people from low income group did not favor tourism as a contributing variable towards the welfare of the society because they were of the view that people visiting Manchester do not value its beauty and destroy its infrastructure by indulging in bad activities. Secondly, they were of the view that with the development of tourism industry, locals are given low profile jobs as of a waiter, servant, and house keeper etc. and they admire the living standard and life style of individuals visiting Manchester and this develops a sense of inferiority in them. In addition to this, they perceive that people visiting this place consider that they are giving the people of Manchester worth of being paid and try to incorporate their cultural values and traditions into their value system thus deteriorating their cultural and tradition system. This implies that Manchester’s residents hold different opinions regarding tourism development in Manchester and its social implications and suggest improvements in tourism industry so that people visiting this place should conform to host country’s policies and strategies. Critical analysis: The overall results collected from the analysis of the respondents’ responses showed that tourism has an impact on society as a whole, and the factors responsible for this social impact in Manchester are the different nationalities that visit Manchester, their different attitudes, difference in culture, traditions and belief system, and their perceptions. These elements have contributed in a positive way as well as in a negative way to the development of tourism in Manchester. However, whatever the direction of influence, be it positive or negative, one cannot deny the fact that Manchester’s government and tourism industry is earning huge revenues from the tourists that visit this place every year. Inclination of people towards spending and enjoying their vacations with their families have increased significantly over the past few years and they prefer to visit this place that provides them maximum entertainment in cheaper rates. In addition to this, they prefer to visit places that are extraordinary so that they take with them unforgettable memories of their visit. Manchester provides everything to its visitors so that they prefer to come and visit this place again and again. Though, it has few environmental, economic, social and cultural implications, nonetheless it attempts to devise ways and means of keeping its customers happy and satisfied. Bibliography Dr. Bhattacharje. S. (2003) Tourism: an impact on society and culture [online] Available at: http://dspace.iimk.ac.in/bitstream/2259/542/1/91-94.pdf [accessed 5th March, 2011] Mirbabayev, B. Shagazatov, M. (2003) The Economic and Social impact of Tourism [Online] Available at: http://www.grips.ac.jp/alumni/UzbekistanTourism(2).pdf [Accessed 6th March, 2011]. Nolan. E. (2010) Top Manchester’s sights to view [online] Available at: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1838398_33.html [Accessed 5th March, 2011] Publishing, T. (2001) Environment and Nature Conservation, Crimson Publishing: UK. Smith, M.(2007) Tourism, Culture and Regeneration, CABI: Wallingford. (Web 1). Impact of Tourism [online] Available at: http://html.rincondelvago.com/impacts-of-tourism.html[accessed5th March, 2011]. Read More