Tourism and National Economic Growth - Essay Example

? Tourism and national economic growth A. Binns, Tony and Etienne Nel. “Tourism as a local development strategy in South Africa”. Issue of The Geographical Journal, 168.3 (2002): 235–247 The scholarly article states that tourism which was known as a “poor strategy” (Binns and Nel 235) is now regarded as an important factor for local economic development (LED) in South Africa. The number of foreign visitors had steeped from 4.5 million in 1994 to 8.5 million in 2002 (Binns and Nel 238). Apart from Kruger Park and Cape Town other areas are also being opened as tourist destinations. New initiatives in the form of hosting of many cultural and arts events, urban redevelopment programmes, expansion in game parks are being taken to promote tourism in the country (Binns and Nel 239). One of the well known examples in tourism driven LED seen in South Africa has been the small resort named Still Bay. It has a definite tourist footfall (Binns and Nel 240). The article addresses the environmental concerns too. For example, in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, heavy demand for firewood to be used in cooking and heating had severely reduced many small riverine forests (Binns and Nel 237). The article “Tourism as a local development strategy in South Africa” focuses on how the socio- environmental resources are being utilized to promote local economic development (LED) which in turn leads to national development. The article highlights the initiatives taken by the government to promote tourism as a means to bring about economic development in the country. It mentions the increase in number of the foreign tourist visits from 1994-2002 which in turn boosted the nations GDP. This article helps in understanding how the unexplored locales in a country can be turned as hot spots for vacation. The article explains different ways for attracting tourists. It throws light on the different environmental issues that arises because of these plans. B. Travel & Tourism to boost UK economy in 2012, October 4, 2010 The website article shows the economic condition in UK and the growth in its tourism industry. The economic condition in the country has been seeing a downslide ever since the onset of the anticipated depression. So, the market has turned toward the travel and tourism industry to boost its economy. According to the article, the tourism industry would increase by 1.3% in 2012 that would be twice the rate of growth which was predicted to be only 0.6% as per the International Monetary Fund. This rate of growth will indicate that the Travel & Tourism industry would be generating revenue of ?35.6 billion and create almost 950,000 jobs within the British economy. During 2012 it is expected that around 30 million visitors would be coming to the UK, as reports had shown the country to maintain a good position in being a most-visited destination. In 2011, the total economic contribution from Travel & Tourism amounted to US$6.3 trillion in GDP thus creating 255 million jobs. This contribution had represented 9% of the total GDP, ranking 1 in 12 jobs (Travel & Tourism to boost UK economy in 2012). The website highlights the predicted increase in the number of international visitors in the country. It also showed the number of jobs that would be generated out of the tourism industry. The article presents a comparison between the number of visitors and the jobs created out of the tourism industry between 2011 and 2012. It shows how the industry had contributed US $6.3 trillion in GDP during the year 2011 thus drawing to the conclusion that there is tremendous opportunity to gain economic growth from the tourism industry. C. Roy, Jose, Kenya Packages Tourism as a Key Source of Economic Growth. 2010. October 4, 2010 The article in the news source states that Kenya has become a favorite tourist destination that is also helping in its national economic growth. The reported mentioned that the Kenyan tourism industry had experienced a good business in the year 2010 after it had declined consecutively over the last two years following political instability as well as the global meltdown (Roy). Latest figures had indicated international arrivals in the beginning of 2010 to be the highest ever recorded in the tourism sector which had surpassed 2007 which was the best year for the industry by almost above 5,000 visitors. Tourism has turned to be the highest revenue earner for Kenya more than its agro-industry. By June 2010, 482,950 foreign tourists had arrived in Kenya which was a 17 percent increase in comparison to the same duration last year. The article contained a statement by Mr Richard Yoga, Ashnil Mara Camp Manager, that his facility had recorded a high occupancy rate of more than 90 percent in comparison to the 40 percent recorded previously in the year which was driven by the visitors from Europe. This article helps understand that tourism could also become as an economic growth driver apart from the traditional industries. The article throws light in the growth in tourism that is directly related with Kenya's GDP. It was around 4.2 percent in 2010 and is expected continue to increase at the rate 4.3 percent through 2020. The earnings in that period amounted to Sh41.24bn as compared to the Sh21.86bn in the same period as in 2009 which was as per the data submitted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (Roy). This showed how tourism helped in achieving economic growth in the country. D. Stolarick, Kevin. “Creativity, Tourism and Economic Development in a Rural Context: the case of Prince Edward County”. Journal of Rural and Community Development 5. ? (2010): 238–254 The article portrays that tourist destination does not only mean the selected places but can be the traditional rural areas too. This was shown by the Prince Edward County which is a small island in Canada. The island set the example that even rural areas could turn into profitable tourist destinations. However it also made it clear that the standards maintained in these rural areas must be improved so as to cater to the tastes of the international visitors (Stolarick 251). Tourism, especially the tourism which would be focused on the recreational, cultural as well as heritage experiences could benefit the overall economic development in rural areas thereby contributing to the national economic growth. The article emphasizes on the potential of rural places that could be turned into tourist destinations. This in turn could lead to economic growth and increase in revenue. However, the article mentioned that the culture and appeal of the tourist places in these regions need to be modified according to the preferences of the visitors to retain their interests. Works Cited Binns, Tony and Etienne Nel. “Tourism as a local development strategy in South Africa”. Issue of The Geographical Journal, 168.3 (2002): 235–247 Roy, Jose, Kenya Packages Tourism as a Key Source of Economic Growth. 2010. October 4, 2010 Stolarick, Kevin. “Creativity, Tourism and Economic Development in a Rural Context: the case of Prince Edward County”. Journal of Rural and Community Development 5. ? (2010): 238–254 Travel & Tourism to boost UK economy in 2012, October 4, 2010 Read More