Tourism: Opportunities for Sustainable Development of Areas - Essay Example

Tourism: Opportunities for Sustainable Development of Areas. Introduction Tourism has the ability of bringing cultures and people together under one umbrella. Globalization and the internet have shrunk the world considerably increasing awareness of different places and encouraging tourism to hitherto relatively unknown places. Infrastructure has developed worldwide as the internet allows people are able to see facilities available in other places. Connections have improved between countries and within countries allowing for easier access to different places. Low cost air carriers have increased rapidly. Tourist destinations have become more responsive and creative in meeting the needs of customers. Tourism has become a model of economics that can bring all round development of an area. Tourism has become an important contributor to GDP of every nation, and some countries have more visitors than the indigenous population. Positive Benefits from Tourism Tourism is promoted by national governments across the world. Tourism has provided good influx of foreign exchange for developing nations (Sharpley 2002). The income generated through tourism is often used to preserve architectural and historical monuments (Fraser Coast 2005). This helps to conserve local resources that the government can use to meet other local developmental needs. The social, environmental and economic benefits should outweigh the costs for tourism development to be successful. The foreign money earned from tourism industry provides an opportunity for diversification for the cash strapped economies. It also provides an opportunity for the economy to be less dependent on traditional industries like agriculture, fishing etc. Tourism and the influx of tourists allows local industries to flourish, however, it has also brought in the chance to charge exorbitant prices that fleece customers (Kumar 1999). The money earned from tourism is usually spent on developing infrastructure, roads, transport and communication network- development that helps the local economy as well as eases movement of tourists increasing the potential for more tourist flow. Residential areas, service apartments, more hotels are some of the developments catering to tourists (Liu 2003). It can also encourage the local community to maintain their culture, which is loved by everyone (Tourism Queensland 2006). Often, tourists let the locals know what is quaint or good about their culture, things that locals may have been blinded to out of sheer habit. Negative Aspects of Tourism If there is a positive, there has to be a negative aspect. There are some negative aspects of promoting tourism in an area. Though obtaining resources to maintain and preserve the local environment is a positive, there are occasions in which private firms turn a blind eye to environmental issues to maximize profits. Building newer, more comfortable facilities for tourists may take place displacing local communities, especially poorer local communities like fishermen or those living in slums. Environment protection zones are often neglected as construction takes place to feed off the tourist economy. There has been concern of using too much water and the depletion of water has affected the ground water level (Tourism Concern 2008). Waste removal has become a big concern for the local population with popular beaches becoming garbage dumps. Heaps of rubbish blocks beautiful views and pristine locations. More than fifty tons of plastic, glass, metal and other waste have been dumped in Mount Everest between 1953 to 1990 (Ryan 2003). Marine life has been affected by indiscriminate water sports. There are cases of local business being overrun by big multinational hotels. The local market becomes inflated as tourists spend more on the items purchased and sellers focus on selling to the tourists to maximize profits, hiking prices even to the local customers. Employment opportunities are not a constant factor in tourism sector. Employment in tourism sector depends on the inflow of the tourist. Tourist inflows are dependent on the situation. Terror attacks, Tsunami, SARS attack all have an impact on the tourism inflow. There are also friction of giving jobs to local people in the tourism area as there are wide spread allegation that big jobs are given to people outside the community. Local communities are provided the lower jobs with managerial expertise brought in from outside (UN Environment Programme 2002). There has been accusation of development of areas exclusively for tourists resulting in a sort of racial discrimination. Conflicts have arisen because of the inability of the foreigner to understand and respect local culture ( Nicholson-Lord 2002). The situation can be explained well if hordes of tourists want to be served liquor in a religious place like Saudi Arabia. There has been a question of staged authenticity. In some places people are forced to wear traditional dresses to welcome a guest to a place like hotel and so on (Ryan 2003). A Path Out Tourism industry has to become sustainable in a local area and for that certain principles have to be followed. Visitor satisfaction has to be ensured but that does not mean value of tourism as a form of development has to be forgotten. Long-term sustainability of resources has to be maintained. The government should create the ideal economic environment in which the private sector should participate. Some Case Studies India-Kerala A state Kerala from a developing economy India is chosen to show the benefits that tourism has brought. Beaches in Kerala have retained their sensitivity to local culture by not allowing partial and full nudism. Certain beaches that are well attended by local families were left out from the tourist area and steps were taken to filter the flow of tourists into these areas. Beach resorts were started in isolated areas giving a sense of comfort to the tourists. Kerala did promote tourism by giving diversified products like Beach tourism, Wild-life tourism, Spice garden tourism, Back-water tourism, Health tourism, Culture tourism and so on. The inflow of tourists into Kerala has been controlled by the image of conservation projected by this state from India. Tourism enterprises are checked and controlled by the presence of strong government measures that has meant that fast wild and uncontrolled growth of tourism has not taken place. (Kerala Tourism Watch 2008) Kerala did project a unique concept in the form of stay at home. Tourist can stay in a local house and the hosts will give homely food of the choice of the tourist. The tourist will be provided with all safety as the government that meets strong regulations chooses the houses. Kerala Government has set up environmental tourism with the help of locals in the form of organic farming and spice garden. That has ensured some additional income to farmers and has gone a long way in promoting tourism. (Kerala State Organic Farming Policy and Action Plan, 2007). Kerala has perfected the art of monsoon tourism. That has resulted in a new condition called peak season and green season. Every time rain engulfs Kerala, there will be one set of person taking their heads out in anticipation of whether there predictions has been met and they were the weather predictors. Another set has been added to it and they are called the tour operators. The tour operators will be glad to meet the predictions of tourist inbounds to the state both from within the country and outside the country. Kerala has been coined Gods own country due to its natural beauty. The southwest monsoon peak is what is termed as the rainy season in this part of the country and this will last for three months. The new coinage for this treat is “when Heaven touches Earth”. The shopping treats may range from buying a wide range of umbrellas, sipping hot tea by sitting near backwater or on the boat by looking at the water falling on the river and so on. This is the season for adventure tourists as they a trek the Western Ghats which can be slippery during these rainy seasons and it becomes a treat to see the mist filled ghats. Kerala’s ayurvedic centers function overtime during this season by offering rain or monsoon packages that can be good for rejuvenating the body. The reason for this is the wind that accompanies the monsoon or rain and the old temperature of the season. The restoration powers of herbs work well in the body these seasons and this will be the ideal season for visiting Kerala. The energy between monsoon and ayurveda that have been exploited in the most natural manner has ensured that Kerala does not have any off-season for hoteliers and that has meant more income for the part. This has resulted in creating employment throughout the year and this can be the ideal lesson of selling beauty in the natural way. The normal case have been that local tourism has been shrinking by more than 50% in the rainy season and the campaign that urges the people to enjoy rain by stepping out rather than remaining indoors has fetched the desired results. (K G Kumar, 2005). Maldives A joint report by the Australian and Maldivian Governments into the tsunami has helped improve tourism and fishing industry in Maldives. Maldives was showcased as a safe destination that was not affected and very less likely to be affected by a Tsunami. With over 50% of the Maldivian GDP derived from coral reef tourism, the report and its widespread dissemination was a blessing for the Maldivian tourism industry. This is clear example of tourism used effectively for local development. (Alexander Downer, 2005) South-East Asia The increased visitors all around the world have meant that the demand for resorts has increased especially in South East Asia. If not controlled properly resorts have all the ability to make negative impact on costal environment. But if implemented well, resorts will create a sustainable employment and development in the far of coastal area. Coastal tourism development has to be undertaken by understanding the uniqueness of the coastal environment. Coastal tourism management has also to consider the number of tourists, getting the support of local population in conserving the nature and aim for overall sustainable development. (Cicin-Sain, B, 1998) Malaysia Ecotourism has been growing faster in the Asia Pacific region and that has contributed to the development of area. Ecotourism has four factors that can be applied universally 1. Natural destinations are the places where ecotourism thrives. 2. Ecotourism has the power of building environmental awareness. 3. Ecotourism has the power of deriving financial needs that can bring sustainable development of the area. 4. Ecotourism has the power of bringing knowledge about local culture. (Gautambht, 2009) Arrival of tourists to ecotourism areas will always give the economic power for conservation and protection of natural areas. Sarawak, Malaysia is a place known for ecotourism. Tourism to this ecotourism area has increased over the areas. 15 national parks are opened to public and the amount received from ecotourism are spend on conserving the national parks and protecting it. (Ecoclub, 2001) The aim of this project or part is to be known as global leader in tropical forest conservation and products. The cooperation of everyone has been sought and relieved in this part of the area. The Sustainable Forestry and Compliance Unit have been started by Sarawak forestry. This unit has covered the economic aspect of the forest. This has also covered the environmental and social aspects of the forest area. A close working with rural communities has been charted by this initiative. The timer industry and non timber producers are also taken into account. The sustainable resource management, compliance and revenue has been part of this initiative and the unit has 18 offices under the state and carries out broad range of activities to ensure that the project of sustainable forest management takes place. (Malaysian Timber Certification Council, 2002) The state forest resource has to be managed in a way that it meets the Sustainable Forest Management or SFM.The revenue has to be collected or generated from all forest produces that have been harvested from licensed areas. The timber operations have to be monitored. It has to meet harvesting plans, forest inventories and surveys. The forest has to be regenerated using conservation and rehabilitation methods and positive community relations and development activities to improve the socio economic standing of rural community has to be taken. (Malaysian Timber Certification Council, 2002) Fiji Fiji has been following an open economy for some time. Tourism has been the major money-spinner for the country along with sugar and garment industry. Tourism was the main sector that helped Fiji to come back stronger in economic terms after the coup of 2000. Fiji, with the help of tourism, became an export-oriented company changing from import substitution. Fiji entered into the segment of tourism by starting new airline agreements and starting new services with larger fleet and seating capacity. New investments in the industry were encouraged and the linkages with other modes of economy were strengthened. Local participation and control was ensured and steps were taken to ensure that supply of trained manpower in tourism industry was not stopped. (Fiji Embassy, 2008) The highlight of Fiji’s approach is that they are willing to wait for results and results started pouring in once the good word has spread. Tourism industry has been the main breadwinner and has contributed immensely to the GDP.Fiji has been attracting tourists from many places across the globe. The most prominent visitors are from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Japan, UK, Europe and Pacific Island countries. (Fiji tourism development plan 1998-2005) The problem with Fiji is that tourism income is going out of the country. Tourism is generating cash mainly in areas of resort, hotels and staying places. Foreigners have owned most of the commercial organizations in the field of tourism. Fiji has been notorious for coups and that has affected the inflow of tourists. There has been some policy making that hinders the growth of tourism in Fiji like immigration policy. Fiji is a country facing shortage of land and that is affecting the overall development as lands are needed to build tourist infrastructure. Traveling inside Fiji has increased many folds. This is a case of developing tourism to advantage but the benefits have reached outside. No local development in terms of industry has come with the main jobs held by foreigners. (Narayan, P.K. 2000) Kenya Tourism has been the real foreign exchange earner for Kenya when compared with coffee and tea. Kenya had rapid development in the area of tourism. There was an impact of inflation in local economy in Kenya once the tourism started picking up. There was also a case of seasonality of tourism affecting the economy and political instability in Kenya that affected tourism in Kenya. This was the ideal case of negative effect of tourism (Godfrey 1991). Kenya in its quest for more foreign exchange by tourist arrivals also created problems in other areas. There was constant danger to eco system with game parks being congested. There were conflicting interests with other sectors of economy and there was lack of efforts to maintain the local tourism market, which in turn affected the inflow. (Kennedy D 1987) An example for this is described below. The huge national wildlife park of Kenya named Tsavo Park had a major environmental problem created by developers. The developers in its quest of attracting more tourists built an artificial waterhole near the Kilguni Lodge. The idea was to enable hotel guests to watch animals come to drink water. The waterhole around the park was green but once it was constructed, it became brown. Ethiopia Ethiopia is the land known as the "cradle of mankind”. Ethiopia is a country that boasts of one of the richest histories on African continent. Ethiopia is a country that boasts of unique wildlife, bird life, castle, palace, churches, monasteries and other breath taking scenery. The highest, most rugged and highly inaccessible places are found in this area of African Continent. One of the well-known places is the Simien Mountains. Ethiopia is a place where skies are big and blue with broad landscapes (Camerapix, 1995). Ethiopia has all the attributes of Kenya but has not capitalized on the benefits. Ethiopia has lost the preferred tourist place in African region from 1974 due to droughts. There was also problem of civil war. Ethiopian government is in no position to spend money on infrastructure and needs the help of the private sector. Ethiopia can cater to large segments across the world like the wealthy Americans, who would be interested in knowing the art, culture and scenery. Ethiopia has everything for special groups like adventure tourists, underwater fishery and many other niche tourisms. (Tourism Ethiopia, 2009) The primary thing that Ethiopia can do is to project an image of adequate tourist infrastructure and friendly people to stay on course. This is a different view from Kenya. Just like Kenya, Ethiopia has everything to become a big tourist attraction. Ethiopia is a case of the need for an integrated approach to tourism development by using proper strategies would complement the economic development of a country. Conclusion Tourism is a binding force between millions of people wordwide from different races, cultures, countries and continents. This has further been strengthened by modern technology like internet and telecommunication. Globalization has shrunk the world considerably increasing awareness of different places and encouraging tourism to hitherto relatively unknown places. Add to this the developed and developing infrastructure and hard work in this sector is worth it. Almost all governments across the world promote tourism since it provides good influx of foreign exchange for developing nations. The income generated through tourism is often used to preserve architectural and historical monuments. This helps to conserve local resources that the government can use to meet other local developmental needs. The social, environmental and economic benefits should outweigh the costs for tourism development to be successful. The foreign money earned from tourism industry provides an opportunity for diversification for the cash strapped economies. It also provides an opportunity for the economy to be less dependent on traditional industries like agriculture, fishing etc. Tourism and the influx of tourists allows local industries to flourish, however, it has also brought in the chance to charge exorbitant prices that fleece customers. However, despite all the hope and hoopla that surrounds tourism industry there are some negative effects too. Though obtaining resources to maintain and preserve the local environment is a positive, there are occasions in which private firms turn a blind eye to environmental issues to maximize profits. Similarly waste removal has escalated into a major problem and some countries people too much waste is the price a place pays for too many earnings. Overall advantages outweigh disadvantages in almost all sectors of tourism. References Sharpley, Richard and David Telfer (2002), “Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues (Eds.)”, Channel View,Publications, Clevedon, UK. Fennell, David A. (2005), “Tourism Ethics”, Multilingual Matters Limited, Clevedon, UK. Fraser Coast Holidays(2005), “Benefits of Tourism”, official website of Fraser Coast South Burnett Regional Tourism Board. Queensland, Australia. http://www.frasercoastholidays.info/membership/membership/benefits-oftourism.cfm Kumar, Shiv (1999), “Cabbies – Bane of Goa Tourism”, Indian Express, Mumbai, September 28, 1999, http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990928/ige28008.html. Kumar, (2005),”The lure of monsoon in Kerala”,The Hindu Business Line,Chennai,July 19,2005, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/19/stories/2005071900391700.htm Liu, Zhenhua (2003), “Sustainable Tourism Development: A Critique”, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 11(6), 459-475. Tourism Queensland (2006), “How Tourism Benefits Communities”, Official website of Tourism Queensland,Brisbane, http://www.tq.com.au/resource-centre/community-engagement/how-tourism-benefitscommunities/how-tourism-benefits-communities_home.cfm. Tourism Concern (2008), “The Issues Explained”, Official website of Tourism Concern, London, http://www.tourismconcern.org.uk/index.php?page=the-issues Ryan, Chris (2003), “Recreational Tourism: Demand and Impacts (Aspects of Tourism, 11)” Multilingual Matters Limited, Clevedon, UK. United Nations Environment Programme (2002), “Negative Socio-Cultural Impacts from Tourism”, Official website of UNEP, Production and Consumption Branch, Paris, http://www.unep.fr/pc/tourism/sust-tourism/socdrawbacks.htm Coco Planet Tour Company (2007), “News and Events (Travel and Tourism) From Kerala”, Official website of Coco Planet Tour Company, Allepey, Kerala, http://www.beautifulkerala.com/coco/kerala/tourism/news/events/index.php. Kerala Tourism Watch (2008), “Kerala Declaration on Irresponsible Tourism”, Official website of Kerala Tourism Watch, Thrissur, http://www.keralatourismwatch.org. http://www.ausaid.gov.au/media/release.cfm?BC=Media&Id=6825_2925_8527_5608_440; Ocean & Coastal Management,Volume 38, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 89-109,B. Cicin-Sain; Narayan, P.K. (2000) ‘Fiji’s tourism industry: A SWOT analysis’, The Journal of Tourism Studies 11(2): 3-15; Godfrey, M. (1991), "Kenya to 1990: prospects for growth" in "Policies for tourism development in Kenya", Dieke, P.U.C. Annals of Tourism Research, 18 (2): 269-294; Camerapix (1995)(eds), Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia, Nairobi: Camerapix Publishers International; Fiji Embassy, 2008, http://www.fijiembassydc.com/default.asp?contentID=534 Fiji tourism development plan 1998-2005.Suva: Ministry of Tourism. Kennedy, Dane. Islands of White: Settler Society and Culture in Kenya and Southern Rhodesia, 1890-1939 (Duke Univ. Press, 1987). Kerala State Organic Farming Policy and Action Plan, http://www.keralabiodiversity.org/pdf/policy.pdf ALEXANDER DOWNER, 2005, Coral Reef Report Good News for Maldivian Tourism, http://www.ausaid.gov.au/media/release.cfm?BC=Media&Id=6825_2925_8527_5608_440 Gautambht, 2009, Developing a sustainable model for ecotourism in the Great Himalayan National Park, http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/22450 WORLD ECOTOURISM NEWS, http://www.ecoclub.com/news/30/world.html, The Sustainable Forestry and Compliance Unit have been started by Sarawak forestry, 2002, http://www.mtcc.com.my/fullstory.asp?ID=64 Read More