Economic Impacts of Tourism - Essay Example

Economic Impacts of Tourism This paper takes a close look at the economic benefits which the tourism industry brings for a country whilst drafting solid tourism policies and a base for its development and management is indeed the order of the day. Tourism for a country brings in the much needed foreign exchange that is welcomed by the government and the related ministries. What it does best is to make the law-makers realize of the tremendous potentials that their country possesses in the wake of tourism and thus an industry of sheer magnitude needs to be in place so that more and more tourists visit each year. The economic impacts in the tourism sector immediately ask for grants, loans and stipends to be given to the people who have an indirect or for that matter direct role in the building up of structures, buildings and pathways – all of which come under the tourist attraction cycle. (Jafari, 2000) The economy gets a facelift and there are changes in the lines of commerce and industry since the country realizes its true potential elsewhere. Consequently people come to terms with the advancements and technological changes that start to happen within such lands and thus hail the efforts undertaken by the related ministries. It builds a bridge between the different publics which are playing an active role in this impacting cause – tourism development and management within a country. The publics comprise of the locals who would be more than willing to offer hotel/motel services, transport facilities and the like; as well as the foreigners which come towards this region in order to enjoy and learn a bit more about the scenery. Tourism is a vast field that has immense economic advantages. The need is to understand the right kinds of interactivity regimes and reject the negative image and propaganda, however it is wise and in the best interest of building public relations that the government and the authorities always speak unanimously the truth that exists. Shortcomings related with the region and the problems that could happen for the tourists must be educated in advance so that the tourists are given a choice as per their respective undertakings and journeys. The effects of tourism on the region are apparent but what it brings to the country’s foreign reserves is important. It opens up the path that lead towards success since the government finds out the cash cow – the tourism industry. (Hall, 2000) The more the efforts and time are spent on making the tourism industry grow and flourish within the country, the better are the results. The most basic of amenities need to be ensured to every visitor so that he becomes a return tourist and thus exponentially increase the chances of having more tourists with each passing year. Special packages are introduced which go down well with the foreign visitors and they go back to their native countries and inform the residents of the benefits that they could avail whilst utilizing the value added deals, coming hand in hand with these packages and special fares. The tourism generating areas also receive a boost since the economic basis of these areas are directly linked with the tourism industry and thus the related policy development and management regimes keep a worthwhile share of these areas whilst drafting the laws and regulations of the tourism industry. This benefits the whole industry as well as gives confidence to the locals who try their best to compete with other regions’ hosts and in the process satisfy the tourists in the best possible form. The whole community indeed receives improvement within their economic levels and the standard of living of these people is directly proportional to the amount of people who usually visit their regions. Speaking from a wholly economic point of view, GDP or Gross Domestic Product, is the single biggest factor that gets better within a country with the tourism industry doing more than its bit to flourish and make a name for its own self on a global front. Firstly, there is a need to define the fundamentals of GDP. GDP stands for the accumulated money value of all the final goods as well as services which are produced over an annual basis within a specified economy. (Cooper, 2001) Now what this means here is that more the number of tourists, the better would be the GDP of the country as it would bring in foreign exchange which will benefit the country in an exponentially increasing form. GDP is an inherent part of economic studies and this gives a clear indication of the situations under which a country is affording the tourism industry. GDP comprises of the consumption features which take care of the domestically provided elements of international trips while there is a separate basis for investment which comes in, in the form of foreign exchange. This investment goes into the building up of infrastructure of the region which is a focal point of tourists and thus improvements come in the way of providing excellence in service and facilities to the visitors with each passing year, globally. What most economic and financial people forget is the fact that GDP also takes care of the government’s share, since it is the primary body which is taking care of the tourism industry and thus it has a huge part in the money that has been earned over a fixed period of time and the traffic that has had happened in the region, courtesy the tourists. Lastly, there is the part of the exports and imports which come hand in hand with the orders that are sent and taken in by the foreigners. Some of them stay behind and strike a deal whilst running their own businesses within their native countries while some form mergers and expand their business which benefits not only the locals but also the government and in the long run, the country. It might just be possible that the tourism industry is a bane and does not bring in the much needed revenues yet the government is sticking to its decision in order to project a soft image of the nation. Then there are the aspects related with terrorism and terrorist strikes which have marred the economic basis of a number of different countries and more so after the 9/11 event. (Munt, 2003) An important facet of GDP is that the higher the share of the tourism industry within the country’s GDP, the more tourists it attracts over a period of one year. This speaks volumes of the responsible role that the economic settings have been enacting on the shoulders of GDP and the government merits all the credit for the investments done in the right direction. (Silverstein, 1999) The single biggest feature of the high rate of returns on GDP is that it gives the locals a chance to get employed and make a living for their own selves which stands out as a winner issue in the related regards. In the mountainous and hilly areas, getting proper jobs is a problem and this is ably solved by giving the people a chance to express their skills and get jobs as per their own liking in the wake of ever-increasing employment chances coming directly from the wings of the tourism industry which has started to flourish within the country. The low-wage occupations open up avenues to make people realize that they could offer their family a chance to live their own lives and it also addresses their concerns as far as the downward economic trends are concerned. (Siebert, 1999) The stance which needs to be adopted by the government and the tourism authorities should be to banish the seasonality aspect related with the visits to a particular region, unless it is absolutely impossible to tour a place in the opposing season. What this will do is to provide more job opportunities to the people and negate the aspect of hibernating down hills. (Wells, 2004) Also this would keep the tourism industry’s ball rolling on a year by year basis and thus there would be no ends as far as visitors are related. In the end, it is pertinent to ascertain the exact policies which are being made in line with a country’s tourism industry since this will form the backbone of its own existence. Also it will provide endless opportunities in terms of jobs, exposure to the world and a host of other avenues which come attached with the very same. (Kirk, 1997) In addition, the fact that the economic boom that the tourism industry brings with it is certainly an eye-opener for a number of people. Bibliography COOPER, Chris. (2001). Tourism in the Age of Globalization. Routledge HALL, Derek. (2000). Tourism and Sustainable Community Development. Routledge JAFARI, Jafar. (2000). Encyclopedia of Tourism. Routledge KIRK, David. (1997). New Millennium, New Tourism. The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland) MUNT, Ian. (2003). Tourism & Sustainability: Development and Tourism in the Third World. Routledge SIEBERT, Horst. (1999). The World Economy. Routledge SILVERSTEIN, Judith. (1999). The GDP Myth. Washington Monthly, Vol. 31 WELLS, Rhona. (2004). World Travel Market Highlights Middle East Tourism. The Middle East Word Count: 1,443 Read More