preview

As We Saw Previously, We Can Divide The Touristic Industry

Good Essays

As we saw previously, we can divide the touristic industry into two major categories, the modern-day massive tourism and ecotourism. Both forms have a distinctive history, definition, economic benefits and environmental impact. Although both are growing at lightning speed, especially as our societies become wealthier and eager to explore the world around them, the biggest dilemma lies on which, ecotourism or tourism, is a better alternative to pursue to balance economic development and environmental protection. To find the answer, we need to analyze and compare the main premises about the two topics.
In regards to history, the idea of being a tourist has been around for centuries. As we saw previously, humans have dreamed of traveling and …show more content…

In David Fennell’s argument, we can’t properly define tourism because we might leave a key element economic activity out, especially if we understand that just in the category of attractions we have museums, festivals, sports, cinemas, theme parks and others. The array of options in the industry of tourism has made it one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world. However, its massive scope might not make tourism the best environmental alternative.
In the case of ecotourism’s definition and scope, it is easier to understand its objective. In Martha Honey’s book, she introduced us to the seven characteristics of real ecotourism, which clearly limit the definition to activities to natural destinations with an environmental educational purpose and with the objective of benefiting financially local people and conservation areas. Based on that definition, ecotourism is a better environmental alternative than regular tourism. However, its limited scope and smaller scale programs place ecotourism at a disadvantage regarding financial development.
In terms of economic benefits, the tourism industry has been growing at an unprecedented speed. It ranks number third in exports category with 7% of the yearly totals. As an industry, it represented 1.5 trillion dollars in 2015, with $1260 billion earned by the receipts in the same year. Tourism provided with 109 million jobs worldwide in 2016. As it

Get Access