Socio Cultural Impacts of Tourism

Tourism has become a commercial business, which has obvious benefits to the said economy, the environment and society. Often, the positive economic impacts persuade governments, companies and individuals to get involved with the development of tourism. Tourism creates jobs, both

Tourism also provides a vast amount of employment opportunities for locals, research has shown that tourism related jobs whether direct, indirect or induced account for more than 25% of jobs for the Caribbean. The many jobs created by tourism helps in reducing the unemployment rate and in turn increase the Gross Domestic Product and helps in further development

Tourism has taken a toll on many Native Hawaiians and is a huge human rights issue today. Most Hawaiians dislike tourism greatly due to the selfishness and greediness tourists bring to their home country. The pastor at a small rural church on the island of Kauai, Reverend Kaleo Patterson, has witnessed and dealt with numerous Hawaiians who struggle with the issues of tourism. Numerous vacation resorts that attract tourists have taken over gravesites of Hawaiians that have passed away. Due to this problem ancient Hawaiians have to partake in reburials. Tourism causes destruction to coral reefs and rivers because of mindless pollution. Reverend Patterson has protested and given public hearings in effort to acknowledge her fury on tourism. Tourism has brought an uncontrollable worldwide business that has no sympathy or thoughtfulness for the original people of Hawaii.

The tourism industry today is a big business for a country, it is the number one industry of The Bahamas. It is the migration of individuals from one place to another for a short period of time. Tourism in The Bahamas accounts for seventy percent of the country’s national income and employs fifty percent of the population. Tourism is further considered the main source of The Bahamas income. Tourism in The Bahamas may have several impact on the country both good and bad.

     Tourism also has its costs/down-sides. One of the social costs to the community because of tourism is that it may attract visitors whose lifestyles and ideas may conflict with the community’s (which commonly happens throughout the world, a good example of this can be seen in the settling of North America, and the effect it had on the Native Americans). Tourism could also lead to the overloading of porters which would lead to health problems. A loss of traditional values and culture is a possible outcome as well, through imitation of visitor behavior or

Eco-tourism is when you travel to a natural space and appreciate nature and protect the environment. You also learn the past and present of the destination.

First of all, what does tourism mean? Tourism is an activity carried out by any person or group of people who are going from one place to another or from one country to another in order to visit a particular place or several places. Tourism can used for entertainment or relaxation and to learn new information about other cultures (Lundberg 4).

Tourism today is as a distinct field of activity, with a more active presence in social and economic life evolving rhythms of the highest. Generator of profound transformations in social dynamics, tourism has also stated

Tourism creates jobs directly through the tourism industry and indirectly in sectors such as retail and transportation. When tourist spend their money on goods and services,

The problematic nature of cultural tourism is a topic that is heavily debated in multiple academic disciplines. Anthropology, sociology, psychology, and economics all have extensive theories about the consequences cultural tourism has on the cultures being exploited by the tourism industry. Further examination of cultural tourism has turned the focus onto the tourists themselves and questioned the validity of their gaze as they are the ones consuming the culture through the witnessing of particular “displays of culture.” These displays could be in the form of community life, food, historical sites, and museums, but arguably the most popular displays of culture tourists consume are the performative aspects of said culture. Including but not exclusive to displays of dance, theatre, and song, tourists see performance as an accessible gateway into a culture. When considering the identity of a spectator in any situation, drama theory is a useful tool in deconstructing the complicated role a spectator has, however, when the situation being viewed is inherently performative, the spectator’s role becomes even more complex. In the use of the term ‘inherently performative,’ one is not limited in analyzing merely performances that are created for spectacle. The function of performance can be regarded as entertainment, political commentary, or in the case of this essay, religious worship.

This paper explores a great number of academic research journals and databases on the impact that the tourism industry has on the countries in the Caribbean. Tourism impacts the Caribbean in three different sections. Tourism has a social impact that allows for increases in revenue, jobs, and service for the people living there. Tourism’s cultural impact allows the history and heritage of the Caribbean to be acknowledged and practiced not only here but around the world as tourists come and go. Tourism’s environmental impact effects the natural and geographical diversity that can only be found in these countries. Although tourism brings about many advantages in all three categories, there are still negatives attributes that appear from tourism that must be handled properly to maintain a successful industry. This paper examines 12 different research journals that suggest all of the positives and negatives of tourism in the Caribbean and how they can effect not only the tourism industry but the area in which they are practiced.

Another aspect of impact of tourism on a country’s economy is that it facilitates the expansion of the market of goods and services. Foreigners come to a country willing to spend money on different goods and services, thus increasing the amounts of sales. This is a great chance for producers and service providers to receive larger profits. This concerns not only hoteliers, tour operators, and souvenir shops owners. Public transportation, retail stores of different kind, restaurants, and cafes benefit from international tourism. Obviously, if these industries are in demand, businesses will be expanding. On the one hand, it means that more money is paid to the budget. On the other hand, profits generated by the owners are spent inside the country, affecting almost all the fields of the

Tourism also impacts a key factor in tourism: the environment. The environment is made up of both natural and human features (Mason, 2003, p.52). As soon as tourism activity takes place, the environment is inevitably changed or modified either to facilitate tourism or during the tourism process (Cooper, Fletcher, Gilbert & Wanhill, 1998, p. 150).The impact can be positive or negative.

The Travel and Tourism industry is still one of the largest single businesses in world commerce and its importance is widely recognized. The tourism industry is now one of the largest sectors earning foreign exchange. In the face of many benefits, many countries have started assigning due weight age to the tourism industry in their national development agenda. Tourism is an industry that operates on a massively broad scale: it embraces activities ranging from the smallest sea-side hotel; to air-lines, multi-national hotel chains and major international tour operators. Originally, non-traditional industries such as tourism emerged as a solution to strike a balance between ecology and industry

Planning and development are both extremely important factors within the tourism industry and can have both positive and negative effects on the environment, local communities and tourist destinations. “Destination planning aims to limit the negative impacts of cultural tourism upon the history and lifestyles of the local community. An understanding of sustainable tourist development allows for the development of culture without loss of its authentic identity” (Maidment. T. 2012). This statement discusses the importance of planning to avoid having any negative impacts on environments and communities. Because the effects of tourism are so severe to destinations, many natural and cultural resources have been destroyed, therefore tourism planning is vital to preserve and maintain these places for future generations.