CarizzCruzem

Tourism Is Seen As A Major Industry For Many Countries. However, It Tends To Have A Deleterious Effect On The Environment And Should Be Strictly Monitored.

Making room for one means taking it away from another. This is exactly what happens when a country considers tourism as its leading industry. It’s true, without a shadow of a doubt; tourism has helped the revenue of many countries. It increases better understanding between different cultures and even of the environment itself. Nevertheless, sacrifices, intentional or unintentional, have to be made, and this “sacrificing” is taking toll on the natural habitat, culture and society of many countries.

The most visible effect of large-scale tourism is on the natural habitat. Vehicles crowd into tourist spots and emit exhausts which pollute the natural environment; not to mention littering, breathing and microorganisms that people bring deteriorating works of art. The Mediterranean shores are one of the classic examples of this, having 130 million of population, which almost double each summer due to visitors; the Mediterranean is the dirtiest sea in the world. Another example is in the Canadian Rockies where one of the most important abundances of wildlife is found. The pressure to intensify its development ensuring a safer road for human travelers is also sure to disrupt animal movements. Many countries want their heritage sites to be recognized by the World Heritage Committee as part of World Heritage sites. However, if they are not careful to do something soon about these problems, instead of being labeled as World Heritage sites, they might be put in another category, the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Another harmful effect is on culture. When one thinks of change in culture, one often sees changes in traditional clothing, music and behavior. However, there is another factor, and far more important, that is affected by these changes, the language. Today, there are more than 6,000 languages still in use. Many linguists expect that half of these will be wiped out by 2100, one language lost forever every 12 days. The reason behind this? Human interaction. Scary isn’t it? Is your language one of those that will remain or cease to exist?

Last, but certainly not the least, is social disorder. In Brazil, the Dominican Republic, or Thailand where sex tourism is rampant, rich tourists go there in search of sex. UNICEF estimates that more than a million young teenage girls are enticed or forced into commercial sexual exploitation. Furthermore, if ever one of these child prostitutes escape, they are branded and usually turned down by their communities and even by their own families.

The effects of tourism are a mix up of gains and losses. In Mount Hunstein, found in  Papua New Guinea, villagers who are encouraged to perform traditional ceremonies feel that the performances are a mockery. When asked what were they singing, one replied reluctantly, “They are telling the spirits, ‘We shouldn’t be doing this. We shouldn’t be doing this. We only do it for the tourists, to make a lot of money.’” There is a very thin line between the benefits and drawbacks of tourism. Yes, we’re making money, a lot of money, bit at the expense of our natural habitat, our culture, our society – our environment, which happens to be our life.