Most places in the world rely heavily on tourism as their main source of income and jobs. Sadly, tourism can also be a source of problems, particularly if it is a major source of income and employment. Tourism itself has become an increasingly complex phenomenon, with social, cultural, political, economic, educational, biophysical, ecological and aesthetic dimensions. Achieving beneficial interactions between potentially conflicting hopes and aspirations of visitors and the local community presents many challenges and opportunities. For decades, the growth of the tourism industry has been a major contributor to increasing economic activity in the world. This has created jobs in both large and small communities and is a large industry in many places. Most people think about tourism in terms of economic, employment and tax impacts. However, the impact of tourism is extensive and often affects areas outside that are usually associated with tourism, such as historic sites. Leaders and residents who understand the potential impact of tourism can integrate this industry into their communities in the most positive ways. Unfortunately, many do not understand the impact caused by excessive tourism. It is not a secret that natural beauty and historic sites are destroyed by tourism. At the same time, many countries and communities depend on tourism to survive. “Tourism is now one of the strongest forces in the world, employing millions of workers and changing people's lives. In 2016 more than 1.23 billion people travelled across borders worldwide. Globally every 11th job is dependent on tourism. In many countries it is the main source of income, so it is also a driving force for economic development in poorer regions - as long as responsibility is not conceded to mass tourism and global providers” (Rivai, 2017). Over flowing tourism can bring so much impact towards the local community and preserving this pristine part of earth will be so much-needed especially with the restricted tourism.
When we become a tourist, we will encounter friendly locals. It is a proud thing as a local for their culture to be recognize by a foreigner. This positive feeling is what makes them treat visitors kindly and affectionately, hoping that we're going to feel comfortable and happy to have a tour; however, this is not always be the case. Sometimes, there are local residents who refuse resentment of the arrival from the tourists. The existence of tourists in their environment can be odds and annoying at times. This happens because of the compilation of tourists who have bad habits and behaviour; for instance, vandalism, littering, damaging public facilities, and so on. As a responsible tourist, we should be aware that maintaining the beauty of a certain place is always important to do in every place. A tourist attraction can be considered attractive if it has its own uniqueness. Travellers are willing to travel great distances into a certain destination for their own amusement. In order for these objects to remain attractive, their beauty must be cared properly. Nonetheless, many tourists seem to underestimate this by taking various irresponsible actions that can damage those heritage. Visiting a foreign place means that we are a guest there. Thus, it's only common if we follow all of the regulation in that place. The habits that we have may indeed be usual things in our hometown. However, there can be things that are not as good in the places we visited to. People may know that what we do can be considered common and reasonable in our hometown. However, they will still feel upset and not appreciated. As a result, they will also disrespect us.
As technology advances, people gain access to information easier. When we travel, it’s a common thing for us to find information as much as we can from the internet beforehand, this includes the rules and regulations, the cultural believes, the do and do nots in that area. “Experiencing a community's traditions, rituals, festivals, celebrations, and rites can be a perfect way to gain insight into a culture. When the local people come together to observe a tradition that has been performed for many generations, it is a great privilege to understand that culture more deeply” (Goodman, 2019). Every place has their own beliefs like for example in Bali, they have these offerings in front of stores. They believe that with the offerings, the Gods will protect their stores. Most countries with the majority of Hinduism and Buddhism people may know about it, but for tourist from western territories may not understand about it and there are a lot of cases where they accidentally step on it. “Indigenous beliefs—such as animism, where it is believed that each element of nature possesses a spiritual essence, and ancestor worship, where the belief is that the dead continue to exist and may have the ability to influence the fortune of the living—also play important roles in the Balinese belief system. Spirits and ancestors are treated with great respect and are housed in shrines, where daily offerings are made” (Bali Religion and Beliefs, 2015). Although this kind of problems is pretty common, it is still counted as a disrespectful behaviour. Expressing opinions to everyone is free and not wrong, but we must also remember that maintaining ethics is important. A mainstream destination would have their local information on the internet, but it would be hard to find local information for most places that is unreachable by internet. To avoid this kind of problem, it’s better if we ask the locals when we arrived, so we don’t violate any rules and it’s a more respectful thing to do as a tourist.
When a tourism area is developed, it affects the environment and surroundings. The impact of tourism on that receives a countless act of attention, because scenery is often what attracts people to destinations in the first place. Nevertheless, it is also important to recognize the effect of tourism on communities and residents. Before towns construct resorts, restaurants, cafes, gift shops and other tourist attractions, there are a lot of agricultural settlements like traditional areas of typical people and area. Tourism changes everything. Foreign business interests buy up property for commercial and residential construction, ultimately putting locals and small business owners out of jobs. New people are moving in, increasing land value and transforming the image of the city. As in result, Locals soon find themselves trapped in the situation they’re not being cared about. Tourism also causes environmental damage to the local infrastructure as well as to the flora, fauna and historic sites in the region. Tourism is depleting natural resources, which can be dangerous in areas where resources are scarce. The other harmful effect of tourism on the environment is that the cost of living can be very high. As the destination becomes more and more popular, more people want to live there, allowing the value of the land to increase. Several local residents, who were priced out of their own community decided to relocate. Many of the workers in town's restaurant, hotels and resorts, end up receiving a minimum wage. This situation caused resentment between the local residents in that area and the newcomers to the area. Sadly, societies will now have to deal with these issues as the tourism industry develops around the globe.
As one of the world’s most powerful economic and social services, tourism can strengthen the key role of heritage, both tangible and intangible. Natural and cultural heritage sites are now one of the main components of the world’s tourism assets. Heritage has the ability to attract attention to millions of travellers every year and it helps to bring undeniable benefits and, at the same time, it can help to promote cultural diversity, universal values, and the intercultural dialogue that is so necessary in today’s world. 'A concentrated effort to preserve our heritage is a vital relation to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational and economic legacies - all of the things that quite literally make us who we are' (Berry, n.d.). The tourism sector is increasingly conscious of the issues surrounding heritage conservation and the role of heritage as a key component of tourism products. Tourism must elaborate the effects it has on cultural and heritage, actively sharing the responsibility and costs for their preservation, and forming partnerships for tourism that is more responsible towards our common heritage. Tourism must be a major contributor to preserve today’s treasures for tomorrow’s generations. Heritage is one of the main impacts of tourism. Conserving, protecting and appreciating the worth of natural and cultural heritage, intelligently and responsibly, offer an extraordinary context for cooperation and innovation for the future.
High-volume tourism can change places, there are a lot of potential risk factors that can gradually drain the environment, character, uniqueness, resources, beauty, and social coherence of tourist destinations from time to time. This may affect the heritage and cultures that the local environment and community had based on how impactful and important tourism industry are. Thus, it is very important to maintain and understand tourism as the main factor for heritage site development.
Reference list
- https://www.dw.com/en/tourism-is-booming-and-so-are-its-side-effects/a-41945575 (rivai)
- https://soapboxie.com/economy/Advantages-and-disadvantages-of-tourism (goodman)
- https://wandertours.com/bali-religion-and-beliefs/ (bali)
- https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/cultural-heritage.html (berry)
Bibliography list
- https://list25.com/25-endangered-historical-sites-being-destroyed-by-tourists/
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/sep/06/mass-tourism-environmental-damage
- https://www.triphobo.com/blog/travel-destinations-ravaged-by-tourism
- https://traveltips.usatoday.com/positive-negative-effects-tourism-63336.html
- https://soapboxie.com/economy/Advantages-and-disadvantages-of-tourism
- https://traveltips.usatoday.com/positive-negative-effects-tourism-63336.html
- https://www.coursera.org/lecture/sustainable-tourism/the-impacts-of-tourism-on-local-communities-hwoW8
- https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/tourism-kill-destination2.htm
- http://www.institutoturismoresponsable.com/events/sustainabletourismcharter2015/index.html%3Fp=512.html
- https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/cultural-heritage.html
- https://wandertours.com/bali-religion-and-beliefs/
