It is generally believed that tourism helps countries local communities, but some argue that far from benefiting countries, tourism actually does more than harm than good. Which do you think is true?

We have witnessed the rapid advancement of tourism industry. It is claimed that it has more positives then negatives. In my perspective, I tend to disagree with this statement and will explain below.

There are certainly some benefits of tourism which relatively obvious. One such benefits is that it boost the level of economy. As most travellers have more disposable income in their hands, they are willing to purchase expensive products and gifts from local shops. This naturally increase the state of the government tax income because the more revenue shops earn, the more taxes they need to pay.

Apart from this, visitors could have more understanding of local culture. By paying a visit to foreign countries, tourists are able to interact and communicate with local residents and therefore would have more understanding on the local culture, which significantly reduce the chances of conflicting. As a result, visitors may behave themselves and respect to the local culture.

However, there are opposing voices. To start with, this bring local citizens inconvenience. In order to go sightseeing tour and visit local ancient local places, travellers must use the local public transport such as metros and shuttle buses. Consequently, the lives of local people are disturbed because trains and buses become congested. Moreover, local citizens maybe aggressive to those travellers.

In conclusion, although there is drawback brought by tourism, it seems that advantages outweigh demerits. I think that the government should encourage the development of international tourism in order to gain more profits.