Many people say that tourism can be a double edged sword bringing benefits to local people while at the same time damaging the local environment and culture Do you agree with this What can be done by governments tour operators and tourists themselves to m

Tourism literally refers to the activities of tourists who travel away from the home environment for some reasons. Along with the revolution of technology, it is discussed that tourism can either be attributable to the prosperity of indigenous people or pose devastating effects on the local environment. From my perspective, I am in complete accordance with the disputed notion based on some following excuses to be deemed.

To begin with, it is agreeable that tourism plays a contributory role to the economic growth of the host country. In other words, as the tourism industry embraces a variety of areas in one nation, it creates a spectrum of jobs in various areas for the natives to earn incomes. When foreign tourists pay a visit to a country, they are more likely to expend their money to cherish the local cuisine, to lodge in an accommodation or to entertain, which, in turn, will offer many opportunities to generate revenues both nationally or privately. For example, Singapore has witnessed an increase in the national capital of $11 billion annually regarding tourism. It leads to the furtherance of local welfare and helps stabilise its global position in terms of economy. In general, tourism is beneficial to local inhabitants because of its contribution to the levels of employment in the given community.
Conversely, it is tourism that has calamitous consequences to the native environment. To be more specific, tourists are exacerbating the amount of pollution in many places. The transportations required for travellers to commute from one destination to another are currently releasing emissions from their fuels such as greenhouse gases that could contribute to the rise in carbon footprint, thus resulting in the cataclysm of global warming. Furthermore, tourists usually litter their wastes onto the grounds after they traverse through those tourist attractions. Those impulsive actions could spoil the natural beauty that attracts people worldwide. In addition, disposable wastes such as plastics would impede the biological cycle as the animals swallow those plastic residues that will bring about the detrimental influence on digestion and drive them to death. When it comes to culture, tourism is believed to extend the process of acculturation. While local people please tourists, they adapt tourists’ needs, attitudes and values and ultimately start to emulate them. By following the lifestyles of travellers, youngsters attach themselves to the paradigm shift in faiths, material goods, postures and gestures, which could ruin the local culture. Moreover, tourism brings about cultural commodification, resulting in the transformation of religious value - from sacred to sacrilegious and from real to unauthentic. Probably one of the best precedents is found in a case of a criminal who exemplifies commodification as a ritual that is sold for money in an exhibition by altering or even destroying original assets to outsiders. Therefore, tourism is without doubt pernicious to indigenous environment.
All things taken into consideration, prompt measures must be taken to resolve those issues. It is advisable that federal members incorporate awareness-raising campaigns so as to better control the aforementioned states. Furthermore, tour operators should encourage travellers to partake in activities that are conducive to the environment such as riding elephants or temple visiting to reduce environmental and cultural problems as well as broaden their knowledge about the world. The tourists themselves are advised to use public transportation or walk to dwindle carbon footprint and exercise.

To reiterate, it is indisputable that tourism benefits local employment while concomitantly exerting deleterious influence on the environment and native culture. It is imperative that the local authorities resort to some wise measures to deal with such problems.