The Socio Cultural Impact Of Tourism Tourism Essay Example

purposes" (World Tourism Organisation, 1993). Domestic tourism refers to vacations, short breaks, and day trips within one's own country. For example: a couple going on a weekend break within their own country; a family visiting relatives in another part of the country even if they live nearby. Incoming or inbound tourism involves people entering a foreign country from their home country, making it an international form of tourism. The text covers various aspects of tourism including inbound and outbound forms. It gives examples like Chinese visitors coming to Egypt for recreation and teams from different countries entering a nation for events like the Olympic Games. Outbound tourism involves individuals traveling from their home country to foreign countries for either leisure or business purposes. Examples of this include Indian business professionals going to Germany for an exhibition and day-trippers from southern Malaysia visiting Singapore.The Figure below illustrates the six main areas that encompass the travel and tourism industry. Within this industry, tourism has three significant impacts: social-cultural, environmental, and economic impacts. The social-cultural impact of tourism is influenced by the cultural and religious attributes of a specific region. By interacting with the local community, tourists can influence the social and cultural aspects of life. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that tourists may not always be conscious or respectful of local customs, traditions, and standards.

The impact on the host community can have both positive and negative consequences. On the positive side, there are several advantages for the country:

1. Interacting with individuals from diverse backgrounds and learning from their experiences can improve lifestyles and patterns for the local community.
2. Tourism development can lead to better local facilities, infrastructure, education,

healthcare, employment opportunities, and income for locals.

Moreover, tourism has the potential to preserve local culture and heritage while revitalizing declining urban areas. It can also reverse migration from rural to urban regions by creating job opportunities within the tourism industry. Dubai is a prime example of a tourist destination that has benefited greatly from positive development impact. The city received significant financial investments from both public and private sectors, resulting in infrastructure development and job creation.

The Arab world values the preservation of archaeological and heritage sites, as well as the continuation of local traditions, in order to create a hospitable environment that respects different ways of life. This ensures a warm reception for tourists while also honoring existing customs. However, it is important to acknowledge the potential negative impacts of tourism in the region. The current infrastructure, including roads, railways, and healthcare facilities, may struggle to accommodate the influx of tourists and burden the local community. The arrival of tourists can disrupt the daily activities and lifestyles of locals, leading to resentment towards visitors. Additionally, locals may adopt tourist behaviors and lifestyles, resulting in a loss of traditional customs and standards of behavior. Consequently, this could contribute to an increase in crime rates due to declining moral values - some locals becoming envious or greedy towards wealthier visitors.

Traditional industries may be lost and replaced by imported and mass-produced goods, lacking authenticity but appealing to a mass market. Tourists may behave in a way that offends the local population. Insufficient information about expected behavior in a country can lead to resentment

and hostility from the locals towards tourists. Language barriers can also create communication problems between tourists and the local community.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF TOURISM
Negative effects of tourism occur when visitor usage exceeds the environment's capacity to handle it within acceptable limits. Uncontrolled tourism can pose threats to natural areas worldwide.

Tourism has the potential to have a significant impact on a region, resulting in various effects including soil erosion, higher levels of pollution, disposal of waste into the ocean, loss of natural habitat, increased pressure on endangered species, and an elevated risk of wildfires. Additionally, tourism often strains water resources and leads to competition among local communities for essential resources. The quality of the environment is crucial for tourism, whether it is naturally formed or man-made. Nevertheless, the relationship between tourism and the environment is complex and involves numerous activities that can have a detrimental effect on the environment.

Tourism has both positive and negative effects on the environment. Although it has the potential to harm environmental resources, it also contributes to their protection and preservation. Tourism increases awareness of environmental values and generates funds for the conservation of natural areas, thus enhancing their economic significance. However, the utilization of land for tourist accommodations and infrastructure development, as well as the consumption of building materials, directly impact natural resources irrespective of their renewability.

Water, including fresh H2O, is an essential natural resource required for various purposes. In the tourism industry, there is a tendency to overuse water resources for hotels, swimming pools, golf courses, and personal tourist consumption. This can lead to water scarcity, contamination of water supplies, and increased wastewater production. Additionally, tourism often has adverse effects on

forests such as deforestation due to fuel wood collection and land clearing.

For instance, in Nepal - a nation already facing deforestation - one trekking tourist alone can use up to four to five kgs of wood daily. In regions with a high number of tourist activities and stunning natural sights, incorrect waste disposal is a significant issue that can harm the environment, such as rivers, scenic areas, and roadsides. The improper disposal of solid waste and littering can diminish the visual appeal of water and shorelines while also causing harm to marine creatures. Moreover, when constructing ski resort accommodations, it is often necessary to clear forested land.

Coastal wetlands are often drained and filled because suitable sites for tourism facilities and infrastructure are lacking. These activities can cause significant disruption and erosion of the local ecosystem, potentially leading to long-term destruction.

ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF TOURISM

The tourism industry emphasizes the economic benefits of tourism for various reasons. Claims about tourism's economic significance increase the industry's credibility among businesses, government officials, and the general public. This often results in decisions or public policies that are favorable to tourism.

Tourism has a significant impact on the community and relies heavily on support from various entities including other businesses, the government, and local residents. The economic effects of tourism affect everyone in the region to varying degrees. Economic impact analyses provide estimates of these interdependencies and help us understand the importance of tourism for a region's economy. Furthermore, there are economic expenses associated with tourism such as costs borne by tourism businesses, government expenses for improving tourist services infrastructure, and congestion-related costs endured by community members.

When it comes to tourism, community decisions

often involve debates between advocates and critics. Advocates focus on the economic benefits of tourism, while critics emphasize the costs. It is important for these decisions to be based on an objective evaluation of both the benefits and costs, as well as an understanding of who benefits from tourism and who bears the costs.

The economic impacts of tourism are vital for state, regional, and community planning, as well as economic development. They also play a significant role in marketing and management decisions. Thus, communities need to comprehend the significance of tourism in their region, including its contribution to the local economy.

There are various methods used to estimate the economic impacts of tourism, ranging from simple guessing to complex mathematical models. These studies differ in terms of quality and accuracy, as well as the specific aspects of tourism they consider. Technical reports often contain economic terminology and methodologies that may not be easily understood by individuals without an economics background. Conversely, media coverage tends to oversimplify and misinterpret the findings of these studies, leading decision makers and the general public to have an incomplete and distorted understanding of how tourism affects the economy. Tourism has a range of economic effects, including its contribution to a destination's sales, profits, employment opportunities, tax revenues, and overall income.

The tourism industry is made up of different sectors including accommodation, dining, transportation, entertainment, and retail trade. These sectors are directly impacted by tourism while others are indirectly affected. Economic analysis of tourism activity focuses on regional changes in sales, income, and employment related to tourism. The flow of money from tourists' expenditures is commonly referred to as the flow of money

from tourism spending. The initial flow, known as the direct effect, involves payments made to businesses and government agencies which then circulate through the economy as payments to suppliers, wages for individuals working in tourism or supporting industries, and various taxes and fees collected by tourists, businesses, and households. On the other hand, an outflow occurs when money leaves a region's economy due to local consumers purchasing products from external suppliers.

DIRECT AND SECONDARY ECONOMIC EFFECTS

Economists classify the economic consequences of tourism into three categories: direct, indirect, and induced. The combined influence of these effects in a particular region determines the overall economic impact of tourism. Indirect and induced effects are commonly known as secondary effects. These impacts can be measured in terms of gross output, sales, income, employment, or value added.

Despite their casual use by non-economists, these terms have precise definitions that are crucial for interpreting the findings of economic impact surveys. Direct effects indicate changes in production directly linked to the immediate impacts of tourism expenditure alterations. For instance, if there is an increase in the number of tourists staying overnight in hotels, it would directly lead to a rise in hotel room sales. The direct effects of tourist spending include additional hotel sales and subsequent modifications in hotel payments for wages, taxes, supplies, and services. On the other hand, indirect effects pertain to production changes resulting from reinvestment of revenues from the tourism industry into backward-linked sectors.

For illustration, industries providing merchandises and services to hotels are affected by changes in hotel gross revenues. This indirectly impacts the linen supply industry, resulting in changes in gross revenues, occupations, and income. Additionally, businesses providing goods

and services to the linen supply industry also experience indirect effects, ultimately linking hotels to most other economic sectors in the region. Induced effects refer to the alterations in economic activity that occur due to household spending of income earned directly or indirectly through tourism expenditure.

For example, employees in the hotel and linen supply industries, who are supported either directly or indirectly by tourism, use the money they earn to pay for local accommodations, food, transportation, as well as other household goods and services. The sales, income, and jobs that result from this additional spending of wages, salaries, or owner's income are known as induced effects.

Total Economic Impact

Total Economic Impact = Direct + Secondary Effects = Direct + (Indirect + Induced Effects). Any change in tourist spending can affect almost every sector of the economy through indirect and induced effects. The magnitude of these secondary effects depends on how likely local businesses and households are to purchase goods and services from local suppliers. Induced effects become noticeable when a large regional plant closes, causing supporting industries to be negatively impacted by the indirect effects. In most cases, the entire local economy suffers due to the decrease in regional household income. Retail stores may shut down, leading to more money flowing out of the local economy as consumers turn to suppliers from outside the region.

In the presence of a significant increase in regional occupations and household income, similar but opposite effects are noticeable. An input-output (I-O) model is a mathematical model that depicts the monetary transactions between sectors in a region's economy. These transactions are predicted based on the inputs required by each industry from every

other industry to generate one dollar's worth of output. Additionally, I-O models establish the proportions of sales that contribute to wages, owner's income, and taxes. Multipliers can be derived from input-output models by estimating the re-circulation of expenditure within the region.

Exports and imports are determined based on estimations of the leaning of families and houses to buy goods and services from local beginnings ( frequently called RPC 's or regional purchase coefficients ) . The more self-sufficing a part is, the fewer the escapes, so that the multipliers are correspondingly higher.

Input-output theoretical accounts make a figure of basic premises: All houses in a given industry employ the same production engineering and bring forth indistinguishable merchandises. There are no economic systems or diseconomies of graduated table in production or factor permutation.

I-O theoretical accounts concentrate on the additive nature of touristry activity/production. It is assumed that when touristry activity/production doubles, all inputs also double. Impact estimates are often reported as if they represent activity within a single year, even though the model does not explicitly keep track of time. It is necessary to assume that the various parameters of the model are accurate and represent the current year. I-O models are firmly based on the national system of accounts, which relies on a standard industrial categorization system (SIC codes), as well as various federal government economic surveys where individual firms report sales, payroll payments, and employment data. I-O models are generally a few years out-of-date, which is not usually problematic unless there have been significant changes in the region's economy.

An I-O theoretical account illustrates the economy of a particular location at a given time: estimates of

tourist spending are typically adjusted to the year of the model. Calculations of multipliers for induced effects generally assume that the additional spending creates new jobs that involve the relocation of new households to the area. Induced effects are determined assuming that there is a linear relationship between changes in household spending and changes in income. Estimates of induced effects are often inflated when these assumptions are not accurate (for example, when new jobs are filled by existing residents). Since induced effects usually make up the majority of tourism's secondary effects, they should be used cautiously.

The proposed policy or action is expected to result in changes in the number and types of tourists visiting the area. These estimates are typically derived from a demand model or a system for measuring tourism activity. Economic impact assessments depend on accurate estimations of visitor numbers and types, which are obtained through carefully designed measurements of tourist activity, a reliable demand model, or informed judgement. However, obtaining accurate counts of tourists is often a challenge in tourism impact studies, as few regions have precise data on tourist arrivals or reliable models for predicting changes in tourism activity or distinguishing between local and non-local visitors.


To estimate the average spending levels, particularly within specific market segments, of tourists in the local area:

The average spending levels are derived from sample surveys or adapted from other studies. These spending estimates should be based on a representative sample of the tourist population and should account for variations across seasons, market segments, types of tourists, and locations within the study area. Since spending can vary significantly

by tourist type, we recommend estimating average spending for key tourist segments using samples of at least 50-100 visitors per tourism segment.

The article suggests that various factors should be taken into consideration when categorizing sections, such as the distinction between local occupants and tourers, as well as the difference between twenty-four hour users and overnight visitors. Additionally, the type of accommodation (motel, campsite, seasonal place, with friends and relations) and mode of transportation (car, RV, air, rail, etc.) should also be considered.

In comprehensive tourism impact studies, it is valuable to identify unique expenditure patterns of significant activity sectors such as downhill skiers, beachgoers, or convention and business travelers. By multiplying the number of tourists by the average spending per visitor (ensuring consistency of units), an estimate of total tourist expenditure in the area can be obtained. For accurate estimates of tourist spending, different spending patterns and usage estimates should be established for key tourism sectors. These usage and spending estimates represent the most crucial elements of an economic impact assessment, as they quantify the amount of money generated in the region by tourists.

Please note: multipliers are only necessary if one wants to consider the secondary effects of tourism expenditure.

Utilize the change in expenditure to determine secondary effects using a regional economic model or set of multipliers:

Secondary effects of tourism are calculated using multipliers, which are a model of the region's economy. Multipliers generally originate from an economic base or input-output model of the region's economy. However, it is common for multipliers to be improperly borrowed or adjusted from published multipliers or other studies. It is important to avoid using a multiplier estimated for one region

in another region with a significantly different economic structure.

The use of state-wide multipliers can result in exaggerated estimations of local multiplier effects. It is a common mistake to apply these widely published multipliers to smaller, local parts. Multipliers tend to be higher for larger parts that have more diversified economic systems.