Many countries around the world derive a major portion of their gross domestic product from the tourism sector. In this essay, I will expound on the benefits and drawbacks of depending on tourism as a key contributor to national income.
The first advantage of depending on tourism as a main source of the national economy is the huge generation of foreign exchange. When tourists flock to the country, they spend a substantial amount of money on so many things like hotels or resorts, food, transportation, clothing, artefacts, and so forth, thus contributing to the host country’s economy. Certain Caribbean states, for instance, have the tourism industry as their key source of foreign exchange earning that contributes the lion’s share of national income. Another benefit is that tourism causes infrastructural development in the state. In simple words, as the tourism industry is the main contributor to the national economy, the government feels obligated to improve the infrastructure of the country so as to keep holidaymakers coming and captivate more. Attracting foreign investment is the last benefit investigated in this essay. Many foreigners relishing the business prospect, for example, might end up investing in the nation.
However, reliance on tourism revenue also confers disadvantages. Tourism dependency very often neglects the other forms of income-generation sectors since that money is usually spent on only touristic areas while other industries and places suffer. The same goes for tourism jobs. These jobs are quite seasonal, and hundreds of workers are left without an income with the cessation of the season. Relying solely on tourism, in fact, is fine in good times, but it can leave any society vulnerable to economic ruin in bad times. A case in point is the coronavirus pandemic. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, global tourist arrivals will fall 80% in 2021.
In conclusion, tourism is not always a good sector to depend on; but it is still one of the most effective industries to alleviate poverty as it improves infrastructures and also attracts foreign investment. Thus, the economic reliance on tourism can be the silver bullet for eradicating abject poverty for many nations.