In modern times, the term tourism came to express moving from one place to another for leisure. Many countries with tourist attractions are heavily dependent on the tourism sector as a major source of income. However, as much as this dependency brings benefits to these countries, it also comes with a cost.
On one hand, there are various advantages to adopting tourism as the main income-providing sector, such as the amount of money invested into it by tourists, as well as the employment opportunities it offers. Travelling for this purpose is usually considered a luxury that can only be afforded by wealthy people who are willing to invest immense amounts of money to ensure their comfort and sustain their lifestyle. A recent study conducted in one of Europe’s most touristic cities has concluded that over 80% of tourists are willing to pay double the average amount for dinner if they’re on holidays abroad. Thus, making tourism a very profitable investment for governments of those countries. Also, these countries seem to never be out of employment opportunities, which is attributed to the high command of professions required to service the tourism industry, which eventually contributes to a better quality of life.
However, as attractive as the tourism industry is, it can have a downside if not managed well, which can become problematic for countries that do not possess the human and infrastructure capacity necessary to cover for this expensive sector’s requirements. Although these countries might have beautiful natural spots or ancient monuments, they might not have the resources enough to host visitors from all over the world, which can lead to an overworked and overloaded population, let alone the ecological risks that arise from all these crowds, for which there might not be measures put in place to mitigate. And while working in tourism might seem like an unmissable opportunity to some people, there are a lot of governments that do not look after this industry’s employees with laws and regulations that protect them, leaving them prone to exploitation for very little pay, especially with most touristic places being seasonal.
In conclusion, as fabulous as this line of work might seem with the opportunities it brings both on financial and social levels, it can have devastating effects on the countries that adopt it as the main source of income that leave the country and its residents at various risks, unless proper measures are implemented by governments and healthy practices are put in place to protect those working in tourism and those benefiting from it.