In the modern world, people have more opportunities to travel not only in their homeland but also abroad. Some believe that this trend has a detrimental impact on the environment. However, despite some drawbacks, I consider that international travel increases awareness of other cultures and it is economically beneficial for local residents.
Firstly, with an increasing number of tourists, residents are concerned about the harm on the environment. A wide range of individuals behave irresponsibly while visiting other countries and tend to be noisy and throw trash in the streets. For example, according to an article published in the “Washington Times” in 2023, some research showed that canals in Venice become full of trash after rising the popularity of tourism in their areas. Therefore, some are calling for restrictions of international travel to avoid environmental issues.
However, this widespread trend has more advantages than disadvantages. Travelling abroad allows individuals to explore cultures and traditions of other countries, which helps people to broaden their minds and become more intelligent. Moreover, tourism is one of the largest areas of income for the economies of many states, therefore, with an increase in international travelling, GDP by person in these countries have rapidly risen. For instance, the economy of Maldives before tourism was terrible, but with the skyrocketing number of visitors it became better.
Taking all the above into account, although international travel has some negative effects on the environment, from my perspective, advantages such as raising awareness of various cultures outweigh the disadvantages.