International tourism has increased considerably in the last 50 years. White this industry has certainly created a great deal of wealth for many destination countries, I believe that it has actually caused far more problems than it has solved. The following are just two of the main difficulties involved with international tourism.
One particularly serious issue is that international travel has brought western problems to developing countries. Only wealthy people can afford to travel overseas. As a result, increasing numbers of tourists from rich (mostly westem) countries now holiday in poorer countries like Thailand and Indonesia. In many of these places, thit flood of tourists is closely associated with such problems as prostitution, alcoholism and drug abuse. Although international tourism can certainly bring people together and create greater cross-cultural understanding, this will probably not happen while it is still such a powerful sign of westem power and lack of moral standards.
Even more worrying, however, is the damage that international tourism has caused to the environment in many parts of the world. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is an especially good example of this-large areas of coral reef have been slowly destroyed by the thousands of beats, scuba divers and snorkellers that have visited it over the years. Likewise, Bali’s famous Kuta Beach is now often covered in litter from the crowds who go there. In order to maintain such tourist attractions, I feel we must regulate international tourism more carefully.
To conclude, it is clear that the difficulties created by the growing international tourist trade are complicated and many. While they are certainly not impossible to overcome, I believe these problems will probably continue for some time.