These days, many poorer countries are focusing their efforts on developing and promoting their tourism industries. There are some reasons for this, and I believe this can be a positive development, despite numerous drawbacks that can arise.
Personally, I believe that the primary reason for developing tourism in a country is due to the economic benefits that it brings. A well-developed tourism industry creates a lot of new businesses and jobs for local people, and an influx of money from foreign tourists. In addition to this, promoting international tourism can help to improve international relations with other countries, and to share a country’s customs and culture with people all around the world. Many people these days are interested in learning about different cultures and ways of living, and tourism helps to facilitate this experience.
However, there are a number of drawbacks that arise from the expansion of a country’s tourism industry. For example, in many countries in South East Asia, tourism has been a major cause of environmental pollution and destruction. For example, most tourists generally drink bottled water when on holiday, and this creates mountains of plastic waste every year. Many developing countries do not have appropriate recycling facilities and do not know how to deal with the waste, and therefore, it commonly ends up littered throughout the countryside, rivers, seas, beaches and oceans. Furthermore, the invasion of tourists into certain places can disrupt the local wildlife and ecosystems, causing further environmental damage.
In conclusion, I would have to say that expanding the tourism industry in a country is a positive development if it is properly managed, and the environmental and cultural impacts are closely monitored and minimised.