Of all the truisms about tourism, perhaps one of the truest is that it empowers people of different cultures to interact, learn, and evolve. Although this has led some to worry about local culture disappearing as a result of such interaction, my stance is that any kind of restriction or ban on tourism would not only fail to protect local culture but also yield no benefits whatsoever.
Granted, one might argue that by banning tourist activities in certain places, the traditions and cultures in these areas can be preserved. This is predicated on the assumption that with the presence of foreign travelers, native people will be affected by other cultures, ways of life, and languages. According to this theory, local people may start to reject their own way of life and beliefs to adopt more exotic ones, thinking that these are more enlightened and modern. Without such interaction, perhaps they would not compare their traditional values to others, hence preserving the historic and culturally unique traditions, customs, and practices of their area.
However, this line of reasoning is not sound because the widespread use of the internet exposes people to foreign mores, mindsets, and values regardless. This means that changes in different facets of life are inexorable, and a form of indoctrination would ensue if the authorities decided to take away their citizens’ chance to learn by deliberately restricting their access to the world. The corollary of this control would be the loss of critical thinking, which subsequently would have stultifying effects on the progress of a society. Furthermore, since tourism is a lucrative industry that also employs lots of people, especially in the service sector, a ban on this industry would result in huge job and economic losses.
In conclusion, prohibiting tourist activities for the sake of local culture is an unwise proposal. This is because it is pointless to try to stop change, and such a ban would upset the equilibrium of the local economy and cause hardship for local people whose living depends on the influx of holidaymakers.