The role of tourism in the world today is widely debated, with some people claiming that it is indeed a force for international understanding. However, I personally do not entirely accept this, and I will explain why in this essay.
Firstly, we must consider the potential negatives of contact between cultures. For example, when western tourists visit untouched parts of the world, their stay causes pollution for local societies. We see this in the litter left at Machu Picchu in Peru, and in the damage to ecology caused by safari tourism in Africa. Furthermore, there are numerous examples of tension between tourists and local cultures, ranging from drunken British tourists in Europe to American ‘spring breakers’ in Canadian or Latin American resorts. In these cases, tourism actually leads to resentment and distrust between nationalities, not better understanding.
A further reason to be wary of this idea is the economic aspect. It is sometimes said that tourism improves international relations because it encourages the flow of money from wealthy to less developed countries. In reality, however, the wealth generated usually stays in the hands of private companies or local officials, and rarely drips down into the population. Many of us have visited less developed nations as tourists, and have witnessed at first hand the poverty that exists outside the confines of the resort hotels. We leave with the impression that our stay has contributed nothing to the lives of those we have observed
This is not to say that tourism is entirely bad, of course. There are benefits in terms of improving local infrastructure such as roads and airports. But to say that it is ‘always a force for good’ is to ignore the various problems it causes.