Tourism is booming in many countries. Some believe that it brings great benefit to the society as it boosts the economy and creates job opportunities. While some others argue that the tourist industry may potentially harm the environment as it generates much more carbon footprint that the earth cannot handle in long-terms. While I believe tourism bring both opportunities and challenges in contemporary society.
In many countries, tourism is one of the most important industry that contributes the economic growth. It boosts the economy in retail, infratration （infrastructure）, hospitality and create job opportunities for many people. For example, in Thailand, New Zealand and in Singapore, tourism are the main engine for GDP growth, which contributes substantial tax revenue for the government.
In addition, encouragement of tourist industry may help local people to better preserve the cultural heritages. Asa lot of money is going to use for the maintenance of the ancient buildings, arts and museums. Local people could benefit from better preservation of the history and understand the past deeply.
On the flip side, the opponents argue that travel causes environmental damage. Airlanes, trains and buses are the main sources of carbon footprint, which may be a threat to the habitats. For example, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia has been suffered a lot due to the influx of the tourists from all across the world. Moreover, over-relay on tourism leads to economical vulnerability. Economic downturn is likely to occurs with countries that have simple structure economy such as experienced during COVID pandemic.
Overall, tourism brings opportunities in revenue and job opportunities, but also pose challenges in term of the environment and economy. Striking the balance between the numbers of visitors and the structure of the economy will led to a brighter future for a country.