Tourism is booming in many countries. Some believe that it brings great advantages to the society because the income from the tourism industry could boost the economy and generate tax revenue. While others argue that it may potentially harm the environment as it is expected to generate much more carbon footprint than the earth can handle in the long term. In my opinion, I believe that tourism does more good than harm to a country.
Tourism is a very important sector in the modern economy. Firstly, the tourism industry has become the lifeline of many countries, such as Thailand, New Zealand and Singapore. It creates significant amount of jobs in retail, infrastructure and entertainment, which fills the government coffer through tax revenue paid by the employees in these fields. Secondly, the income from the industry could be used to fund other essential government projects, for example, infrastructure development, preservation of the historic sites, and maintenance of the ancient buildings, which directly benefits the city planning and maintenance. Finally, tourism is a vital channel to facilitate culture exchanges. While enjoying a good time during their vacation, both domestic and international tourists are provided the chance to experience the history of the city, the character for its people and the unique lifestyle.
On the flip side, others argue that travel could raise issues such as environmental damage. Public transportation such as airlines, trains and buses are the main sources of carbon footprint, which leads to global warming and climate change. Apart from that, over exploitation from the tourism industry has destroyed many natural habitants, for example, the marine creatures in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia suffer from the influx of visitors who damage the reef. Finally, the sole reliant on the tourism industry for some countries often lead to social economic crisis. A global economic downturn usually un-disproportionately impacts the counties that are largely dependent on foreign tourists. For instance, Thailand suffered one of its worst economic crisis during the COVID pandemic due to the halt of internal travel.
In summary, I firmly believe that although tourism contributes to environment damage and sometimes creates economic uncertainty in a country, it brings more development opportunities for its citizens by stimulating economic growth and creating job opportunities, which far outweighs its harm to the society as a whole.