‘Tourism is always a force for good which enables people of different countries to understand each other.’ To what extent do you agree with this idea?

The role of

tourism

in the world today is widely debated, with some people claiming that it is

indeed

Suggestion

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

Suggestion

When

western tourists visit untouched parts of the world, their stay causes pollution for local

societies

an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization

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

Suggestion

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

Suggestion

Improving

local infrastructure

such

as roads and airports. But to say that it is ‘always a force for

good

Suggestion

Good

’ is to ignore the various problems it causes.