Cultural tourism, in which people travel in order to visit museums, monuments and archaeological sites among other things, is a growing industry. Having so many visitors may sometimes benefit a nation's cultural heritage, but it can also cause problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Several countries with rich history and culture like Jordan, India, France, Spain, Turkey etc. are promoting themselves as tourist destinations and airline countries are promoting travel with cheap fares.

Also

, the internet has fueled

people

's interest in other cultures.

Hence

, cultural

tourism

has become very popular nowadays. I believe that

this

is a very welcome phenomenon. I will elaborate on

this

fact in the following paragraphs with adequate examples.

Firstly

, cultural

tourism

promotes fraternity.

People

across countries come together and create permanent bonds of friendship.

For example

, many Europeans come to India

,

Remove the comma

apply

show examples

and fall in love with Bollywood and Yoga. All these

people

have become our unofficial ambassadors and are spreading goodwill about us Indians.

Secondly

, when

people

see the marvellous achievements of ancient cultures,

then

they develop respect for that culture.

For instance

, when

people

from the advanced economies see the towering Pyramids of Giza, they develop respect for the culturally rich but economically poor Egyptians.

Lastly

, cultural

tourism

provides means of sustenance for many tour operators, guides, porters and hotel owners, who depend on these

tourists

.

However

, despite the numerous advantages of cultural

tourism

, there are few serious concerns. The primary concern is damage to the site itself. The rich paintings of Ajanta and Ellora caves,

for instance

, have suffered due to the flashlights of the cameras used by the

tourists

.

Tourists

have defaced and defiled monuments like the Taj Mahal, at Agra.

Also

, these

tourists

come only during certain peak seasons, putting the local infrastructure like roads and water supply under severe strain. In a nutshell, cultural

tourism

has promoted fraternity, mutual respect for cultures and the economy but has

also

caused damage to the host environment. In my opinion,

this

form of

tourism

is a good thing but needs to be regulated.