Nowadays, international tourism is the biggest industry in the world. Unfortunately, international tourism creates tension rather than understanding between people from different cultures. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is observed that international tourism has accumulated enormous wealth and become the primary source of income for many regions around the globe.

Although

many individuals argue that

this

industry tends to cause tension, it actually facilitates understanding among people of different cultural backgrounds. Admittedly, some misunderstandings or particular frustrations could occur among locals when welcoming people from abroad. A common example of

this

can be seen throughout Asia, as many tourists blatantly disregard clothing etiquette by entering places of worship in Asia

while

wearing skirts or tank tops. Despite seeming harmless,

this

could annoy those practising their religion there, making them feel disrespected, or even worse, deepen the differences in religions and races among countries. Another problem is when tourists inconsiderately ridicule or criticize the traditions of the host country. Many travellers,

for example

, could feel disgusted knowing Vietnamese use dogs as food, despite it being a long-lasting feature of our food culture, and we see no differences in eating dogs or cows, as long as they are humanely raised and slaughtered. Despite the aforementioned problems, I believe they are only rarely occurring incidents and international tourism

overall

plays a vital role in strengthening relations between nations. The fact that one can be physically present in another country and experience its social norms and customs firsthand can facilitate mutual understanding and mitigate the conflicts stemming from cultural differences.

For example

, the western world may hold a prejudice against Muslims, but once they are in an Islamic country seeing the locals are not as aggressive and extreme as depicted in the media, their sympathy and understanding can grow. These tourists could go back home and raise their voices against the stereotypes their fellows believe about a whole religion, based on only a few extreme members. In conclusion, despite the presence of misunderstanding and criticism of some foreign visitors towards the culture of another region, international tourism allows overseas visitors to establish strong ties with the local people.