Tourism Chapter 3 – Impact of Tourism

NIOS Class 12 Tourism Chapter 3 Solutions

INTEXT QUESTIONS 3.1

1. How do tourism activities impact destination areas?

Ans: Interaction of tourists with local/destination land and people affects both positively as well as negatively.

2. What are the impacts of tourism?

Ans: There are four impacts of tourists: – Economic, Socio-cultural, Political, and Environmental.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 3.2

1. How is the economy of a tourist destination affected by tourism?

Ans: The economy of the destination area is affected both positively and negatively.

It provides employment opportunities infrastructure development, an increase in casual labour benefits to the higher section, and the lower section is neglected.

2. Write any two positive economic impacts of tourism.

Ans: (Any two)

• Expenditure incurred for the purpose of encouraging tourism generates income in the host countries. This, in turn, increases the growth in the other allied economic sectors.
• As mentioned above, attracting foreign tourists to a host country fetches foreign currency. This is a very good sign of having good international trading capacity.
• The government of a host country generates revenue as taxes on the income from tourism employment, business, and entry fees at various tourist sites/monuments, also through toll taxes, etc.
• Many items needed by tourists are imported from other countries. When the Government levies import duty, it gets financial benefits.
• Quickly growing national and international tourism has created significant employment opportunities. It has piloted a better economic status of the people involved in tourism, directly or indirectly, through hotels, restaurants, guides, nightclubs, taxis, local crafts, paintings, and local cultural products, etc.
• Tourism motivates the government to invest more in many types of infrastructure, leading to better facilities for tourists as well as for the local people.
• Tourism also promotes local people by giving opportunities to get a livelihood in informal sectors like street vendors, rickshaw pullers, tea/coffee stalls, magazine corners, shops with packed food items, etc.
• Employment in the Informal sector pumps money into the local economy. It has rippling effects by investing and generating more income simultaneously for those people.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 3.3

1. Describe the term culture.

Ans: Culture is the common practice of society which includes manners, morals, beliefs, behaviour, values, and norms.

2. Mention any three negative impacts of tourism on society.

Ans: (Any two)

• It reduces the bonding of family structure and promotes nuclear family norms.
• It encourages urbanisation and emigration.
• Friction and resentment with tourists happen due to overcrowding and a lack of recreational facilities for the local people.
• Drug abuse and prostitution are on the rise at certain tourist places.
• Commercial sexual exploitation of children and young women has increased with the growing tourism industry in many parts of the world. Children are trafficked into brothel houses and sold into the sex slavery market.
• Misbehaviour and rape of foreign tourists hampers tourism.
• The tourists are welcomed in a traditional style at certain places and hotels/airports. Sometimes, it leads to the commercialisation of the traditional welcome and hospitality norms, making a mockery of them.
• Intermingling with the people of various cultural groups leads to the loss of the culture of the destination area. Later on, it leads to a crisis of cultural identity.
• Tourists are well off in comparison to the local unskilled people. Thus, it leads to the greed of the local people to extort money and equipment from the tourists. Greed of this kind leads to crime committed by the local people.
• The moral conduct of the local people is deteriorating, particularly when local youth try to imitate foreigners. They try to adopt the habits of tourists by indulging in smoking, drinking and gambling, etc.
• Violation and breaking of local norms and customs by foreign tourists lead to conflict between the host and guest.
• Erosion of local language and dialect in terms of the purity and mixture of the language is on the rise.
• Cultural clashes are taking place because of the differences in cultures, ethnicity, religion, values, behaviour, lifestyle, and level of prosperity.
• Many tourists come from different societies with varying lifestyles. They seek pleasure of every kind, spend more money, and sometimes behave very arrogantly, which may not be acceptable even in their own society from which they are coming.
• There is a growing distinction between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’, especially in less economically developed countries. It creates socio-cultural tensions.
• Due to carelessness and ignorance, tourists often fail to respect local customs and moral values. This irritates local people.

3. Sometimes local people get annoyed with tourists. Explain the reason.

Ans: Violation and breaking of local norms and customs by foreign/outside tourists leads to the annoyance of the local people.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 3.4

1. Discuss the role of government in influencing tourism.

Ans: The government is an active player in developing infrastructure as well as providing stability in the country. Tourism is affected accordingly.

2. Write any three political impacts on tourism.

Ans: 

• Political instability and conflict in the destination area/country.
• Tourist origin countries sometimes issue a warning not to visit or ask their citizens to leave the country where there is political instability. 
• An unstable government will be unable to take proper care of the tourists. 
• On the other hand, political willpower to establish infrastructure in tourist attraction areas encourages tourism.
• Tourist-targeted planning further accelerates the effect on tourism.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 3.5

1. Explain the meaning of environment.

Ans: The environment is the total surroundings or conditions in which a person animal or plant lives and interacts.

2. List any three negative environmental impacts of tourism.

Ans: 

• The land use is altered significantly to construct houses, hotels, and restaurants to meet the demand for tourists and other people visiting the area.
• A large forest cover is removed. Agricultural land is replaced by buildings, roads and garbage disposal, etc.
• Construction of roads on the slope in a mountainous region leads to many problems, such as soil erosion and loss of biodiversity, which creates ecological imbalances. 
• Landslides are widespread in such areas because of human interventions.
• Run-off is increased because of the reduction of water seepage. Due to greater run-off, more erosion is observed. Higher erosion in the upper reaches brings a high amount of silt to the lower regions. The deposition of coarse silt and high run-off bring floods and make the flood-affected area almost infertile.
• A huge number of tourists arriving at any site is generating great pressure on the natural resources of the destination area. Those resources are getting depleted gradually.
• Huge demand for resources is leading to degradation and deterioration, both in terms of quality and quantity. It is leading to pollution of resources like water, air and land.
• Due to growing tourism activities, pollution of beaches, lakes, rivers, and underground water is reaching an alarming level.
• A larger number of tourists places a higher demand for various items and services. To provide supportive and other facilities in turn leads to congestion of the tourist sites.
• Managing the solid waste disposal and sewage treatment in such areas is a difficult task.
• Tourism caters to tourists from all over the world. They travel by air to cover the large distance in a short duration. Each flight expels huge toxic gases like carbon dioxide, nitrogen monoxide, etc. in the atmosphere, resulting in a rise in the overall, worldwide environmental problems are on rise.
• Local transport also pollutes the environment through the consumption of biofuels.
• The status of the archaeological, historical, architectural and natural sites is deteriorating because of the rush of tourists.
• Many of the tourists are interested in visiting hilly areas with natural beauty, full of waterfalls, bridges, changing forest sites, snow, skiing, etc. and all these are found in a fragile area of mountain slopes. More tourists visiting these areas results in added pressure on the carrying capacity of such lands.
• Litter is found along the roads/trekking paths, and camping grounds.
• Vigorous travelling of tourists in the parks/ wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves alters the behaviour of the animals and even their reproductive cycle. They are scared of the tourists, and they try to run away from their natural habitat and move to the peripheral areas. The same is observed with the aquatic animals and plants because of the increased water activity and boating.
• Habitat can be degraded by tourism leisure activities. For example, wildlife viewing can bring about stress for the animals and alter their natural behaviour when tourists come too close.
• When many tourists go for trekking, the vegetative cover along/near the treks is under attack from the footfalls. Grasses, plants and bushes are trampled upon, and their growth is retarded.
• Tourists using the same trail over and over again trample the vegetation and soil, eventually causing damage that can lead to loss of biodiversity and other impacts.
• Construction of the tall buildings and hotels obstructs the skyline, and the natural beauty is hampered. That is just like visual clutter.
• Any number of facilities provided at the tourist destination becomes insufficient after some time. When the capacity is further increased, it is at some cost to the natural environment.

Terminal Exercises

1. Describe the positive and negative impacts of tourism by giving at least three points for each.

Ans: 

Positive Impacts

• Tourism generates income in the host countries. 
• Tourism motivates the government to invest more in many types of infrastructure, leading to better facilities for tourists as well as for the local people.
• Employment in the Informal sector pumps money into the local economy.
• Tourism supports the development of community facilities and services for local people, thus leading to better living conditions.
• Tourism creates awareness about the importance and value of natural, cultural, archaeological or historical sites.

Negative Impacts of Tourism

• Violation and breaking of local norms and customs by foreign tourists lead to conflict between the host and guest.
• Intermingling with the people of various cultural groups leads to the loss of the culture of the destination area.
• When the tourists are already visiting the country, where some political instability occurs, a warning is issued to the citizens to leave the country at the earliest.
• A policy adopted in favour of tourism and infrastructure development leads to the growth of tourism, and in inverse conditions, the result is contrary.

2. Explain the socio-cultural impacts of tourism.

Ans: When more and more people come from far-flung places and interact with residents of any area, the social and cultural impacts are bound to take place. Due to interaction, changes are observed in the altered value system, behaviour, including the loss of one’s indigenous identity. Deviations are seen in community structure, family relationships, collective traditional lifestyle, ceremonies and morality. Apart from this, some positive impacts are also observed.

3. How does political stability or instability affect tourism?

Ans: Political instability and conflict in the destination area/country prove to be a hindrance. In such conditions, law and order are a big problem. Therefore, tourists refrain from visiting such destinations. Political stability and protection to tourists from the government machinery is a tonic for the promotion of tourism. Safety and security at any tourist destination attract a large number of tourists. Law and order are the concern of the government. If it is well managed, it helps in the inflow of tourists.

4. “Environment is under great strain due to increasing tourism” Explain the statement with examples.

Ans: Tourism brings a huge number of people to an area continuously, who have diverse attitudes. A huge number of people arriving at those locations poses intense pressure on various resources.

• Removal of plants and vegetation cover for road and other development projects creates exponential ill effects on the environment.
• Air transportation causes air pollution.
• Local transport also pollutes the environment through the consumption of biofuels.
• Litter is found along the roads/trekking paths, and camping grounds.
• Tourists using the same trail over and over again trample the vegetation and soil, eventually causing damage that can lead to loss of biodiversity and other impacts.

Additional Study Materials

• NIOS Class 12 Tourism Syllabus Bifurcation
• NIOS Class 12 Tourism Sample Question Paper
• Chapter 1 Evolution of Tourism
• Chapter 2. Tourism Industry and its Organization