GED010

Tourism

Mohammad Fadi 5239898

Peoples lifestyles are much different now than it was a 100 years ago. Now people are
more open to the exploration of other cultures and this is why tourism is now more
popular than it was before. Tourism is the activity of traveling for pleasure, to see sights,
for recreation, etc.

(Oxford University Press, 2005).

The positives aspects of tourism outweigh the negatives because the income of the
particular country or area increases due to increase in popularity, so many jobs
opportunities are created by tourism, and this income gained can be used to develop
the infrastructures, and the places visited. Some people argue that the revenue made
by tourism isnt reliable because it is not constant. However, tourism has many social
benefits.

First of all, Tourism has generated so many job opportunities, According to the Bureau
of Labor & Statistics (Dec 2014) employment in leisure and hospitality continued to
increase in November and has added 359,000 jobs so far this year. In many different
ways these job opportunities have affected the economy, directly, through hotels,
restaurants, taxis and souvenirs, and also indirectly by providing services needed by
tourism-related businesses, governments, through charging taxes on tourists,
households, and businesses. U.S., have generated over $133.9 billion in tax income for
local, state and federal government (U.S. Travel Association 2015).Without the tax
income the U.S. generated from tourism, households will be forced to pay more taxes
than usual. As stated by the World Tourism Organization (2015), 698 million individuals
have visited a foreign country in 2000, and have spent more than $478 billion. Global
tourism proceeds combined with traveler transport more than $575 billion is spent making tourism the world's number one source of income in front of car items,
petroleum, substances and chemicals (World travel & tourism council 2015). All of the
money spent on goods and services is an example of the multiplier effect. Multiplier
effect is an effect in economics that happens when an increase which is intended in an
investment which leads to a larger income. (Dictionary.com 2015). This huge income
gained by tourism can also be used for other projects like developing and fixing the

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GED010

Tourism

Mohammad Fadi 5239898

foundations of the country that is visited by tourists and in this way, many job
opportunities are generated by the tourism sector.

In addition to the increase in jobs, as the particular country or area increases in

popularity the income increases which helps to fix and develop the infrastructures, and
the places visited. Infrastructures include a countrys road network, sanitation
standards, electricity supply, and number of vehicles, Internet access, landline phone
network and mobile phone network coverage etc.
Projection of infrastructure requirement in J&K.

Table 1: Required infrastructure, 2015-2020

Source: Santek Consultants Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi
The infrastructure requirements Jammu and Kashmir are shown in the table above,
according to Mir (2015, p.596), it is stated that It is essential to put more stress on the
maintenance of existing tourist spots because tourists are attracted to a particular place
only if they feel that the arrangements being made at a tourist destination are sufficient
to satisfy them. According to Statista (2015), a study was conducted to find the most
developed infrastructures, Hong Kong is the global leader in overall infrastructure with
a value of 6.7 on a scale of 1 to 7. The scale ranges from 1 = underdeveloped and 7 =
extensively by international standards. According to Brown (2012), it is found that a
better infrastructure encourages tourism, infrastructure is the most important factor
more than the environment or the economy, and it is stated that a well-developed
infrastructure does indeed cause harm to the environment, as we expected. But a more
developed society does not necessarily result in environmental improvements, and a
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GED010

Tourism

Mohammad Fadi 5239898

better environment does not seem to drive more tourism either. It is concluded that if
the infrastructures are more developed, it will cause better communication, easier travel,
and a healthier experience.

On the other hand, it is believed that tourism isnt a reliable source of income because
of many factors that affect it such as a single climatic disaster such as a hurricane or a
crime wave (as in south Africa), or terrorist attack (such as that at Luxor in 1997, where
58 tourists were attacked) will mean the market quickly collapses. Even without this,
changing trends will mean tourist tastes shift every few years. However, it is argued that
tourism has many social benefits it can offer pride for local communities, it allows local
communities to look at their history, and cultural heritage. This social advantage saved
many heritages from destruction.

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