ELECTIVE GEOGRAPHYOUR CHANGING WORLD

GLOBAL TOURISM

IS TOURISM THE WAY TO GO?

GATEWAY 3

DEVELOPING TOURISM AT WHAT COST?

• Assess the impact of tourism on a country

• Explain how tourism can be made sustainable

• Compare the role of various groups in taking care of tourist areas

IMPACTS OF TOURISMImpacts Economic Socio-cultural Environmental

POSITIVE • Employment opportunities

• Growth in income• Increase in foreign

exchange• Infrastructure &

facilities development

• Preservation of heritage, culture & local customs

• Conservation of natural habitats

NEGATIVE • Leakage of tourism receipts

• Seasonal unemployment

• Under-use of facilities

• Shortage of facilities

• Dilution of heritage, culture & local customs

• Increased crime

• Vandalism• Littering &

pollution• Destruction of

habitat• Increased

carbon footprint• Increased

congestion

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Employment opportunities

• Growth in tourism industry can lead to increase in in tourism-related jobs

• Eg: airline staff, hotel staff, tour guides and tour agents, producers of souvenirs

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Other jobs are indirectly linked to tourism when they travel and consume goods & services

• Eg: taxi drivers, shop owners, restaurant waiters

• UNWTO estimated that tourism industry employed over 235 million people in 2011

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Growth in income

• Tourism leads to growth of income for individuals and a country

• Eg: fishermen on Pamilacan Island (Philippines)

• US$80 - $100 for boat trips to see whale sharks and dolphins

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Leakage of tourism receipts

• When tourism revenue is lost to other countries due to import of goods & services

• Eg: foreign hotel chains, international airline tickets

• See pg 57, fig 1.70

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Increase in foreign exchange

• Refers to money earned from other countries in exchange for goods & services

• When tourism business investments exchange their own currency for Singapore dollars

• Increases demand for S$

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Contribute to government revenue

• Directly from taxes on tourists• Indirectly from goods & services

supplied to tourists• Taxes are collected in local

currency, which increases the foreign exchange of host country

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Infrastructure development

• Refers to all supporting structures

• Helps tourism to operate on a large scale and to attract tourists (good facilities)

• Specific infrastructures may be developed for some activities

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Eg: stadium for sporting events, hospitals for medical tourism

• Rail and road networks improve general accessibility

• Developing infrastructure also creates employment for the locals

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Seasonal unemployment

• When tourist activities are dependent on climatic conditions

• Locals employed in these tourist activities may have to find alternative employment when the activities are not available

• Eg: ski resorts in summer

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Underuse of facilities

• When purpose-built facilities for certain seasons or events become too costly to maintain because of drop in tourists

• Venues and facilities become neglected

• Eg: Bird Nest and Water Cube

IMPACTS OF TOURISM - ECONOMIC

• Shortage of services

• Compromise of services for locals when channeled to tourist infrastructure

• Refer to examples in pg 61, fig 1.78

PITSTOP 11

Pg 61

Questions

• 3

• 4 (a), (b), (c)

• 5

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – SOCIO-CULTURAL

• Culture – includes morals, beliefs, heritage and customs

• Heritage – beliefs, values and customs

• Eg: buildings, monuments, art and language

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – SOCIO-CULTURAL

• Customs – traditional ways of doings things and behaving

• Eg: person-to-person greeting, practices during wedding ceremonies, practices during meals

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – SOCIO-CULTURAL

• Preservation of local culture

• Protect the way people live• Preserved historic and cultural

sites are more attractive to tourists

• Enhances locals’ national identity, and sense of history & belonging

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – SOCIO-CULTURAL

• Revenue generated from tourism can be used to fund the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage

• Eg: entry fees to Angkor Wat complex can fund repairs and conservation works

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – SOCIO-CULTURAL

• Dilution of local culture

• Identity, culture and values can be lost when tourism becomes a major activity or when it is too commercialised

• Tourist activities may force original local inhabitants to other places

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – SOCIO-CULTURAL

• Examples:

• Buildings converted to host tourists

• Mass production of local crafts• Shortened rituals to fit itineraries• Locals displayed as ‘exhibits’• Reduced authenticity &

significance

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – SOCIO-CULTURAL

• Increased crime rates

• High crime rates tend to occur at popular tourist locations

• Mugging: an assault upon a person with intention to rob

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – SOCIO-CULTURAL

• Tourist traps:• Overpriced goods: goods &

services sold at inflated prices• Scams: to cheat or swindle with

intention of making quick profits

• Tourist traps can refer to locations where scams are common too

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – ENVIRONMENTAL

• Conservation of natural environments

• Revenue and profits generated from tourism can contribute to conservation of natural environments

• Recall ‘Ecotourism’ and 6 principles

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – ENVIRONMENTAL

• Increased congestion

• Popular areas can attract large number of tourists

• Some attractions in remote locations cannot handle the amount of traffic

• Cause pedestrian and vehicular congestion (air pollution)

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – ENVIRONMENTAL

• Vandalism

• The deliberate act of defacing and damaging cultural, historical and natural sites belonging to other people

• Eg: removing wall pieces from Berlin Wall

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – ENVIRONMENTAL

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – ENVIRONMENTAL

• Pollution and littering

• Caused by improper waste management

• Tourists can leave behind large quantities of waste matter

• Eg: plastic bottles and food packaging

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – ENVIRONMENTAL

• Destruction of habitats

• Natural environments can be overwhelmed by the large number of tourists

• Eg: Trampling of plants, collecting samples as souvenirs, increased noise level

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – ENVIRONMENTAL

Take nothing except photographs

Leave nothing except footprints

IMPACTS OF TOURISM – ENVIRONMENTAL

• Increased carbon footprint

• More greenhouse gases emitted due to tourist activities

• Eg: flight from Singapore to KL releases 30kg of CO2 per passenger

PITSTOP 12

Pg 66

Questions

• 2

• 4

• 6

• 8 (a), (b)

MANAGING IMPACTS OF TOURISM

• Conservation and sustainable tourism

• Tension between tourists and locals

• Tension between tourists and environment

MANAGING IMPACTS OF TOURISM

Needs of tourists

Condition of the site

Concerns of locals

CONSERVATION & SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

• Conservation involves careful management of resources such that they would not be depleted

• Important for fragile environments

• Eg: coral reefs and mangroves

• Sustainable Tourism

• Tourism organised such that:• the environment is not

damaged• the locals do not experience

negative impacts• the needs of tourists are met

CONSERVATION & SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

• Sustainable Tourism also involves minimum leakage of revenue through

• Training locals to perform skilled tourism jobs

• Develop homestays where visitors can pay locals directly

• Promoting local F&B in restaurants

CONSERVATION & SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

• UNESCO – UN Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation

• Provide funding to threatened sites• World Heritage Sites: 12 (1978) to

1,000 (2012)• Well-protected sites ensure steady

arrival and repeated returns of tourists

CONSERVATION & SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

TENSION BETWEEN TOURISTS AND LOCALS

• Conflict between needs of the tourists and needs of the locals

• Eg: tourists wearing skimpy clothing and public displays of affection make locals uncomfortable

• Eg: Bali (read page 69 & 70!)

TENSION BETWEEN TOURISTS AND ENVIRONMENT

• Conflict between needs of the tourists and needs to conserve the environment

• Tourist arrivals damage the environment, however the revenue also contribute to the conservation of the site

• Eg: Machu Picchu, Peru (read page 70 & 71!)

• Government authorities plan an important role

• Limit number of visitors to minimise congestion (recall Waitomo Caves)

• Witholding permission to projects that could harm the environment

MEASURES TO MANAGE TENSIONS

• Employing staff to carry out maintenance and repair

• Holding discussions with locals to address their needs

• Restricting some locals-only areas

MEASURES TO MANAGE TENSIONS

• Local communities

• Visitors

• Tour operators

• Non-governmental organisations

• Planning authorities

RESPONSIBILITIES OF VARIOUS GROUPS

• Group of people in the same territory or community

• Have interests in protecting tourist areas for economic benefits

• Community-based tourism: tourism with close contact with locals communities

LOCAL COMMUNITIES

• Eg: Candirejo Village, Borobudur, Central Java, Indonesia

• 2003: set up tourism-related programmes

• Developed homestays and organic farming, organised local transport

• Trained villagers to tourism-related work (catering, guides)

LOCAL COMMUNITIES

• 2004: 22 homestays, 22 andongs, 6 local restaurants

• 2002: 10 homestays, 5 andongs, 0 local restaurants

• Created 63 new jobs, 5 new businesses

• 12.5% increase in average income per villager

LOCAL COMMUNITIES

• Involves locals in decision-making

• Increase in tourism-related employment & businesses for locals

• Difficulty in obtaining external funding

• Shortage of skilled labour

LOCAL COMMUNITIES

• Have responsibility to respect both the environment and the locals

• Consider the conservation efforts of tourist site

• Visitors can feel their visit is more rewarding when they know they have minimised their damage on the environment

VISITORS (TOURISTS)

• Fund conservation & preservation

• Provide income locals

• Raise awareness to conserve and preserve attractions

• Damage tourist attractions

• Dilute local culture & customs

VISITORS (TOURISTS)

• Have interest in protecting environments visited by tourists

• Tourists unlikely to visit places with spoilt landscapes, reduced biodiversity and deteriorated cultures

• Eg: Phuket Alternative Tours (PAT) in 2006

TOUR OPERATORS

• Tour operators required to commit to an Environmental & Cultural Code of Practice

• Operate in an environmentally sustainable way

• Seek to enhance the natural environment and the way the industry uses it

• Create awareness about conservation to visitors

TOUR OPERATORS

• Provide feedback on tourist attractions

• Regulate tourist behaviour

• Need to generate profits

TOUR OPERATORS

• NGOs are non-profit and operate independent of governments

• Eg: TIES (recall Ecotourism)

• Developed guidelines, conducted training, provide technical assistance, published papers

• Works with travel associations and conservation groups in 124 countries

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORG.

• Facilitate communication between various stakeholders

• Support stakeholders in managing impact of tourism

• Difficulty in obtaining external funding

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORG.

• Able to influence the quality of environments and how many visitors the site can cope with

• Allocating space for infrastructure

• Eg: Singapore Tourism Board

• Balance between attracting visitors and conserving Singapore’s national heritage

PLANNING AUTHORITIES

• Implement programmes to conserve and enhancing ethnic districts of Singapore

• Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India

PLANNING AUTHORITIES

• Develop and maintain infrastructure & attractions

• Draft laws and policies

• Work with other government agencies

• Difficult to plan for unforseen factors

• Opposing stakeholders

PLANNING AUTHORITIES

CHECKPOINT

Pg 53

Questions

• 2

• 6

• 10 (Open-ended question)

• 12 (Open-ended question)

• 13 (a), (b)

• 14 (a), (b)

TOURISM IN SINGAPORE• Page 76 to 80

• You should be able to:

• Discuss the tourist activities in Singapore• Locate the tourist sites and attracts• Explain how tourism has impacted S’pore• Explain how these impacts are being

managed• Explain why tourism is a vital sector of

Singapore’s economy

END OF CHAPTER