The Social Impacts Of Tourism That We All NEED To Know About!

Summary

Dr. Haley Stainson from tourismteacher.com explores the dual nature of tourism's social impacts, highlighting both its potential to alleviate poverty, preserve culture, and strengthen communities, and its risks of causing cultural erosion, crime, and social disruption. The video delves into concepts like globalization, authenticity, and standardization, urging viewers to consider their role in sustainable tourism practices and the importance of respecting host communities.

Takeaways

• 🌏 The tourism industry has the potential to bring about positive change globally, such as alleviating poverty and preserving cultural heritage.
• 🏥 Tourism can contribute to local communities by providing income for necessities like food and medical care.
• 🎨 It has the power to revitalize culture and art, supporting the maintenance of religious buildings and ancient cultures.
• 🚫 However, tourism can also have negative effects, including the erosion of local culture and heritage, and the promotion of crime and other social ills.
• 🌱 Sustainable tourism management involves balancing environmental, economic, and social impacts to ensure long-term viability.
• 🤝 Tourism inherently involves interactions between hosts and guests, which can lead to significant social and cultural impacts.
• 🏰 One of the positive impacts is the preservation of local culture, as tourists often seek authentic experiences, encouraging destinations to protect their heritage.
• 🏗️ The development of tourism infrastructure can benefit local communities by providing new facilities and services.
• 🎉 Tourism can strengthen communities by rejuvenating local events and festivals, creating a vibrant social atmosphere.
• 💼 Employment opportunities created by tourism can improve the quality of life for locals and foster a sense of community.
• 🌐 Globalization in tourism can lead to a loss of cultural individuality as destinations become more homogenized to cater to tourists' expectations.
• 🔄 The concept of authenticity in tourism is complex, with some cultures seemingly remaining unchanged for the sake of tourism, raising ethical questions about what constitutes true authenticity.
• 📉 Standardization in tourism can lead to a loss of local character as multinational corporations and chains replace independent businesses.
• 🤔 Cultural clashes can occur due to differences in values, lifestyles, and prosperity between tourists and local populations, potentially leading to resentment and increased crime.
• 🚨 The growth of tourism can unfortunately contribute to issues like sex tourism, gambling, and a rise in crime rates in certain areas.

Q & A

What is the potential positive impact of tourism on local communities?

Tourism can help bring people out of poverty, provide income for necessities like food and medical bills, preserve ancient cultures, maintain religious buildings, revitalize culture and art, and strengthen communities.

What are the three pillars of sustainable tourism management mentioned in the script?

The three pillars of sustainable tourism management are the environment, the economy, and society.

How does tourism contribute to the preservation of local culture?

Tourism often leads to efforts in preserving and protecting local culture because it is often the local culture that attracts tourists. This contributes to the conservation of natural resources and the promotion of indigenous cultures and arts.

What is the potential negative impact of tourism on the local culture and heritage?

Tourism can lead to the destruction of culture and heritage, encourage people to abandon their native language and traditional dress, and may even promote crime, gambling, and drug use.

How can tourism help in strengthening communities through events and festivals?

Tourism can rejuvenate and develop local events and festivals, making them more attractive to tourists. This can lead to increased participation from local residents and can boost community spirit.

What is the concept of globalization in the context of tourism?

Globalization in tourism refers to the interconnectedness of the world, leading to a loss of individuality and a sense of global being. It is often seen through the interaction between tourists and hosts from different backgrounds, which encourages cultural convergence.

Why might the preservation of local culture for tourism purposes be seen as unnatural?

The preservation of local culture for tourism might be seen as unnatural because social settings and cultures naturally evolve over time. Forcing a culture to remain static for the sake of tourism can be viewed as artificial and contrary to the natural process of cultural evolution.

How can the growth of tourism lead to crime in an area?

The presence of tourists with money to spend and valuable possessions can attract criminals, leading to an increase in activities such as robbery, theft, and drug dealing.

What is the ethical dilemma posed by the expectation of authenticity in tourist destinations?

The ethical dilemma is that some cultures may be pressured to remain unchanged for the sake of providing an 'authentic' experience for tourists, which can hinder their natural development and modernization.

What is the potential impact of tourism on local language and communication?

Tourism can lead to locals adopting the language of the tourists, often English, to facilitate communication and business, which may result in the decline of the use of their native language.

How can tourism contribute to the rise of sex tourism and its associated issues?

While tourism is not the cause of sexual exploitation, it can provide easy access to it, such as through prostitution, leading to an increase in the number of sex workers in tourist areas.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 The Dual Impact of Tourism on Society

This paragraph discusses the transformative power of tourism, highlighting both its potential to alleviate poverty, support local economies, and preserve cultural heritage, as well as its risks of eroding local culture, language, and promoting negative behaviors. Dr. Haley Stainson introduces the concept of sustainable tourism management, emphasizing the balance between environmental, economic, and social aspects. She also touches on the inevitability of host-guest interactions and their social and cultural implications, both positive and negative.

05:01

🏰 Preservation and Commercialization in Tourism

The second paragraph delves into the positive social impacts of tourism, such as the preservation of local culture and heritage, which are often reinforced by tourist interest. It raises questions about the authenticity of cultures that remain static for tourism purposes and contrasts this with the natural evolution of societies. The paragraph also explores how tourism can strengthen communities through events, festivals, and job creation, leading to improved local infrastructure and quality of life. However, it also introduces the negative aspects of tourism, such as globalization leading to a loss of cultural individuality and the potential for undesirable social changes.

10:02

🌐 Globalization, Standardization, and Their Pitfalls

This paragraph examines the negative social impacts of tourism, focusing on globalization and standardization. It discusses how tourism can lead to a loss of cultural identity and authenticity as destinations adapt to tourist expectations, sometimes at the expense of their unique traditions and practices. The paragraph also addresses the ethical implications of maintaining cultural practices solely for touristic purposes, questioning whether this is truly authentic. Additionally, it touches on the phenomenon of culture clashes, where differences in values and behaviors between tourists and locals can lead to resentment and crime, and the rise of sex tourism and gambling as associated issues.

Keywords

💡Tourism industry

The tourism industry refers to the sector of the economy that encompasses all businesses and services related to the travel and hospitality of tourists. In the video, it is highlighted as a powerful force with the potential to bring about positive change, such as poverty alleviation and cultural preservation, but also with the capacity to cause harm, like cultural erosion and crime.

💡Sustainable tourism management

Sustainable tourism management is an approach that aims to balance the environmental, economic, and social impacts of tourism to ensure long-term viability. The video emphasizes the importance of this concept, stressing the need to minimize negative impacts while maximizing the positive ones to achieve a lasting tourism industry.

💡Social impacts

Social impacts are the effects that tourism has on host communities, including changes in language, dress, culture, and societal norms. The video discusses both the positive and negative social impacts, such as the revitalization of local culture and the potential for increased crime rates due to tourism.

💡Cultural preservation

Cultural preservation involves the efforts made to maintain and protect the cultural heritage of a destination. The script mentions how tourism can encourage the conservation of local culture and arts, which is vital for attracting tourists interested in authentic experiences.

💡Globalization

Globalization is the process of increased interconnectedness and cultural homogenization across the world. The video script uses examples to illustrate how tourism contributes to globalization, sometimes leading to the loss of cultural individuality as local populations adopt aspects of foreign cultures.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity in tourism refers to the genuine, original, and unaltered cultural values and traditions of a destination. The video raises questions about the authenticity of cultures that remain unchanged for tourism purposes and whether this is truly representative of the natural evolution of societies.

💡Standardization

Standardization in the context of tourism refers to the uniformity of services and experiences provided to tourists, often to meet their expectations for familiarity. The script warns against the over-standardization that can dilute local culture and traditions, suggesting a balance is needed.

💡Culture clash

A culture clash occurs when there is a conflict or tension between different cultural groups, often due to differences in values, customs, or lifestyles. The video describes how tourism can lead to culture clashes, potentially resulting in resentment and antagonism towards tourists.

💡Economic inequality

Economic inequality refers to the disparities in wealth and income within a population. The script discusses how the presence of tourists, who often have more spending power, can lead to feelings of resentment among locals and contribute to social tensions.

💡Sex tourism

Sex tourism is a form of tourism where individuals travel to engage in sexual activities, often with locals. The video mentions sex tourism as a negative social impact, noting that while tourism is not the cause of sexual exploitation, it can provide easy access to it.

💡Crime

Crime in the context of tourism refers to illegal activities that may increase due to the presence of tourists, who are often seen as targets for theft and other crimes. The script highlights the potential for increased crime rates in areas with a significant tourism presence.

Highlights

The tourism industry has the power to do a lot of good, including bringing people out of poverty, preserving ancient cultures, and revitalizing art.

Tourism can also cause harm, such as destroying culture and heritage, and encouraging crime, gambling, and drug use.

Sustainable tourism management consists of three pillars: the environment, the economy, and society.

The social impacts of tourism, also known as socio-cultural impacts, are the effects on host communities that result from interactions with tourists.

Positive social impacts of tourism include the preservation of local culture, the strengthening of communities, and the creation of jobs.

Tourism can help to conserve natural resources, protect local heritage, and rejuvenate indigenous cultures, arts, and crafts.

Developments in tourism infrastructure often benefit local residents by providing new roads, sewage systems, playgrounds, and bus services.

Negative social impacts of tourism include globalization, which can lead to the loss of individuality and cultural homogenization.

Tourism can cause culture clashes due to differences in culture, values, lifestyles, and economic disparities between locals and tourists.

The growth of mass tourism is often accompanied by increases in crime, such as robbery and drug dealing.

Sex tourism and gambling can increase with the rise of tourism, contributing to social problems in the host community.

Standardization in tourism can dilute local culture and traditions, leading to a loss of authenticity.

Tourism can lead to resentment from locals when they see tourists with expensive items that they cannot afford themselves.

Education about local customs and values can help tourists avoid unintentionally offending the host community.

Sustainable tourism planning and management are crucial to minimizing the negative social impacts of tourism while maximizing the positive ones.

Transcripts

the tourism industry

has the power to do a lot of good in

fact

it has the power to change the world it

can help to bring people out of poverty

to put food on the table and to pay the

medical bills it can help to preserve

ancient cultures

maintain religious buildings and

revitalize culture and art

it can help to support and strengthen

communities

but the travel and tourism industry can

also cause a lot of harm

it can cause people to stop speaking

their native language to alter

the way that they dress to destroy

culture and heritage

and to encourage people to turn to crime

gambling and drugs

these are the social impacts of tourism

if you've ever studied sustainable

tourism management you will know that it

consists of three

pillars the environment the economy and

society

in order to ensure that we have a

long-lasting and sustainable

tourism industry throughout the world we

must ensure

that we minimize the negative impacts of

tourism and maximize

the positive impacts of tourism my name

is dr haley stainson from

tourismteacher.com and today

i'm going to teach you all about the

social impacts of tourism

and if you do want to learn a little bit

more about the social impacts of tourism

i have provided a recommended reading

list down in the description below

the social impacts of tourism also

commonly referred to as

social cultural impacts are the effects

on host communities

that have direct or indirect relations

and interrelations with tourists

and the tourism industry in other words

is the way that the business of tourism

impacts society tourism is at its core

an interactive service this means that

host guest interaction is inevitable

this can have significant social or

social cultural impacts

these social impacts can be seen as

benefits or costs

so they can be good social impacts or

bad social

impacts travel and tourism can do some

great things around the world

and it can have really positive social

impacts

so let's start off this video by looking

at the good things that can come

from tourism one of the biggest social

benefits of tourism

is the preservation of local culture it

is the local culture that the tourists

are often coming to visit when they

travel

tourists visit beijing to learn more

about the chinese dynasties

tourists visit thailand to taste

authentic thai food

tourists travel to brazil to go to the

rio carnival just to mention a few

as a result many destinations will make

a special effort to preserve and protect

the local culture this often contributes

to the conservation and sustainable

management of natural resources

protection of local heritage and a

renaissance of indigenous cultures

cultural arts and crafts in one way this

is absolutely great

but i can't help wondering is it natural

our social settings have changed

tremendously over the years

in the uk we don't walk around in

corsets and victorian dresses anymore do

we

we have evolved socially over the years

and this is completely natural

so i can't help but wonder is it right

that destinations stay in one place for

tourism they don't

evolve they don't change like the rest

of us i don't have the answer but it's

something for you to ponder on

anyway i digress another positive social

impact of tourism

is the ability for the travel industry

to help strengthen communities

events and festivals of which local

residents have been the primary

participants and spectators are often

rejuvenated and developed in response to

tourist interest

i certainly felt this myself when i went

to the running of the balls festival

known as san fermin in pamplona spain

the atmosphere there was just

explosive it was an incredible

experience

and the jobs created by tourism can also

be a great boost for the local community

aside from the positive economic impacts

created by enhanced employment prospects

people with jobs are happier and more

social than those without a disposable

income

local people can also increase their

influence on tourism development

tourism can help to increase their

prospects in terms of their job and how

much they might earn

and it can help them to undertake

professional training and development of

business and organisational skills the

tourism industry requires many

facilities and

infrastructure to meet the needs of the

tourist this often means that the

developments in an area as a result of

tourism will be available for use by the

locals too

local people often gain the use of new

roads new sewage systems

new playgrounds bus services and lots

more

all as a result of tourism and this can

only be a good thing right

this can provide a great boost to their

quality of life and is a great example

of a positive

social impact of tourism tourism can see

rise to many commercial businesses

which can be a positive social impact of

tourism this helps to enhance the

community spirit

as people tend to have more disposable

income as a result

these businesses may promote the local

culture and arts whether it's a museum

exhibiting artifacts from throughout

egyptian history a traditional dance

show in thailand

or an art gallery in new york

attractions such as these are popular

with tourists

and they help to promote and profit from

the culture and art that the destination

has to offer and some destinations will

encourage local cultures and arts to be

revitalized or reborn

today there are some fantastic virtual

tours that allow tourists to time travel

in order to see how ancient monuments

would have once looked there are

destinations that will put on shows to

demonstrate

ancient practices and traditions that

may since have died out and been

forgotten about

this type of tourism is great because it

helps to promote traditions

and histories that may otherwise have

become distant and lost

many tourists will visit a destination

especially to see its local heritage

it is for this reason that many

destinations will make every effort to

preserve its heritage

this could include putting restrictions

in place or limiting tourist numbers if

necessary

this is a great example of careful

tourism planning and sustainable tourism

management

but unfortunately there are also a lot

of negative

social impacts of tourism and it's

really really important that we take

note of these and try to mitigate these

where we can whilst some people will

argue that social change is inevitable

and natural

there is no disputing that travel and

tourism has helped to fuel this in many

parts of the world

and unfortunately there are many changes

that come about as a result

of tourism that are not desirable there

are many examples throughout the world

where local populations have changed

because of tourism

african tribal people have exchanged

their traditional dress for football

shirts

almost everyone on the island of bali

now speaks english

there are people in jamaica who choose

to make a living by stealing from the

tourists

these are all examples of negative

social impacts of tourism let's start

off by looking at the issue of

globalization

globalization is the way in which the

world is becoming increasingly

interconnected we are losing our

individuality and gaining a sense of

global being

whereby we as people are becoming more

and more alike than ever before

globalization is inevitable in the

tourism industry because of the

interaction between tourists

and hosts which typically come from

different geographical and cultural

backgrounds

it is this interaction that encourages

us to become more alike

let me give you a couple of examples

that i have experienced personally

a few years ago i went on a trip to the

going jungle as part of this trip we

were given a tour of a local village

where many of the tourists offered candy

to the local children

these children had rarely been exposed

to areas outside of the jungle

and had it not been for the tourists

they would never have been exposed

to these suites that were absolutely not

going or

indian i'll give you another example

when i went to the gambia a few years

back

i met a young boy who was working with

the tourists he was wearing a manchester

united football shirt and i asked him

where did you get the shirt from he told

me he was donated that t-shirt from a

tourist the year before

so had that tourist had never visited

gambia he would never have had that

football shirt and in thailand one of my

favorite countries of the world

people are uprooting and leaving their

traditional homes in the countryside

to go and work in the cities they want

to work with the tourists that's where

the money's at they learn to speak

english they start eating western food

and their culture changes as a result

had these people never have relocated to

the city to work with the tourists

they may never have been exposed to some

of the foods and some of the language

and some of the behavior that they are

many people believe globalization to be

a bad thing but

there are also some positives think

about this do you want an authentic

squat toilet in your hotel room

or do you want a western toilet are you

happy to eat rice and curry for

breakfast or would you really just

prefer your bowl of cornflakes

do you want to struggle to get by when

nobody can communicate in english

or are you just desperate to have just

that one english-speaking person to help

you along the way

when we travel most tourists want that

sense of familiar to some extent

and globalization helps us along the way

authenticity is essentially something

that is

original or unchanged it's not fake it's

not reproduced in any way in the western

world many people believe that a tourist

destination is no longer authentic

when their cultural values and

traditions change but i would argue is

this not natural

are we not supposed to evolve and change

take a look at the likes of the longneck

tribe in thailand

or the maasai tribe in africa these are

two examples of cultures which have

remained

unchanged for the sole purpose of

tourism they appear not to have changed

in the way that they dress

the way that they speak or the way that

they act for generations

all for the purposes of tourism to me

however this begs the question

is this actually authentic in fact is

this not the exact

opposite of authentic the rest of the

world have modern electricity and

iphones

they watch tv they buy their clothes in

the nearest shopping mall

but because tourists want an authentic

experience

in inverted commerce these people have

not moved on with the rest of the world

but instead have remained the same

i also think there is an ethical

discussion to be had here but we can

leave that for another day

in fact i think authenticity is a great

topic to study

and it can really get your mind working

and it can be quite mind-boggling

so i have written a couple of articles

on authenticity and i'll put the links

down below for you

many destinations risk standardization

in the process of satisfying tourists

desires for familiar facilities and

experiences

whilst landscape accommodation food

drinks etc

must meet the tourists desire for the

new and the unfamiliar they must at the

same time not be

too strange because few tourists are

actually looking for completely new

experiences

just like that toilet example that i

told you before do you really want to

squat in your toilet in your hotel room

tourists are often on the lookout for

recognizable facilities

in an unfamiliar environment like

well-known fast food restaurants

and hotel chains tourists like some

things to be standardized like the

toilet

their breakfast speaking english but

they want other things to be different

we like to try different food we like

different weather we like to listen to

different music

visit different tourist attractions but

do we want everything to become

standardized

i know i certainly miss seeing the small

independent shops on the high street

they will be in exchange for

multinational corporations and chains

i personally think the tourism industry

stakeholders need to proceed with

caution when it comes to standardization

sure give the tourists that sense of

familiar that they're looking for

but don't dilute the culture and

traditions of the destination that

they're coming to visit because if it

feels too much like home

well they might just stay home on a less

philosophical note

another negative social impact of

tourism that can have significant

consequences

are culture clashes because tourism

involves the movement of people from

different geographical locations

cultural clashes can take place as a

result of differences in culture

ethnic and religious groups values

lifestyles

languages and levels of prosperity the

attitude of local residents towards

tourism development

may unfold through the stages of

euphoria where visitors are welcome

through apathy irritation and

potentially antagonism when anti-tourist

attitudes begin to grow among local

people this is represented through

doxy's irritation index

and this is a theory that i will teach

you more about in a future video

culture clashes can also be exasperated

by the fundamental differences in

culture between the hosts

and the tourists there's likely to be

economic inequality between locals and

tourists

who are spending more money than they

usually would at home this can cause

resentment from the local population

towards the tourists

and when locals see tourists wearing

expensive jewelry or using fancy cameras

that they know they can't afford

themselves this can cause resentment

and even lead to increases in crime

further to this

tourists often out of ignorance or

carelessness

fail to respect local customs morals and

values think about it

is it right to go topless on a beach

when the local population don't even

show their shoulders

there are many examples of ways that

tourists offend the local population

often unintentionally did you know that

you should never put your back to a

buddha

or show the soul of your feet to a thai

person or show romantic affection in

public in the middle east

a little education in this regard can go

a long way

but unfortunately many travelers are

completely unaware of the social impacts

that their actions might have on the

host community crime rates typically

increase with the growth and

urbanization of an area

and the growth of mass tourism is often

accompanied by increases in crime

the presence of a large number of

tourists with lots of money to spend

who often carry valuables such as

cameras and jewellery increases the

attention for criminals

and it brings with activities like

robbery and drug dealing and then

there's sex tourism

although tourism is not the cause of

sexual exploitation

it provides easy access to it through

for example prostitution therefore

tourism can contribute to rises in the

number of sex workers in a given area

i've seen this myself

in places such as thailand and the

gambia and lastly

gambling is a common occurrence as a

result of tourism the growth of casinos

and other gambling facilities can

encourage not only tourists

to partner their cash but also the local

population too

so as i have explained throughout this

video there are many

social impacts of tourism some are good

some are not so good

whether you're a student an avid

traveller or somebody who works in the

travel and tourism industry i hope that

this video has helped you to think a

little bit more about how your actions

might have an impact on the host

community that you are visiting

i also hope i've encouraged some deeper

or more critical thinking

in terms of issues such as globalization

and authenticity

and if you are keen to learn more about

these things i will be posting weekly

videos so make sure you subscribe to my

channel and hit the notification button

and don't forget to check out the

reading list that i've put below too