Tribhuvan University

Institute of Forestry

Hetauda Campus, Hetauda

Topic: Impacts of tourism

Submitted to:

Rajbabu Pahadi

Subject Teacher

Tourism and Recreation (PWM458)

rpahadii@gmail.com

Submitted by:

Name: sharu shrestha

Roll No:38

Year:2nd

Semester:2nd
Introduction

Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring

the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of
operating tours . The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms
which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity
only", as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not
more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other
purposes . In 1941, Hunziker and Kraft defined tourism as "the sum of the phenomena and
relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead
to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity. In 1976, the
Tourism Society of England's definition was: "Tourism is the temporary, short-term
movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work
and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all.
purposes."In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism
definedtourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside the home.
fig : tourism in Nepal

social impacts of tourism

The impacts of tourism include the effects of tourism on the environment and on destination
communities, and its economic contributions. It has been part off the tourism discourse
since the 1970s, with attention growing in recent years due to debates on overtourism.
Impacts are not easily categorized, having direct and indirect components. Tourism is also
often seasonal, and impacts only become apparent over time, with varying effects, and at
different stages of development.
Crowded beach in Mar del Plata during summer

Background
Tourism impacts fall into three main categories. Environmental impcts affect the carrying
capacity of the area, vegetation, air quality, bodies of water, the water table, wildlife, and
natural phenomena. Sociocultural impacts are associated with interactions between people
with differing cultural backgrounds, attitudes and behaviors, and relationships to material
goods.[2] The introduction of tourists to sensitive areas can be detrimental, cause a loss of
culture, or, alternatively, contribute to the preservation of culture and cultural sites through
increased resources. Economic impacts are usually seen as positive, contributing to
employment, better services, and social stability. Cultural education may also be improved,
which can be overlooked. Yet these impacts can also contribute to high living costs within
the community, pushing out local businesses, and raising costs for local residents.

Illustrations

Environmental impacts
Ecotourism , wildlife tourism andtake place in environments such as wilderness, lakes
and rivers, coastlines and marine environments, as well as rural villages and coastline
resorts. Peoples' desire for more authentic and challenging experiences results in their
destinations becoming more remote, to the few remaining pristine and natural environments
left on the planet. The positive impact of this can be an increased  awarness of
environmental stewardship. The negative impact can be a destruction of the very
experience that people are seeking. There are direct and indirect impacts, immediate and
long-term impacts, and there are impacts that are both proximal and distal to the tourist
destination. These impacts can be separated into three categories: facility impacts, tourist
activities, and the transit effect.
Facility impacts
Facility impacts occur when a regional area evolves from "exploration" to "involvement" and
then into the "development" stage of the tourist area life cycl] During the latter phase there
can be both direct and indirect environmental impacts through the construction of 
superstructure such as hotels, restaurants, and shops, and infrastructure such as roads and
power supply. As the destination develops, more tourists seek out the experience. Their
impacts increase accordingly. The requirement for water for washing,  waste disposal, and
drinking increases. Rivers can be altered, excessively extracted, and polluted by the
demands of tourists.  Noise pollution has the capacity to disturb wildlife and alter behavior,
and  light pollution can disrupt the feeding and  reproductive production of many creatures.
When power is supplied by diesel or gasoline generators there is additional noise and
pollution. General  waste and garbage are also a result of the facilities. As more tourists
arrive there is an increase in food and beverages consumed, which in turn creates
waste and  non - biodegradable products.
Tourist activities

Turtle riding was a popular tourist activity in the 1920s and 1930s.

Practically all tourist activities have an ecological impact on the host destination. In rural
destinations activities, such as  hiking , sky diving wildlife safaris and  scuba-diving mostly
affect the local ecology.
There are a range of impacts from hiking, trekking, and  camping that directly affect the
activity area. The most obvious is the erosion and compaction of  trails through daily use.
With the presence of obstacles such as fallen trees or puddles, trails becomes widened or
informal trails are created to bypass the obstacle]Other direct impacts include damage or
removal of vegetation, loss of vegetation height, reduction in foliage cover, exposure of tree
root systems, migration of trampled vegetation, and introduction of non native.] Indirect
impacts on trails include changes in soil porosity , changes to microflora composition,
problems with seed dispersion and germination, and degradation of soil nutrient
composition.]
As many hikers and trekkers take multi-day trips, a large number will camp overnight either
in formal or random  campsites.. There are similar impacts on campsites, such as soil
compaction, erosion and composition, loss of vegetation and foliage, and the additional
issues regarding campfires. Informal trails are created around the campsite in order to
collect firewood and water, and trees and saplings can be trampled, damaged, or cut-down
for fuel. The heat of campfires may damage tree-root systems .In formal campgrounds, tent
pad areas are normally devoid of vegetation, while random camping can damage sensitive
plants and grasses during a single overnight stay.
As with most recreational activities, hiking and camping generate waste, including food
scraps and human waste. Habituation of wildlife to human contact and to unusual food
sources can have a detrimental effect on the wildlife and pose dangers for humans.
Provision for deposit, collection, and removal of waste will also have a direct impact on the
local environment.
Tourism can act as a vector in the spread of non-native species. With tourism comes an
increase and concentration of human activity in specific localized regions of the landscape
especially protected wildernesses and parks. Because of the increase in human visitation
from many different geographical regions, non-native species are observed at a higher
propagation rate in these areas. Typical recreation activities such as hiking, biking, and off-
road driving can act as habitat disturbances which may increase the spread of aggressive
invasive species, harming the natural ecosystem. Nature-based tourism (i.e., wildlife
viewing and outdoor recreation) are thought to be increasing and often happen in more
pristine habitats. With the disturbance from human activities, open niches may become
available giving opportunity for aggressive non-native species to become established and
take advantage of new resource availability. This can have dire consequences on local flora
and fauna as invasives tend to be particularly successful in colonizing disturbed areas
where the local biotic communities have been affected and potentially harmed.
Examples of invasive species spread by tourism:

 Bigheaded ant (Pheidole megacephala): Is one of the worst invasives and classified
under the “world's 100 worst” invasive species. Originally found in the Galapagos
Islands in 2007 within ship cargo for tourist supplies. Ants can be spread with the
movement of people from one island to another.
 Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum): Spread fast, don’t allow native species to grow, can
cause forest fires to spread rapidly. Can be carried by people through shoes and gear;
pets and other animals can spread the seeds through their travel as well.
 Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha): These are believed to have come from the
Caspian Sea in Europe in a ship's ballast water. They are spread by uncleansed boats
from one body of water to another as tourists move to different locations.
There are ways to decrease the spread of non-native species such as taking care in
removing seeds from shoes and pants after hiking or biking. Thoroughly cleaning boats
when moving from one body of water to another and creating designated pathway
management plans are other ways in which one can decrease the impacts of invasive
species on local habitats.
Another activity that can have severe direct and indirect impacts on the environment is 
This wildlife viewing happens in a range of formats, on land and in the ocean. Wildlife
safaris in African countries such as  Kenya,,  botswana, and  tanzania have been popular
for many years. .
Another tourism destination activity is  scuba diving. There are many negative direct
environmental impacts caused by recreational diving. The most apparent is the damage
caused by poorly skilled divers standing on the reef itself or by accidentally hitting the fragile
coral with their fins. Studies have shown that "naïve" divers who engage in  underwater
photography are considerably more likely to accidentally damage the reef. As the cost of
underwater photography equipment has declined and its availability increased, it is
inevitable that there will be an increase of direct damage to  refs by divers. Other direct
impacts include over-fishing for "marine curios", sedimentation, and in-fill . There is also
direct environmental impact due to disturbed and altered species behaviour from fish
feeding, as well as import of invasive species and pollution caused by dive-boats. There are
also indirect impacts such as shoreline construction of superstructure and infrastructure.
Transit effects

Since 2009 there has been a steady yearly increase in the number of tourist arrivals
worldwide of approximately 4.4 percent. In 2015 there were 1.186 billion tourist arrivals
worldwide, of which 54 percent arrived  by air (640 million), 39 percent (462 million) by
motor vehicle, 5 percent by water (59 million), and 2 percent by  rail (23.7 million).[  A seven-
hour flight on a Boeing 747 produces 220 tonnes of co2 which is the equivalent of driving
an average size family saloon car for a year, or the energy requirement of an average family
home for nearly 17 years.  With the ever-increasing number of tourist arrivals, there is an
ever-increasing quantity of global  greengouse gases (GHG) being produced by the  tourism
industry. In 2015 it is estimated that 5 percent of global GHG emissions was attributable to
air travel alone.
As more eco-tourists seek remote, pristine, undeveloped regions, and practise low-impact,
“leave no trace " adventure vacations, their GHG contributions have increased
exponentially. As a result of the accumulation of GHGs the annual average global
temperature is rising each year. New records were set in 2014, 2015 and it is predicted that
2016 will yet again exceed the previous highest average global temperature.  It is causing
the oceans to warm and causing increased frequency of abnormal weather events such as
floods and hurricanes. The increase in the amount of CO2 dissolved into the oceans is
changing its chemical composition, leading to  he oceans, which in turn has led to 
bleaching of coral refs worldwide.
In 2016 it was determined that the world's largest coral reef, the  great barrier reef is so
badly affected by bleaching that only 10 percent remained unspoiled and the remaining 90
percent has varying degrees of degradation ] A recently discovered issue in the  pacific
northwest caused by acidification, is the decreased survival of  pteropods, a key source of
food for  salmon. These microscopic invertebrates, known as sea butterflies, are unable to
form their outer shells and die . These tiny creatures make up a significant portion of the
salmon diet. Without this nutrition available to the salmon, they may not grow to maturity to
return to their spawning grounds to reproduce and provide food for beras . Bears  cyclae
nutrients through the forest, where tourists come to view or hunt the bears. Thus the food
web is disturbed.  Anthropogenic climate change has both a direct and indirect impact on
tourism.

Sociocultural impacts of tourism

An inherent aspect of tourism is the seeking of  authencity, the desire to experience a
different cultural setting in its natural environment.  Although cultural tourism provides
opportunities for understanding and education, there are serious impacts that arise as a
result. It is not only the volume of tourism at work, but the types of  social intractions that
occur between tourist and host. There are three broad effects at the local level: the
commodification of culture, the demonstration effect, and the acculturation of another
culture.
Commodification of culture[
commodification and profit for the local economy. With the rise of tourism, authors argue
that commodification is inevitable.There are both positive and negative sociocultural
impacts of commodification on a culture. One positive is the creation of business and jobs
for local craftsmen, who are able to sell their goods to tourists.  Rular tourism seen as a
"cure" for poverty and leads to the improvement of transportation and development of
telecommunications.For the tourist, commodification creates an interest for traditional arts
and social practices.  However, critics of commodification believe that tourists are not
interested in cultural beliefs and traditions of the locals, but are rather obsessed with owning
a part of it. The argument that by monetizing cultural artifacts locals lose the value to their
culture also exists. It then leads to the belief that tours are no longer authentic experiences.
However, development economists will argue that culture can be utilized just as any other
natural resource.
Researchers look at the impact of tourists on a culture and in short, many argue that the
contact with the secular West leads to the destruction of pre-tourist cultures .  In addition,
the "development cure", the idea that increasing tourism will spur economic change while
strengthening local culture, is claimed to lead to new diseases, such as " drug addiction
crime, pollution, prostitution, and a decline in social stability" as well as growth of capitalist
values and a  consumer colture.
Demonstration effect[
The demonstration effect  was introduced to tourism when researchers were looking into the
effects of social influences from tourism on local communities. The argues that local
inhabitants copy the behavioral patterns of tourists.  There are a number of social, economic
behaviourial  reasons as to why the demonstration effect comes into play. One economic
and social reason is that locals copy the consumption patterns of those higher up the social
scale in order to improve their  social status. Tourism has also been accused of affecting
social behavior of the younger members of a host community, who may imitate what tourists
do, impacting traditional value systems.
Criticisms of the demonstration effect
There are many criticisms of the demonstration effect in tourism. Firstly, tourism is seen as
only one aspect of change in society. Local people also see examples of foreign lifestyles
and consumption in  advertisments, magazines, television, and films, and therefore tourism
is not the only influence on local culture.  In addition, the demonstration effect implies that a
culture is "weak" and needs to be protected by outside influences. In many cases, the
demonstrative effect is seen as a negative consequence, but it is argued that "all cultures
are in a continual process of change", therefore tourism should not be considered
destructive .
Community participation
Community participation  refers to the collaboration between community members for the
purposes of achieving common goals, improving their local community and pursuing
individual benefits.  Local community members are actively involved in tourism, rather than
passively benefiting from it. Community participation strengthens communities and help to
create a sense of belonging, trust and credibility among members. ] By involving local
community members, tourism can become more authentic. The community and the tourists
both benefit from community participation, as it boosts their respect for the traditional
lifestyle and values of the destination community. Most destination community members are
also the ones most impacted by tourism, therefore there is an importance in their
involvement in tourism planning. Some researchers will argue that some of the negative
impacts of tourism might be avoided and the positive impacts maximized through
community participation in the planning process .
Acculturation ]
Acculturation is the process of modifying an existing culture through borrowing from the
more dominant of cultures. Typically in tourism, the community being acculturated is the
destination community, which then experiences dramatic shifts in social structure and world
view. Societies adapt to acculturation in one of two ways. Innovation diffusion is when the
community adopts practices that are developed by another group; whereas cultural
adaptation is less adoption of a new culture and more the process of changing when the
existing culture is changed.  Acculturation is often seen as a method of modernizing a
community and there are many opposing views to the concept of modernization. One
argument against modernization is that it contributes to the "homogenization of cultural
differences and the decline of traditional societies".  This means that communities will
advertise their modernity to attract tourists, and will disregard their traditional customs and
values. On the other hand, others argue that acculturation and modernization will help
traditional communities adjust in a modern world. The idea being that teaching people to
adapt will save the community from future extinction.
Positive socio-cultural impacts
There are number of benefits for the host community as a result of tourism. This includes
economic benefits such as opportunities for local businesses which allows for increased
trade among the increased number of visitors and then develops a variety of local
businesses. In addition, tourism also brings employment opportunities, enhances the
economy of the region, and creates revenue for the local government. Tourists also use 
public services creating funding for public services, such as health, the police and the fire
department, as well as increasing the demand for public transport. Other public facilities,
such as parks and benches are also well kept by the community for the tourists, improving
the overall  aesthestics of the host community. On a more social level, tourism leads to
intercultural interaction. Tourists often engage and learn from the locals. Tourism can also
increase pride in locals. They want to show off their community that tourists have chosen to
visit. The increase in people also leads to creating more social venues and experiences
where locals and tourists can interact in. Entertainment and  recreational facilities will allow
for more opportunity to socialize and engage with each other.  Tourism can be beneficial for
the host community as it provides the financial means and the incentive to preserve cultural
histories,  local heritage sites, and customs. It stimulates interest in local crafts, traditional
activities, songs, dance, and oral histories. It also opens up the community to the wider
world, new ideas, new experiences, and new ways of thinking
Negative sociocultural impacts[
There can be negative effects from cultural interactions  In terms of economic
disadvantages, local communities need to be able to fund the tourist demands, which leads
to an increase of taxes. The overall price of living increases in tourist destinations in terms
of rent and rates, as well as property values going up. This can be problematic for locals
looking to buy property or others on a fixed income.  In addition, to balance out tourist
destinations, the number of locals to tourists must be relatively equal. This can be more
problematic for tourists as their access could be denied. Other negative sociocultural
impacts are differences in social and moral values among the local host community and the
visiting tourist. Outside of affecting the relationship between tourist and local, it can also
cause friction between groups of the local population. In addition, it can cause drifts in the
dynamics between the old and new generations. Tourism has also correlated to the rise of
delinquent behaviors in local host communities. Crime rates have been seen to rise with the
increase of tourists. Crimes are typically those of rowdy behavior, alcohol and illegal  drug
use, and loud noise. In addition, gambling and prostitution is increased due to tourists
looking for a "good time".  Tourism has also caused more disruption in host communities.
Crowding of locals and tourists may create a vibrant ambiance, it also causes frustration
and leads to the withdrawal of local residents in many places. Increased tourists also results
in increased traffic which can hinder daily life of the local residents .

Economic impacts
Global tourism in 2014 contributed 3.7 percent (US$2.5 billion) to the world's GDP, with its
total contribution rising to almost 10 percent of world GDP  The GDP increase comes from
the over one billion international tourists worldwide, a number that has been growing by 5
percent annually since 2012.  Visits and boosts to GDP are expected to continue to rise in
the near future as falling oil prices contribute to reduced living costs and increased available
income for households, as well as reduced costs for air travel.
Tourism can be divided into subcategories into which impacts fall: spending from visitors on
tourism experiences like beach holidays and theme parks (domestic and international),
spending on leisure items like bicycles, business spending, and capital investment.
The economic contribution of tourism is felt in both direct and indirect ways, where direct
economic impacts are created when commodities like the following are sold:
accommodation and entertainment, food and beverages services, and retail opportunities.
Residents, visitors, businesses, and various levels of governments (municipal to federal) all
influence direct tourism impacts through their spending in or near a given tourism area.  The
key component of direct economic impacts of tourism is that they occur within a country's
borders and are implemented by "residents and non-residents for business and leisure
purposes".[ ]
In contrast, indirect economic impacts of tourism can be found in investment spending
surrounding a tourism offering from private and governmental interests. This investment
may not explicitly be related to tourism, but benefits the tourist and local stakeholders all the
same. ] Indirect impacts of tourism are exemplified by the purchase and sale of intermediary
items like additional supplies for restaurants during the high tourism season, or widened
sidewalks in busy downtown centres  Indirect economic impacts (the supply chain,
investment, and government collective) account for 50.7 percent of the total GDP
contribution from travel and tourism in 2014.[
Induced spending, the re-circulation of a tourist dollar within a community, is another way
that tourism indirectly has an impact on a community.  For example, a foreign tourist injects
money into the local economy when he spends a dollar on a souvenir made by a local at the
tourism destination. That individual goes on to spend that dollar on lunch from a local
vendor, and that vendor goes on to spend it locally.
Positive and negative economic impacts of tourism
There are both positive and negative effects on communities related to the economic
impacts of tourism in their communities.  A positive impact can refer to the increase in jobs,
a higher quality of life for locals, and an increase in wealth of an area. Tourism also has the
advantage of rebuilding and restoring historic sites and encouraging the revitalization of
cultures. ] A positive impact is to increase or to make better either for the tourist, the host
community and residence and/or the tourist destination. Positive impacts are related more
to the materialistic well-being, rather than to the happiness of a host community or tourist.[
The tourist destination enjoys positive impacts, if there have been improvements to the
natural environment such as protection,  national parks, or man-made infrastructure, waste-
treatment plants. Tourism provides the economic stimulus to allow for diversification of
employment and income potential, and develop resources within the community.
Improvements in infrastructure and services can benefit both the locals and the tourists.
Whereas,  heritage tourism focuses on local history or historical events that occurred in the
area, and tends to promote education.[47] Positive impacts begin when there is an increase in
job opportunities for locals as the tourism industry becomes more developed. There is also
an increase in average income that spreads throughout the community when tourism is
capitalized on.  In addition, the local economy is stimulated and diversified, goods are
manufactured more locally, and new markets open for local business owners to expand to.
[]
 Unfortunately, these benefits are not universal nor invulnerable. While more employment
may be available, tourism-related jobs are often seasonal and low-paying.  Prices are
known to fluctuate throughout the year. They rise in the high tourist season to take
advantage of more tourist dollars, but have the side effect of pricing goods above the
economic reach of local residents, effectively starving them out of a place that was once
their home.
Negative impacts are the effects, that are caused in most cases, at the tourist destination
site with detrimental impacts to the social and cultural area, as well as the natural
environment. As the population increases so do the impacts,  resources become
unsustainable and exhausted, the carrying capacity for tourists in a destination site may
become depleted. ] Often, when negative impacts occur, it is too late to impose restrictions
and  regulations. Tourist destinations seem to discover that many of the negative impacts
are found in the development stage of the tourism area life cycle (TALC) .
Additionally, the economics of tourism have been shown to push out local tourism business
owners in favour of strangers to the region.  Foreign ownership creates leakage (revenues
leaving the host community for another nation or multinational business) which strips away
the opportunity for locals to make meaningful profits.  Foreign companies are also known to
hire non-resident seasonal workers because they can pay those individuals lower wages,
which further contributes to economic leakage. Tourism can raise property values near the
tourism area, effectively pushing out locals and encouraging businesses to migrate inwards
to encourage and take advantage of more tourist spending.[
Employment
Employment, and both its availability and exclusivity, are subsets of economic impacts of
tourism. ] Travel and tourism create 10.7 percent of the total available jobs worldwide, in
both the direct and indirect tourism sectors.  Direct tourism jobs, those that provide the
visitor with their tourism experience include, but are not limited to: accommodation (building,
cleaning, managing), food and drink services, entertainment, manufacturing, and shopping
Indirect tourism employment opportunities include the manufacturing of aircraft, boats, and
other transportation, as well as the construction of additional  superstucture and
infrastructure necessary to accommodate these travel products (airports, harbours, etc.)[

Fig : Tourism and economic growth in Nepal

References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impacts_of_tourism

Note by Narayan Prasad gautam