Tourism can bring many benefits to a destination. Tourism can positively impact an area’s economy, social cultural, and environment. At the same time, there can be negative effects to the economy, social cultural, and environment. The tourism industry is extremely large and continuously growing, which is why the impacts and effects weigh so heavily on a destination. Traveling and engaging in touristic pursuits are popular leisure activities. New trends emerge as tourism continues to grow. Two interesting trends that are surfacing are Soft Tourism and the future of Space Tourism. Both will have an impact on tourism and expand the industry as a whole. When tourism is thriving, local economies greatly benefit from the effects. Tourism can bring in large amounts of revenue to communities including tax revenue to local governments. High tourist-attracted areas create a demand for jobs and new opportunities for businesses. These jobs and businesses can be directly associated with tourism, like opening new hotels resulting in hiring a new staff, or employing workers for a new public transportation system. New jobs and businesses can be created in the industries supporting tourism, like food production companies or various retail suppliers. Tourists bring in new money, which is reused in the local economy by community members. This is known as the multiplier effect. Tourism also diversifies a destination because it can support a local economy with additional income if there are other industries suffering (How Tourism Benefits Communities, 2012). While there are many benefits tourism can have on local economies, tourism can also bring negative effects to the economy. In order for a community to support visitors and tourism, there must be basic infrastructure established. Roads, airports, and forms of transportation are costly and the local government may not have the funds to support such projects. While tourism can generate additional
References: Benefits of Tourism . (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2012, from Tourism Excellence : http://www.tourismexcellence.com.au/Growing-Destinations/Benefits-of-Tourism.html Caffyn, A. (2009, September). The Slow Route to New Markets. Retrieved December 17, 2012, from Tourism Insights: Impact of Tourism on Environment . (2010, January 4). Retrieved December 17, 2012, from http://theviewspaper.net/impact-of-tourism-on-environment/ Positive & Negative Effects of Tourism. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2012, from USA Today: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/positive-negative-effects-tourism-63336.html Social & Cultural Impact . (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2012, from TechnoFunc: http://www.technofunc.com/index.php/domain-knowledge/travel-and-tourism- Years, Says FAA. Retrieved December 17, 2012, from The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/22/space-tourism-1-billion-