News & Events
Pros & Cons of Tourism
The article below is taken from ticketsntour.com aiming to help IELTS candidates boost their vocabulary and have enough ideas for them to fully cover any topic in Speaking and Writing. The useful ideas are written in Bold, collocations are shown in red with relevant terms being underlined, followed by their definitions coming along.
Pros and Cons of Tourism
Tourism is a massive industry everywhere in the world, and there are some remarkable advantages to this in each country. Sometimes tourism is the main source of foreign income, boosting the economy for the beautiful countries around the world. For tourists themselves, the benefits to happiness and wellbeing are immense. However, even with these benefits, there are some downsides that may balance the scale when it comes to tourism. The negatives involved can have lasting effects as well – we will have a look at some of these in this article.
Pros of Tourism:
There are plenty of upsides to tourism! It is because of these upsides that all countries across the globe embrace the industry. Here are some points that highlight the value that tourism gives and the advantages of a country investing in this industry.
The major pros for tourism are as follows:
- Wealth Generation
One of the most obvious and essential pros for tourism is, of course, the money it brings in. Tourism can easily generate a massive amount of wealth. This positive factor becomes ever more important for all third world countries. It is especially beneficial for countries that use tourism as their primary source of income.
- Job Creation
Tourism is responsible for generating many different jobs within a country, thus being a hugely positive influence on the economy. One of the other direct benefits of tourism on a country is the undeniable growth in jobs, and the number of business opportunities that open up for the local people.
Hotels, restaurants, bars and entertainment facilities all see an immediate influx in business from tourism. This then leads to them seeking more employees, giving more opportunities to the locals of each country.
- Encouraging Unity
Tourism is a unique industry that boosts the unity between people of all different colours, backgrounds, and traditions. It also allows people to learn more about each individual country’s history and culture. So, culturally speaking, tourism helps to build links between different people from all kinds of backgrounds and social standings. This then generates understanding amongst various types of people and can help to encourage lasting economic, political and social relationships.
ON-TOPIC ITEMS:
- Boost: verb UK /buːst/ US /buːst/
to increase or improve something and make it more successful
- Immense: adjective UK /ɪˈmens/ US /ɪˈmens/
extremely large
- Downside: noun UK /ˈdaʊnsaɪd/ US /ˈdaʊnsaɪd/
the negative aspect of something otherwise regarded as good or desirable
- Embrace: verb UK /ɪmˈbreɪs/ US /ɪmˈbreɪs/
to eagerly accept a new idea, opinion, religion etc
- Invest in : phrasal verb UK /ɪnˈvest/ US /ɪnˈvest/
to buy something or spend money or time on something, because it will be useful for you
- Primary: adjective UK /ˈpraɪ.mər.i/ US /ˈpraɪ.mer.i/
more important than anything else; main
- Undeniable: adjective UK /ˌʌn.dɪˈnaɪ.ə.bəl/ US /ˌʌn.dɪˈnaɪ.ə.bəl/
so obviously true that it cannot be doubted
- Influx: noun [ C ] UK /ˈɪn.flʌks/ US /ˈɪn.flʌks/
the fact of a large number of people or things arriving at the same time
- Unity: noun [ U ] UK /ˈjuː.nɪ.ti/ US /ˈjuː.nə.t̬i/
the state of being joined together or in agreement
- Standing: noun [ U ] UK /ˈstæn.dɪŋ/ US /ˈstæn.dɪŋ/
reputation, rank, or position in an area of activity, system, or organization
- Individual: noun [ C ] UK /ˌɪn.dɪˈvɪdʒ.u.əl/ US /ˌɪn.dəˈvɪdʒ.u.əl/
a single person or thing, especially when compared to the group or set to which they belong
Cons of Tourism:
Although the cons of tourism aren’t always obvious, they can cause serious, long-term damage to a country. We must not forget that the disadvantages can be solved, and if we address them correctly, we can minimize the effects drastically. Sometimes we can even combat these negative aspects before an issue arises. But in order to do this, we need to be aware of them.
The major cons of tourism are as follows:
- Environmental Damage
When it comes to tourism, we are inviting thousands, and in some cases, millions, of foreigners into countries for a vacation. This can lead to immense environmental damage, especially in destinations that are extremely popular and tourist-heavy. This does not usually happen because the tourists themselves directly cause the damage, but rather it happens because of the higher number of planes flying and cars driving. This peak in activity leads to higher carbon monoxide production within a country, thus negatively affecting the environment.
- Exploitation of Culture
With so many tourists coming to enjoy certain famous lifestyles and traditions, we begin to see the commercialization of culture. This is something that can negatively impact the local people of a country, because instead of respecting and admiring the culture from a distance, we impose countless tourists into the traditions. In this way, we have started turning ancient customs into a product that is sold, which severely undermines sacred cultures.
- Lack of Job Security
Continuing on from the point above, seasonal jobs that are generated from tourism, more often than not, don’t come with any benefits or packages. This means that employees can easily be left without a pension and insurance. This is due to the nature of the inconsistent work, and the way that the company does not have a set customer base.
- Unequal Infrastructure Growth
With the massive income generated from tourism, countries often do not focus on the areas within their borders that do not attract tourists, but nonetheless need to be grown for the locals’ sakes. This means there is wealth that gets redirected to where it is not desperately needed, leading to a huge separation between wealthy and poorer areas.
ON-TOPIC ITEMS:
- Drastically: adverb UK /ˈdræs.tɪ.kəl.i/ US /ˈdræs.tɪ.kəl.i/
in a way that is severe and sudden or has very noticeable effects
- Combat: verb UK /kəmˈbæt/ US /ˈkɑːm.bæt/
to try to stop something unpleasant or harmful from happening or increasing
- Destination: noun [ C ] UK /ˌdes.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ US /ˌdes.təˈneɪ.ʃən/
the place where someone is going or where something is being sent or taken
- Commercialization: noun [ U ] (UK usually commercialisation) UK /kəˌmɜː.ʃəl.aɪˈzeɪ.ʃən/ US /kəˌmɝː.ʃəl.əˈzeɪ.ʃən/
the process of making a product or service available for sale to the public
- Impose: verb UK /ɪmˈpəʊz/ US /ɪmˈpoʊz/
to officially force a rule, tax, punishment, etc. to be obeyed or received
- Undermine: verb [ T ] UK /ˌʌn.dəˈmaɪn/ US /ˌʌn.dɚˈmaɪn/
to make someone less confident, less powerful, or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually
- Pension: noun [ C ] UK /ˈpen.ʃən/ US /ˈpen.ʃən/
an amount of money paid regularly by the government or a private company to a person who does not work any more because they are too old or have become ill
Selected and Edited by: Mahdis Ramezanpour
Javidan Language Centre
www.rashtielts.ir