Topic > How mass tourism affects local communities

A community is a group of people who live in the same area and have many things in common, including traditions, cultures and ethnicities. These values ​​are truly important for their daily life and should be protected as best as possible in all circumstances. These values ​​are the foundation of families and societies and give people a sense of belonging to their community. But today communities around the world are changing for various reasons. One of the sectors that plays an important role in these changes is mass tourism, where large numbers of people flock to the same area at the same time. Today, communities around the world are changing, although some may change only slowly. However, some areas of the world are teeming with people who make these changes happen more quickly. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Are people greatly affected by these changes, and do the negative impacts outweigh the positive ones? According to Mastercard's Global Destination Cities Index, the most visited city of 2016 was Bangkok, Thailand, where there were 21.47 million overnight visitors. This will certainly have a positive impact on the country's economy, but will this benefit the people living in the area? What about areas where people still live in tribes and are not yet accustomed to the outside world? Will people be able to cope with all this? People visit different parts of the world for various different reasons. One that could be the desire to escape or the need for refreshment. Whatever it is, people choose escape locations based on many things they have previously considered. But what makes an area become a popular tourist destination includes the presence of various natural and built beauties that attract tourists and at the same time great opportunities that allow visitors to have a pleasant yet adventurous leisure experience. Like Bangkok for example. It is the most visited city of 2016 for its numerous and magnificent unique architectural designs on temples, food, relaxation, lifestyle and not forgetting the beauty of its nature which attracts a lot of tourists especially like the Bang Krachao Gardens where people would walk along the paths, ride bicycles and enjoy its rich greenery while they can watch the Chao Phraya River where some houses built along the river's edge can also be spotted. After looking at this example, we might realize that tourists are people who visit other countries with the aim of seeking gratification and satisfaction of their interests. According to the TravelSat global benchmarking survey, 38% of tourists choose their travel destination thanks to recommendations from friends and family. This is another reason that shows why already crowded destinations can become even more crowded due to those tourists sharing their experience with others which also increases their interest in that area. Imagine how many people someone could talk to and share their experiences! Global Perspective In today's world, tourism impacts lives for a number of different reasons, but people, especially the country, would be quite happy to have tourism in their country. Tourism not only creates jobs for people but offers them more facilities because when tourism, especially mass tourism, occurs in a certain area, the government tries its best to provide visitors with a pleasant and satisfying trip trying to provide the area with better roads, clean areas, etc. They do this with the hope that these visitorspromote the area to friends and families allowing tourism in the area to grow. With an increase in tourism, businesses and organizations in the area would also benefit. Food companies would grow due to the growing demand for food to give to people. Merchandising companies would also benefit because more people will buy their products for keepsakes. Apart from these benefits, people would also be able to develop new ideas or even start new businesses which would not only be beneficial to the people, but also to the economy. But tourism could also have a very negative impact on local communities. Culture and traditions could be damaged as well as the natural beauty of the area. If people do not take care of the land properly, damage may occur which is not at all favorable to the land and people. With new impacts from outsiders, the lifestyle of communities would most likely change. In Thailand, 9% of the population works in tourism-related jobs, even if they are poorly paid. But when people start working in agriculture, they get paid quite a bit of money as the demand to accommodate all the tourists is great. From this example itself, we could see that tourism could impact the economy, industries which would then impact communities. Therefore, if the Thai tourism sector is weakening, the country's other sectors and economy are also likely to lose. The impact on the Thai people would certainly be felt. On the other hand, it has been recognized that some Thais and their characteristics have changed, such as their traditional “Wai”, or the way they greet people, which seems to change to “Hi and Hi while waving their hands”. It is also causing anti-social behavior and increasing levels of crime, leading to Thailand's reduced safety. By being exposed to many new issues, they are also experiencing long-term effects from changing their behaviors to even changing part of their cultures. National Perspective In Indonesia, mass tourism is occurring mainly for its natural beauty, culture and history. . In places like the island of Lombok, where the food is delicious accompanied by luxury resorts and short distances to the beautiful islands of Gili Trawangan, Gili Air and even Gili Meno, as well as Raja Ampat where the natural beauty is truly magnificent,(6 ) tourism is rapidly increasing. In Indonesia, people in local areas where tourism thrives benefit from these incoming tourists as they increase job opportunities and income for local businesses. Like in the tourist village of Brayut, where previously people depended on the rice fields and worked to survive. This place is now turned into a tourist attraction where visitors come to help in the fields. Not only would they be helpful, but farmers could get more revenue from tourists who come and are willing to pay to learn how to plant rice. But there is also a tendency that these unique wonders can be damaged or even destroyed. The culture and ethnicities of the communities in the area could also be influenced by outsiders who could cause things to change in the vicinity, which may not be a positive point for these people. Especially in Indonesia, where the spirit of working together and being together used to be very strong, foreign influences have affected the locals where gradual changes in traditions, cultures and especially behaviors have occurred at a national level. The Dani tribe of Irian Jaya has been changed by tourism which has weakened their culture, especially since they now focus mainly on industryof tourism to make money, slowly leaving their legacy. According to research conducted by a Master in Tourism Studies from Gadjah Mada University, the values ​​that Indonesians were used to are changing. People begin to develop a more consumerist and materialistic point of view where they begin to have more desires such as phones or cameras, the desire to eat different foreign foods and also to live a life of travel and shopping, worrying only about money and objects they own. . A change in the perception of relationships between men and women is mainly seen as a result of the interaction between foreign tourists and locals. Many locals would now try to form relationships with foreigners and even end up getting married, where having these relationships with foreigners is something to be proud of. But this overall causes reduced tolerance and appreciation among the people. However, both tourists and local people benefit from the existence of cultural learning. Even though both of them may not immediately apply new cultures in their activities in relation to interactions, at least they would know how to avoid conflicts between each other and allow them to have more knowledge about the lifestyle and perspectives of different people. Local Perspective Offering relaxation, delicious food, stunning natural beauty and cultural richness, Bali is just one of the many visited areas of Indonesia where people leave with happy hearts. The area has had a tourism boom since the 1970s and facilities in the region have grown very rapidly since then. There have been improvements in healthcare, telecommunications, roads and even education, which have also benefited the communities in the area. But starting in the 1990s, Bali residents began to oppose some tourism developments. Now, people still oppose many planned developments such as the Benoa Bay cleanup. This is true because land reclamation, especially in that area of ​​Bali, is damaging the environment by destroying acres of mangrove forests which are habitats for many different wildlife including birds, reptiles and amphibians that live in the area.(9) Balinese they are also quite worried that their long-preserved, incomparable and one-of-a-kind culture may slowly degrade due to the influence of foreigners who are changing people's habits and lifestyle. Furthermore, the amount of land, residences and luxury hotels are being taken away along with the supply of clean water, which could cause a water crisis in Bali. “The Balinese are people who are still deeply attached to their religion and culture, they spend a lot of time in temples, they respect the rituals. But mass tourism is upsetting their practices: the diversity of local cultures and the specificity of rituals are being unified, homogenized." says Ketut Yuliarsa, a poet and theater director from Ubud, Bali. Personal Perspective In my opinion, tourism helps people in many different ways. Their impact on local communities is actually quite notable. Giving people more areas to work, which also encourages them to work hard and have their own income. But, on the other hand, especially being Indonesian and living on the island of Bali, I would not really like our local cultures and traditions to be damaged, because these are the factors that make our country special. We are very different in language, cultures, traditions and even food, but we are still a beautiful union, gathered together in the wonderful Republic of Indonesia. Even if so, I think tourism in the future would be much better as the quality of human life is also increasing rapidly due to the presence of widely developed technologies all over the world..