GEOGRAPHY OF TOURISM AND RECREARTION: HGES 311 Assignment 1 (Due

date – 25 February 2022)

Tourism has been portrayed to be beneficial to remote areas as it has been deemed to
contribute immensely to revenue, creation of jobs, modernizing facilities, improvement of
living standards, giving females employment opportunities and supporting local and national
crafts and culture. No wonder why most governments spend considerable amounts in
promoting tourism. In reality, it is difficult to realise all the mentioned potential benefits of
tourism in remote areas. Again, the attitude of locals towards tourism is mostly negative. The
benefits of tourism are often overestimated and the presence of tourist infrastructure does not
mean these remote areas are benefiting and it is often difficult to attribute development solely
to tourism as many other factors may influence development. The following presentation
highlights the major potential negative economic, socio-cultural, infrastructural and
environmental impact of tourism on both local and national scale.

Potential economic negative impacts of Tourism

 Leakages

Leakages can be defined as ‘the failure of tourist spending to remain in the destination
economy’ (Sandbrook, 2010, in Lange, 2011). There are several types of leakages including
import leakages and export leakages (ZOU, 2013, p. 160). Import leakages exist when goods
and equipment are bought from other countries as a way of trying to meet the expectations of
tourists. For example the purchase of wine from Spain and France as tourists will be
expecting to see familiar wine. The money used to import these foreign products will benefit
other countries at the expense of local firms.

Export leakages exist when international investors take profits back to their countries. Most
multinational companies in the tourism industry have shareholders in developed countries so
when they make profits in host countries they will take it to these developed countries. Host
countries will not be able to reinvest these profits into the economy. Gibson (1993) adds that
the goods and services required in the tourism sector normally come from other communities
and establishments like hotels and restaurants are owned by national or regional companies
that exports profits.
  Increased importation

As mentioned above, to meet international tourists’ expectations there is a need for service
providers to import goods and equipment of high quality. The problem comes when these
imports become symbols of status and achievement forcing locals to shun their old ways.
Local people will change their buying behavior, taste and preferences which will impact
negatively on local companies. In most cases local companies are too small or simply lack the
capacity to compete with foreign brands that are normally of high quality and priced
reasonably. The change in local people behavior in favour of foreign ways of living has
become to be known as westernization of culture. Locals will now rely more on imports than
local products.

 Increased property values push out locals

If a remote area is developed for tourism property values increase as there will be an
increased competition for the land. Only few property owners will benefit but the majority of
locals who are not owners will be pushed out of the area. Accessibility of the land which was
once community owned may become restricted and may end up in the hands of foreigners. In
addition, the upward increase in property values also cause the same on rates and taxes. Due
to seasonality nature of most of tourism products, property bought by non-locals will not be
occupied throughout the year. The overall effect is a decline in rural life causing locals to
vacate the area or look for other residential areas that are cheaper. Galston and Baehler
(1995) opine that “of particular concern is that high living costs could become a significant
hardship for people struggling to raise families on minimum-wage jobs”.

 Seasonal nature of the industry in many places

“Another economic drawback involves the seasonality of recreation activities, which can
create problems for workers and businesses during off-seasons” (Gibson, 1993). ZOU (2013)
notes the seasonality in nature of tourism and some places become difficult to consume
tourism products in certain climatic conditions (p. 173). Some places become too cold or too
hot for certain products. ZOU (2013) says that places like Austria see an influx in the number
of tourists during winter targeting winter sports including skiing and snowboarding (p. 167).
It follows that these kinds of tourists will decrease drastically as the weather changes. The
seasonality in tourism will cause fluctuations in income levels. People may lose their jobs
during the period when tourism product is out of season reducing standards of living.
According to Holloway (1989) a very large number of jobs in tourism sector are seasonal or
part time (p. 175). Some companies will be forced to make some concessions like offering
abnormal discounts and sometimes selling products at a loss. Sometimes these compromises
are not sustainable and affect the long term survival of companies that rely on tourism.

 Fluctuations in popularity

When a tourism area is established a lot of tourists will be excited with the new attraction and
will flock to the new area in large numbers. They always want to experience the new and
popular destination, and enjoy the likely uniqueness of the new area. However, with time
they will develop some resentment towards visiting the area as it is now viewed as old and
they will prefer new areas of popularity. The abandoned area and the country will be severely
affected in a number of ways. The tourism infrastructure will now lie idle and resources used
to establish the infrastructure becomes tied up. As a result most people will lose their sources
of livelihoods. All these stakeholders may not have other means of generating income.
Businesses will close leaving a ‘ghost’ tourist destination.

Potential socio-cultural impacts of tourism

 There can be anti-social activities by tourists

ZOU (2013) states that tourism brings several anti-social activities that poses challenges to
the tourism area (p. 185). The anti-social activities include vandalism, littering, pilferage and
illegal removal of cultural heritage items. Some of the tourists may start to show some unruly
behavior usually caused by more than normal drinking, clubbing and partying. Some tourists
may also vandalize heritage items or steal archaeological items.

 There may be a rise in prostitution

Development of tourism in remote areas may cause the proliferation of prostitution.

Prostitution is normally viewed in a negative way in most conservative and Christian
societies. Locals and people from other areas may flock to the destination targeting tourists.
Holloway (1989) adds that in areas where the cornerstone of tourism is gambling, normally
prostitution and organized crimes follows (p.179). Prostitution is normally caused by the
disparities that exist between the tourists and the locals so to tape into the tourists’ money
locals resort to prostitution as they find it lucrative.

 Crime levels may increase

There is a positive correlation between tourism development in a remote area and an increase
in crime rates. Holloway (1989) says “tourism has contributed to an increase in crimes and
other social problems in New York and London, Hawaii and Miami” (p.178). Holloway
(1989) adds that “the flow of wealthy tourists to a region has an effect of attracting petty
criminals, as is evidenced by increases in thefts and muggings – a problem that has become
serious in some countries of the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Latin America” (p.179).
Although measures may be put in place to eradicate criminal activities, the measures will not
completely prevent rogue elements from engaging in criminal activities.

 There may be widening social divisions

Many researchers are concerned that tourism may result in a less equitable distribution of
income (Marcouiller and Green, 2000).Tourism may cause the widening of the gap between
locals who have lowly ranked jobs and expatriates who normally occupy highly ranked jobs.
The widening social divisions may cause clashes between locals and foreigners as locals feel
marginalized and taken advantage of. The influx of wealthy tourists in East African countries
is viewed by locals as a form of neo-colonialism and cause dissatisfaction to locals
(Holloway, 1989, p.179).

 Deteriorating social behavior

According to ZOU (2013), there is a tendency by local people, notably the young to copy the
behavior of tourists (p.176). There will be a shift in the attire and interactive practices
towards what tourists will be exhibiting. This puts the young and the elderly at loggerheads as
the elderly prefer traditional to modern behavior.

 Culture clashes and cultural erosion

ZOU (2013) says “wherever groups of people from very different backgrounds come together
there is a likelihood of misunderstandings and misinterpretations arising” (p. 176).
Differences can be in terms of religious beliefs, traditions, customs, lifestyles, dress codes
among others. For example, USA tourists have different dressing to Arab tourists. These
tourists may not be willing to change their dress codes when they visit other countries.
Tourism is also a powerful agent of change. International tourists catalyze the change as they
bring new behavior trends and norms. Locals start to copy tourists lifestyle and in most cases
not suitable or desirable. For example tourists from United States of America (USA) have a
tendency of diluting African culture as American culture is viewed as modern while African
culture is viewed as backward.

 Overcrowding and congestion

Another problem created by tourism is overcrowding and congestion. Page et al. (2001) note
that “rapid population growth in non-metro recreation counties has resulted in overcrowded
conditions and traffic congestion”. Tourists attractions see huge flow of people which puts
pressure on the existing facilities like roads. Tourists will now compete with locals for the
available limited resources leading to overcrowding and congestion. Overcrowding and
congestion reduces tourism experience. In addition, this problem can create tension between
locals and tourists as locals may feel deprived of their resources. This is the case with
Victoria Falls especially during the festive season.

Potential negative environmental impacts of tourism in remote areas

Tourism may cause negative environmental impacts in remote areas. “The highly polarised
nature of development also generates intense environmental problems. This reduces the
quality of life for locals as well as for tourists and, ultimately, may threaten the viability of
the tourist industry itself” (Williams & Shaw, 1991). Cooper et al., (1998) add that “in view
of the fact that tourists have to visit the place of production in order to consume the output, it
is inevitable that tourism activity is associated with environmental impacts”. The following
are the potential negative environmental impacts of tourism in remote areas.

 Land clearance and construction

Establishing tourist facilities like hotels requires the clearing of vegetation, creation of roads
and ground leveling (ZOU, 2013, p. 186). These activities may cause land degradation
especially through soil erosion. Massive deforestation cause environmental degradation.
Sometimes new drainage systems may need to be constructed and wetlands drained. The
ecosystem is disturbed including fauna and flora.

 Tourist presence may trample and erode local habitats

Tourists may trample and erode local habitats. “Tourists may impact on an area through their
very presence in it” (ZOU, 2013, p. 187). Walking done by tourists on fragile mountains and
national parks has a tendency of trampling the environment. The effect noticed include loss
of organic matter, reduction of soil macro-porosity, decrease in air and water permeability,
loss of ground cover, increase in run-off and accelerated erosion. ZOU (2013) notes that
footpaths created by tourists have accelerated soil erosion as witnessed at historic sites and
national monuments Great Zimbabwe hill site (p. 187). Holloway (1989) says that open sites
are destroyed and many dunes are destroyed in United States by countless feet, in the United
Kingdom by motor cycle rallying and in areas such as Snowdonia (Wales) footpaths have
been destroyed or loosened by actions of walkers and then lost through wind erosion.

 Pollution (Air, noise, land and water)

According to Goeldner (2003) in examining the possible implication for tourism, the WTTC
expresses particular concern with respect to the depletion and pollution of land resources (p.
464). According to ZOU (2013), international tourists cause serious pollution problems
especially aircraft emissions (p.194). In addition aircraft cause noise pollution which may
affect peace of the destination area. Holloway (1989) opines that tourism has contributed to
various forms of pollution especially jet aircraft, car and pleasure –boat exhaust fumes and
this is the case in Norfolk Broads (p. 177). Tourism also increases the use of motor transport
which in turn increases air pollution. Motor vehicles are required to ferry goods and transport
tourists between points. In addition, loud music and radios also increase noise pollution.
Noise and air pollution affects negatively both people and animals. No wonder why National
Parks in Zimbabwe prohibits the use of radios (ZOU, 2013, p. 194).

Land pollution in the form of littering is common in tourism areas. Most of the litter is not
bio-degradable which causes an environmental eye sore and the smell of decomposing waste
material is not pleasant. Sewage bursting due to an influx of large number of tourists can
cause land and water pollution. Pollution in whatever form can cause health hazards can lead
to an increase in ozone gases that deplete the ozone layer which will ultimately lead to global
warming and climate change.

 Pressure on water resources

An influx of tourists put pressure on resources especially water. Water is excessively used for
bathing and cleaning in hotels. In addition, facilities like swimming pools and golf courses
consume a lot of water. The water table is lowered especially during dry seasons when the
number of tourists increases (ZOU, 2013, p. 192). This put local people at a difficult position
as they are forced to travel long distance to fetch water. Animals may also suffer as a result of
shortages of water.

Potential negative infrastructural impacts of tourism in remote areas

 Tourist facility development can be aesthetically intrusive

According ZOU (2013), “tourism usually requires built structures, such as hotels or lodges,
restaurants, and leisure centres, which may fail to integrate well with the natural features of
the area” (p. 187). The problem is exacerbated if there are no proper planning controls and
regulations. The facilities put may fail to merge into the local environment because they may
be too big or too tall. The structures may also block views of the tourist attraction.

 Natural surroundings destroyed

Development of tourism in remote areas entails that the natural surroundings are destroyed as
the area need to be prepared for tourism facilities and infrastructure. Development required
includes construction of buildings, parking lots and visitor centers. The natural surroundings
are destroyed to pave way for infrastructural development which affects the natural state of
the surroundings.

 Deforestation and intensified use of land

Forested land may need to be cleared to pave way for tourism activities. For example
construction of ski resort accommodation and facilities requires that land be cleared. Coastal
wetlands are also affected as there may be a need to drain them or fill to pave for construction
of tourism infrastructure and facilities (Holloway, 1989, p. 179). These actions may lead to
the degradation of the land as the disturbed land is susceptible to soil erosion.
References
 Cooper, C. & Wanhill, S. (1997). Tourism Development Environmental and
Community issues. UK. Wiley Publishing.
 Galston, W. A., & Baehler, K. J. (1995). Rural Development in the United States:
Connecting Theory, Practice, and Possibilities. Washington, DC: Island Press.
 Gibson, L. J. (1993). “The Potential for Tourism Development in Nonmetropolitan
Areas,” in David L. B, (ed.). Economic Adaptation: Alternatives for Nonmetropolitan
Areas. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
 Goeldner, C.R. & Ritchie, J.R. (2003). Tourism Principles, Practices, Philosophies.
UK. Wiley & Sons Publishing.
 Holloway, J. C. (1989). “The Business of Tourism” (3rd ed.). London, United
Kingdom: Pitman Publishing.
 Lange, L. (2011). Exploring the Leakage Effect in Tourism in Developing Countries.
Diploma Thesis. International University of Applied Sciences, Bonn.
 Marcouiller, D. W., & Gary, P. G. (2000). “Outdoor Recreation and Rural
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 Page, S. J., Paul, B., Graham, B., & Jo, C. (2001). Tourism: A Modern Synthesis.
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 ZOU (2013). Geography of Tourism and Recreation Module HGES311. Zimbabwe:
Zimbabwe Open University.