Mass Tourism: Concept, Features, and Impacts Explained

[00:00:00][Music] hello everyone welcome to tourism courses this is a part of the sustainable tourism series let us look at some images first and see if you can identify what these are about these are three images that show some issues with tourism the first one is orphanage tourism in cambodia that had caused damages to local orphanages and children since 2005 cambodia has seen a 75 increase in its number of orphanages the orphanages run on foreign volunteers ngos and dollars yet of the 2 million tourists who will pass through cambodia each year many aren't aware that 71 percent of children in its orphanages still have living parents the second image is about tourism in southern spain because of the bad behaviors of the tourists particularly in stagn parties spain cracks down on tourists benidorm the mecca of mass tourism has seen a massive spike in british stag parties with some bars selling pints for as little as 88 peach the third image is film tourism that destroys a famous movie location the beach at maya bay thailand is a beautiful cove made famous by the beach a 2000 film starring leonardo dicaprio in 2018 it had been closed indefinitely due to a large number of tourist arrivals visitors arrived by the boatload as many as 6000 a day this caused significant damages to aquatic life the coral reef and the marine ecosystem with the rapid growth of tourism the sexual exploitation of children in the context of travel and tourism scct has continued to thrive globally with child sex offenders using the infrastructure of the industry increasingly combined with online technologies to commit their crimes scct is not another form of tourism but is a crime and should be named as such offenders who abuse and exploit children are not sex tourists they are criminals these are selfies taken at auschwitz some are taken in a thoughtful and respectful manner while others are taken in lighthearted manners and posted on social media with disrespectful captions in an age where social media has become ubiquitous holocaust memorials face a special challenge when it comes to educating their visitors about appropriate posts while the debate is not new it is bound to continue as social media sites become increasingly integrated into the lives of today's youth and the holocaust falls further into the past the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable photos can at times be fluid turtle riding was a popular tourist activity in the 1920s and 1930s these could have ecological impacts on the host destination bali's world-famous kuta beach is drowning beneath a sea of garbage these caused increased pollution due to tourism plastic noise light sewage crime etc these images show the impact of social cultural issues of tourism on local communities these could be both positive and negative tourists can be insensitive and disregard the local natural and cultural environment in the destination this can sometimes cause cultural tension for the destination country tourism especially nature tourism is closely linked to biodiversity and the attractions created by a rich and varied environment it can also cause loss of biodiversity when land and resources are strained by excessive use and when impact on vegetation wildlife mountain marine and coastal environments and water resources exceed the carrying capacity this loss of biodiversity in fact means loss of tourism potential these images show crowds recently swarmed the austral wildlife refuge in northwestern guanacaste and interrupted a very important part of nature a large group of sea turtles was trying to lay their eggs but there were too many people in the way those that did manage to make it to the beach had many of their eggs stolen by tourists irresponsible tourism like this comprises any activity or product that risks disrespecting suffocating exploiting polluting and causing suffering in the local wildlife and human population as well as the environment of any given destination the impacts of tourism are clearly felt even in the pandemic with flights cancelled cruise ships mothballed and vacations largely scrapped carbon emissions plummeted wildlife that usually kept a low profile amid a crush of tourists in vacation hotspots suddenly emerged and the lack of cruise ships in places like alaska meant that humpback whales could hear each other's calls without the din of engines in venice italy a city plagued by over tourism covert 19 has led to a decrease in boat traffic in venice's famous waterways that is shown in the images the top image is from 2020 and the bottom one is from 2019.

[00:05:46]the grand canal and the judeka channel appear almost empty and much cleaner compared to 2019 meanwhile the lockdown has led to a sharp decline in air pollution across europe as well in venice and other cities in italy these famous destinations of the world have similar issues that caused by tourism mass tourism benidorm is known as little manhattan because of its skyscrapers shopping malls and large international hotels chains but in the 1950s benidorm was a small fishing village with about 3 000 inhabitants tourism was hardly a term today the city is spain's mass tourism mecca though still proudly known as la serenisma the most serene venice on a typical day is anything but once a thriving city home to a large and proud population of venetians and visited by writers intellectuals and artists hungry for culture venice is now swamped by daytrippers who far outnumber overnight visitors and local residents this is a tourist per capita map it shows a number of tourists in comparison to the local population the greener a country the more likely it is that you're surrounded by locals during peak season the top 10 countries with the highest number of tourists per capita are iceland croatia the bahamas austria cyprus montenegro greece estonia ireland and denmark so what exactly is mass tourism according to definition mass tourism occurs when large numbers of organized tourists are popular holiday destinations for recreational purposes it is a phenomenon that is characterized by the use of standardized package products with the cheapest price and mass consumption tourists normally book these holidays using the internet or through a travel agent this includes sunbathing on a beach eg the costa del sol spain skiing in the mountains such as the swiss alps visiting a national parks such as loch lomond and the trossics scotland or traveling to a theme park eg disney world in florida governments and local people often favor mass tourism as it generates a lot of income causes of mass tourism vary by localities but in general these are the key reasons globally improvements in communications road rail and air travel increase in paid time off work more free time enhanced standard of living and more disposable income the impact of tour operators and travel agents making it easier to holiday abroad with package deals which often include flights transfers and meals travel programs and advertisements on tv encourage people to visit different places technological advancement desire to experience different climates and guaranteed sunshine as we saw from the images at the beginning mass tourism causes significant cultural economic and environmental impacts to destinations both positive and negative positive cultural impacts are tourists learn about other cultures rich and poor can learn from each other tourists bring money that can breed new life into neglected areas local crafts might be revived to be sold to the tourist market negative cultural impacts include some traditional roles such as farming will be lost in order to provide tourist services tourist behavior can lead to locals feeling that their culture and beliefs are minimized local languages might be lost as people prefer to use international languages such as english crime and antisocial behavior might rise as more and more tourists visit a place and bring their own social problems with them positive economic impacts are increased employment over 400 million people around the world are employed in the tourism industry brings huge amounts of foreign currency into a country this can help stabilize an economy in prices in a country tourism companies make a profit which can either be invested into new facilities in a country or back into the business improvement in general infrastructure can help locals negative economic impacts are many tourism services are of little value to the locals the cost of investment in roads or infrastructure will have to be borne by the local people the character of a place might change local shops might be displaced by shops that cater solely to tourists traditional jobs will be lost as an area switches focus in providing for tourists needs positive environmental impacts many tourist organizations are trying to create a more sustainable ethos for tourism this helps to protect the animals and local environment and will be funded by the tourists who visit provides money that can help local people to protect their environment can also help raise awareness of different issues such as water shortages or endangered animals improvements in investment in derelict areas and spaces that cannot be used for any other purpose negative impacts overcrowding can impact fragile environments and soil will be eroded away damage to the ecosystem might totally change the characteristics of a place overcrowding can cause congestion and pollution it will increase the carbon emissions in an area tourists will increase the amount of waste and sewage in an area and this will need to be dealt with in a sustainable manner more pressure on delicate water supplies many tourist facilities require increases in the use of water and this can lead to local people losing access to clean drinking water in summary today we talked about the concept features and impacts of mass tourism although most mass tourism development leads to negative problems emanating from excessive or rapid tourism development there are no clear development alternatives in achieving economic and social development for developing nations sustainable mass tourism development can be managed and achieved these will need to consider tourism governance structures the presence of structures and mechanisms for engaging the public private and third sector stakeholders including local communities at different levels we will talk about these related topics in other videos of this series thank you for listening don't forget to hit subscribe button until next time love joy peace [Music]