Some Potential Benefits and Costs tothe Community From Tourism
Benefits Social Benefits ⢠Brings in outside dollars to support community facilities and servicesthat otherwise might not be developed. ⢠Encourages civic involvement and pride. ⢠Provides cultural exchange between hosts and guests. ⢠Encourages the preservation and celebration of local festivals andcultural events. ⢠Facilities and infrastructure supported by tourism (e.g. therailway) can also benefit residents. ⢠Encourages the learning of new languages and skills.
Inca burial site excavation | Costs Social Costs ⢠May attract visitors whose lifestyles and ideas conflict with thecommunity's. ⢠May change individual behaviour and family relationships. ⢠Overloading of porters leads to health problems ⢠May lead to the loss of traditional values and culture throughimitation of visitor behaviour or cultural diffusion resulting from normal,everyday interaction. ⢠Crowding and congestion on the roads, footpaths and in the narrowstreets. ⢠Tourists compete with residents for available services andfacilities. Backpackers use the local train rather than the much more luxuriousand expensive tourist train. ⢠Leads to an increase in crime in the area. ⢠Desecration of burial sites and the removal and display of humanremains from Machu Picchu to further stimulate tourism. This has contributed tothe destruction of the Indian spiritual heritage. |
Environmental Benefits ⢠Fosters conservation and preservation of natural, cultural andhistorical resources. ⢠Could be considered a clean industry.
Tourists on the Inca Trail
Plastic water bottles litter the route | Environmental Costs ⢠Up to 2,000 people visit the Machu Picchu citadel every day, withvisitor numbers growing at 6 percent a year. The site is being slowly eroded bytourists' feet. ⢠Machu Picchu is located among steep slopes that are constantlybeing eroded by heavy rains and landslides are common. Although the recovery ofthe original terraces, many of which are still buried under the vegetation,helps to stabilise the slopes and ensure conservation, it is a costlyundertaking. ⢠Timber has been cut along the Inca trail for fuel for cooking andforest fires in the vicinity have threatened Machu Picchu on several occasions. ⢠Until now, the influx of visitors has been kept under control tothe extent that the only way of reaching the site was by railway. But plans tobuild a road from Cuzco and a cable car running from the valley to the top ofMachu Picchu could lead to irreparable harm being done. ⢠The number of people hiking along the Inca Trail rose from 6,000 in1984 to 82,000 in 2000. The trail is being eroded and tea bags and water bottleslitter the route, where campsites are scarce. ⢠Unorganized urban growth in the area with human waste pumped directinto the Urubamba river. Aguas Calientes has mushroomed in size as more hotelsand restaurants have been built to accommodate the needs of tourists, and theburden is evident in the heaps of garbage piled along the banks of the Urubambariver. ⢠Helicopters have been allowed to fly in tourists and operatelow-flying tours, thereby disturbing not only the peaceful quality of the ruins,but potentially damaging them. Peru's Institute of Natural Resources said thoseflights led to the disappearance of a rare species of orchid and the AndeanCondor from the area. |
Economic Benefits ⢠Attracts high-spending tourists from higher socio-economic groups. ⢠Provides governments with extra tax revenues each year throughaccommodation and restaurant taxes, airport taxes, sales taxes, Inca trail andMachu Picchu entrance fees, employee income tax etc.. At $20 an entrance ticket,Machu Picchu generates $6 million a year for Peru, while the Inca trail bringsin another $3 million, according to Machu Picchu Management. ⢠Creates local jobs and business opportunities. These include thosejobs directly related to tourism (hotel and tour services) and those thatindirectly support tourism (such as food production and housing construction). ⢠The multiplier effect:
⢠Is labour-intensive. ⢠Earns valuable foreign exchange. | Economic Costs ⢠Inflates property values and prices of goods and services. ⢠Employment tends to be seasonal. Workers are laid off in the low season. ⢠Tourist numbers can be adversely affected by events beyond the control ofthe destination e.g. terrorism, economic recession. This is a problem inPeru for the country is over-dependent upon tourism. ⢠leakage- the money earned by tourism does not stay in the country but isused to pay for imports required by tourists. ⢠The jobs provided are usually poorly paid.
Machu Picchu landslide |
