TOURISM

Tourism



Tourism

Tourism in developing nations brings a lot of foreign financial resources to these nations, thereby contributing positively to the development. However, at times it could bring with it a lot of drawbacks. The impact that tourism has on the development depends on the type of tourism being promoted. If for instance, the tourism being promoted is high income tourism, then it will be requiring the presence of high quality goods which will need to be imported and will therefore be heavily priced. This will cause some leakages as it will require the provision of high foreign exchange. Mass tourism on the other hand could possibly result in the lowering of income as compared to ecological tourism or adventure tourism. Generally speaking, tourism seems an attractive preposition for both the tourists and the hosts. However, it is much more complex than what it sounds. In order to better understand tourism, we will consider the case study of Kenya (Abubakar & Shanka, 2005, p 411-412).

Tourism can be an effective tool for development as it brings a lot of positive aspect for Kenya. First and foremost, it remains a promising industry and a way to development of this nation. Tourism has resulted in an improvement in social infrastructure. This means that better roads, new airports, restaurants, transport and power supplies are built and sustained (www.kenyaairports). Tourism has increased the number of jobs in the form of tour guides and waiters etc. The development of the tourist industry also means the preservation and survival of Local culture. However, there are many ways in which the development could be altered. The problem faced by Kenya is that similar to other developing nations, the world of tourism is majorly influenced by tourists and not the hosts. As a result, the tourists come to have large influence on the locals in Kenya. The locals have to forego their long term interest in favor of their short term motives. The disadvantages of tourism are ignored in order to satisfy the need for having money. When tourists stay in hotels and resorts, they tend to overuse electricity, water and other resources which cause a shortage for the locals. If one hand, tourism leads to development by increasing the income of the people, on the other hand it leads to higher prices as well (Bindloss et.al, 2003, 23-25).

Kenya realized tourism was an important means for development and in recent years took several steps by investing in this sector with the aim of achieving development. This led to the rise of several tourists markets. It has resulted in Kenya being one of the most favorite destinations for the tourists. However, despite being an effective vehicle for development, tourism has at times contributed negatively, and Kenya continues to face various challenges in this sector. The government has adapted various strategies to outdo these negative influences. There are many ways in which tourism continues to affect development. Some of the factors affecting the development are social, economical and political (Bowden, 2007, pp ...