Is Tourism Good or Bad?

In my Econ Anthro class, we saw a video on the effects of tourism. Jamaica is a prime example of a periphery country who thrives on tourism. With the negative effects they face with the impacts of the IMF primarily and World Bank, they find themselves in a situation battling constant debt. Jamaica is known for their beautiful tropical environment and reggae.
But the topic is whether tourism has positive or negative effects. Though the economy is in a recession, the travel industry will never find people who aren't willing to go on a vacation. I will break this issue down into various effects the country faces:
Economic Effects-locals find firms who want to gain profit through the tourist industry by tearing down businesses and homes in the community for the purpose of making room for tourist accomodations. This puts locals in a worse situation where profits to the country are made for other causes.
Political Effects-Though tourism is intended to promote interrelations, it sometimes aggravates relations by pointing out the fact that tourists are from a wealthier lifestyle than the locals who witness these people with their digital cameras and various commodity possessions.
Social Effects-Though tourism helps bring income into a country, locals become dependent on making money through these means rather than depend on themselves for hard-earned money.
Cultural Effects-tourism provides an open window for visitors to see how locals live in their traditional environments and what customs they take on. But sometimes having tourists visit breaks this traditional cycle in a harmful way in which locals want to throw away their customs by seeing new technology brought upon them.
I know these effects side on the more negative point of view, one great benefit from tourism is that it helps us appreciate each other for our own distinguished differences. It's fascinating to see other countries and cultures, and to see the impact of the interaction between every background.


You Just Do You, Imma Do Me


Camille