| How Tourism
can contribute to Socio-culturap Conservation
Tourism can contribute to positive developments,
not just negative impacts. It has the potential to promote social
development through employment creation, income redistribution
and poverty alleviation. Other potential positive impacts of tourism
include:
- Tourism as a force
for peace
Traveling brings people into contact with each other and,
as tourism has an educational element, it can foster understanding
between peoples and cultures and provide cultural exchange between
hosts and guests. Because of this, the chances increase for
people to develop mutual sympathy and understanding and to reduce
their prejudices. For example, jobs provided by tourism in Belfast,
Northern Ireland, are expected to help demobilize paramilitary
groups as the peace process is put in place. In the end, sympathy
and understanding can lead to a decrease of tension in the world
and thus contribute to peace.
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In the first Global Summit on
Peace through Tourism (Nov. 2000), more than 450 world leaders
of the travel and tourism industry ratified an "Amman Declaration"
that recognized travel and tourism as a global peace industry.
The document committed itself to building a culture of peace
through tourism that supports tourism as a fundamental human
activity, free of undue restriction and respectful of human
differences and cultural diversity. "Peaceful relationships
among all people should be promoted and nurtured through
sustainable tourism," the document said. It called for protection
and restoration of historical monuments and landmarks, accessible
to all people, as "valuable assets for humanity and legacies
for future generations." Preservation and wise use of the
environment, coupled with ecological balance, "are essential
to the future of tourism" while acknowledging "ancient
wisdom and care for the Earth."
Source: International
Institute for Peace through Tourism
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- Strengthening communities
Tourism can add to the vitality of communities in many ways.
One example is that events and festivals of which local residents
have been the primary participants and spectators are often
rejuvenated and developed in response to tourist interest.
The jobs created by tourism can act as a vital incentive to
reduce emigration from rural areas. Local people can also increase
their influence on tourism development, as well as improve their
job and earnings prospects, through tourism-related professional
training and development of business and organizational skills.
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The San of Namibia and southern
Africa and the aboriginal peoples of Australia have recently
regained management or ownership of traditional national
park lands and conservancies, operating ecolodges and serving
as guides and rangers while maintaining their heritage.
Source: The
International Ecotourism Society
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- Facilities developed
for tourism can benefit residents
As tourism supports the creation of community facilities
and services that otherwise might not have been developed, it
can bring higher living standards to a destination. Benefits
can include upgraded infrastructure, health and transport improvements,
new sport and recreational facilities, restaurants, and public
spaces as well as an influx of better-quality commodities and
food.
- Revaluation of culture and traditions
Tourism can boost the preservation and transmission of cultural
and historical traditions, which often contributes to the conservation
and sustainable management of natural resources, the protection
of local heritage, and a renaissance of indigenous cultures,
cultural arts and crafts.
The tour operator Travel
Walji's (PDF - 137 KB), for example, is complementing conservation
efforts not only by providing direct financial assistance, but
also by providing indirect support, such as tourism development
aid, to a remote mountain destination in the Karakorum region
of South Asia. The aid has helped revive local music and traditional
activities like sword dancing.
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"Tourism has forced the Balinese
to reflect on their artistic output as just one cultural
identifier. The presence of visitors who continually praise
Balinese art and culture has given people a kind of confidence
and pride in their art, and made them truly believe that
their culture is glorious and thus worthy of this praise
and therefore justly admired. This realization removed any
possibility in the people's mind that their art was in any
way inferior to the art of advanced nations, and plays an
important role in conserving and developing the art in general."
Source: Bali
Vision
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- Tourism encourages
civic involvement and pride
Tourism also helps raise local awareness of the financial
value of natural and cultural sites and can stimulate a feeling
of pride in local and national heritage and interest in its
conservation. More broadly, the involvement of local communities
in tourism development and operation appears to be an important
condition for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
These are some positive consequences of tourism
that can arise only when tourism is practiced and developed in
a sustainable and appropriate way. Involving the local population
is essential. A community involved in planning and implementation
of tourism has a more positive attitude, is more supportive and
has a better chance to make a profit from tourism than a population
passively ruled - or overrun - by tourism. One of the core elements
of sustainable tourism development is community development, which
is a process and a capacity to make decisions that consider the
long-term economy, ecology and equity of all communities.
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