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O-Level Tourism Development (Topic 2.2)
tourism trends and its economic, social and environmental effects
What the syllabus expects
- Globalisation keeps international tourist arrivals expanding and makes both generating and destination regions increasingly varied.
Scope: The trends shaping tourism - Demand is diversifying as once lesser-known or less-accessible destinations gain popularity and new experiences emerge including adventure, heritage, sports and health tourism.
Scope: The trends shaping tourism - Supply is diversifying as small specialist operators supplement mass-market tour operators, and marketing shifts from traditional print and broadcast media towards new online media.
Scope: The trends shaping tourism - Within the system, generating and destination regions function interdependently, yet the economic effect is felt more strongly at the destination regions.
Scope: How tourism affects the economies of places - Positive economic effects include more jobs in the formal and informal tourism sectors and greater income as tourists spend on goods and services, particularly at destinations.
Scope: How tourism affects the economies of places - Negative economic effects include leakages that cut tourism revenue and an overdependence that leaves destinations exposed to a sudden drop in tourist numbers.
Scope: How tourism affects the economies of places - Socially, tourists and local communities at destinations affect each other, with the results depending on how the two groups interact.
Scope: How tourism affects the society of places - Positive social effects include heightened interest among tourists and locals in conserving traditional art forms and cultural practices, while environmental protection at destinations strengthens cultural ecosystem services.
Scope: How tourism affects the society of places - Negative social effects include the commodification of cultural practices and art forms with loss of values and local conflict, and hostile local attitudes involving cultural clashes and tourists falling victim to crime.
Scope: How tourism affects the society of places - Natural environments supply important provisioning and regulating ecosystem services, so tourism-driven degradation hits destination regions hard.
Scope: How tourism affects the environment of places - Positive environmental effects include conserving natural areas and biodiversity to keep natural attractions, and restoring degraded aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems into fresh attractions.
Scope: How tourism affects the environment of places - Negative environmental effects include pollution from greenhouse gas emissions, poor sewage facilities and improper waste disposal, and construction that intrudes on nature, drains resources and endangers wildlife habitats.
Scope: How tourism affects the environment of places
How it's examined
About 6% of the past-paper style questions in Rae's bank for this subject sit in this topic.
Worked examples
Example 1 (5 marks)
In what ways does tourism bring benefits to the society and economy of a place? Support your answer with an example you have studied.
Show the worked answer
Tourism benefits both economy and society. Economic benefits: (1) it creates jobs, directly (hotels, guides, transport) and indirectly (food, crafts, construction); (2) it earns foreign exchange and generates an income multiplier as tourist spending circulates through local businesses, plus government tax revenue that can fund development. Social benefits: (3) revenues and demand improve infrastructure and amenities (roads, water, healthcare, recreation) that residents also use; (4) tourism can encourage cultural exchange and the preservation of heritage, crafts and traditions, and foster community pride. Example - Bali, Indonesia: tourism is the backbone of the economy, employing a large share of the population and bringing in foreign exchange, while demand for traditional dance, temples and crafts has helped sustain Balinese culture and funded local infrastructure. (Any studied example such as Singapore or the Maldives is equally valid.)
More O-Level Geography topics
Thinking Geographically (Topic 1.1) · Sustainable Development (Topic 1.2) · Geographical Methods (Topic 1.3) · Tourism Activity (Topic 2.1) · Sustainable Tourism Development (Topic 2.3) · Weather and Climate (Topic 3.1) · all of O-Level Geography