Mass Tourism

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  • Created by: Megnicpip
  • Created on: 20-02-16 18:04

Mass Tourism

It began in the late 1960's in the 'costas' of Spain. This was a result of improved technology and changes in transport. It is characterised by large numbers and 'concrete jungles'.

Natural attractions like beaches, and human attractions such as theme parks, are often overcrowede and have congested roads. The result of this is local people leaving the area and can lead to considerable conflicts.

Many areas along the Mediterranean coastline underwent massive transformations.

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Economic Loss of Mass Tourism

  • Visitor numbers go up and down and popularity may wane.
  • Some local people, notably farmers and fisherman, may lose their livlihoods.
  • Many jobs in toursim are seasonal, poorly paid, low status and unskilled, high-earning jobs, such as thos of guides with language skills, often go to outsiders.
  • The country/tourist region might gain only a small percentage of total tourist spend.
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Economic Gain of Mass Tourism

  • Great earner of foreign exchange.
  • Low-income jobs can be converted to provide a better living (e.g. fishing boat used for tourist tours/snorkelling)
  • New opportunities from the great increase in number and variety of service occupations-tourism is labour-intensive. 
  • New infrastructure (airports, roads, water and electricity supplies) can benefit other industries.
  • Increases size of the domestic economy (e.g. transformation of Spain from poor to a wealthy Western European country)
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Environmental Loss of Mass Tourism

  • Loss of rural peace and quiet which is replaced by urban activity and noise.
  • Damage to ecosystems due to tourist activity i.e. coral reefs damaged by divers.
  • Disturbance of wildlife and pressure on frequently visited landscapes.
  • Complete destruction of environments, and resulting habitat losses in order to build hotels, roads and airports.
  • Pollution problems from litter and untreated waste going into rivers and seas.
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Environmental Gain of Mass Tourism

  • Income from toruism/entrance fees may pay for management, consrvation and repairs.
  • Greater awareness of the need for and interest in conservation of landscape features, vegetation and wildlife, and preservation of ancient monument.
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Why are economic losses greatest for local people?

Economic losses are greatest for local people because if you are an elderly person you would suffer to adapt to the new economy. Elderly people need looking after and it takes money to do just that.

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Why do developing countries tend to make little mo

Developing countries tend to make little money from tourism because, if someone goes to a developing country on a UK airline through a UK travel agency. Then stays in an American or European hotel, the resort may only reciev 15% of the income for that holiday. The rest would go to the country/countries that own that resort.

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Why do environemntal gains occur much later in the

The environmental gains occur much later because much damage has been done to the environemtn during the construction stage. After that  only then does the effective management work to protect the remains.

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Why are some developing countries not able to beco

Some developing countries are unable to do this because they lack the environments that are of interest to visitors. For example, Brazil is a developing country but has the Amazon rainforest that is of great interest to tourists whereas, Samalia is developing but there is not much there that interest tourists because there are similar things there that you could do in South Africa or Egypt.

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Kenya Case Study

Location:

Kenya is surrounded by Tanzania, Ethopia, Uganda and Sudan. It is on the East Coast of Africa bordering the Indian Ocean. The capital is Nairobi and the country is on the border of the Southern and Northern hemisphere. Th equator travels straight through the country.

Fact File:

  • Total Population- about 36 million
  • Birth rate- 32 per 1000
  • Death rate- 14 per 1000
  • Annual rate of natural increase- 1.8 per cent
  • Earnings from tourism- US$850 million
  • Main exports- tea,coffe,flowers,fruit,vegetables
  • Total value of exports-US$ 2700 million
  • Total value of imports-US$850 million
  • Main imports- crude oil, industrial machinery, motor vehicles and ports.
  • GDP per head- US$500
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Kenya Case Study Notes

  • Two differenet environments for tourism: wildlife parks on plateau and Indian Ocean coastline.
  • Has 45 national parks all protected. This coers 10% of the country.
  • Has 240 species of fish.
  • Beaches have almost white sand.
  • You can go on safari's and stay in safari lodges ands clubs.
  • Has been a prosperous country even when neighbouring countries were having a civil war.
  • 80% of tourists visiting Kenya said the main reason was for the wildlife- elephants, zebras, lions.
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Kenya Case Study Economic Positives and Negatives

Positives

  • Has a multiplier effect.
  • Tourism increased.
  • Tourists are staying in locally run places bringing more money into the area.
  • Money spent locally by tourists goes down through several layers of society and extends to other people before the money is fully spent.

Negatives

  • Visitor numbers are unstable meaning the amount of money can change anytime.
  • Some resorts are owned by foreign companies meaning that all the money from there goes to the owning country not Kenya.
  • If Kenya is at war, visitor numbers go down and less money comes in. This is bad because the area relys on tourist areas, This happened in 2003 Mombasa hotel lost US$ 1 million per day due to tourism because a car bomb went off outside of the resort.
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Kenya Case Study Environmental Positives

Positive

  • There are pathways for minibuses to follow to decrease the amount of damage to the land.
  • Eco-tourism has started because boat owners are being giveb better education, patrols have been increased and floatings pontoons have been placed in popular diving spots for boats to hook to. More patrols means more protection for the animals from poachers. Boat owners being given better education means that they are learning more about the impact they have on the environment and can chage their ways to decrease the impact.
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Kenya Case Study Environmental Negatives

Negatives

  • On the reefs of Mombasa boats drop their anchors into the reefs and coral.
  • Some tourists like to take a piece of coral with them as a souveneir which overtime will skrink the reef as more and more tourists take a souvenier.
  • Wildlife numbers in the Masai Mara are decreasing as the tourist numbers increase.
  • The buses churn up the ground in the wet season.
  • Minibuses filled with tourists distrupt the wildlife.
  • Some employees of the Kenya Wildife Service ignore the poaching of wildife. Others take no interest in the minibus drivers who go off road and distrupt wildlife and ruin parts of the land that are meant to be protected.
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Kenya Case Study Strategies to Maintain Tourism an

Two main aims to maintain tourism and to reduce its impacts include:

  • To varify the countries tourist product range. They will do this by opening up new avenues of tourism such as activities on rivers and lakes. These sports may include: sailing, cruising, canoeing and rafting.
  • To achieve a better distribution of tourist activities throughout Kenya to reduce environmental impacts on tourist hot spots.

There is a hope for eco-tourism to be used as a way of bringing more money in for the local people and for an increase in the involvement of tribes people in preserving the wildife and environment.

They are going tot ry to focus on quality not quantity.

Masai Mara are increasing their income by setting a higher minimum price for hotels and camps and adding premium to be used for game park improvements.

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