Tourism Impact Studies Toward The Society Tourism Essay

Tourism is often referred as the world’s largest industry and look upon as a means of achieving community development (Sharpley, 2002). According to the World Tourism Organisation (2009), tourism is one of the world’s fastest growing industry and one of the global engines of development. One of the most popular issues of tourism is tourism impact studies toward the society. The understanding of community’s perceptions on tourism impacts is important. The main reason for this study was to know, the increasing support that tourism bring both positive and negative impacts on local communities life. Different perception from different residents can give insight into the nature and degree of tourism impacts towards the respective tourist destination. The community perceptions on tourism impacts are likely to be an important planning for successful community development (Ko & Stewart, 2002).

2.1 Social Conflict Theory

The social conflict theories perceive society as providing a setting that creates conflicts and changes. In fact, this approach laid importance on equality and come across the degree to which factors like race, ethnicity, gender and age are connected to unequal distribution of money, power, and social prestige. (Macionis, 2000). Equation engaged a number of cases where communities are involved in struggling with tourism developments. Social change strengthen by challenges of tourism can be negative as well as positive. Indeed the positive example described above went through set-backs and conflicts as part of the process. However, in several cases, increased conflict is more than a momentary jinx. Conflict has arisen both within and between communities.

2.2 Aspects of Conflict

Therefore, by discarding the fact that society functions to encourage solidarity and social consensus, conflict theorists put onward that society is about competition for scarce resources. This competition is replicated in the social institutions themselves and allows some people and organizations to have more resources and maintain their power and influence in society. Moreover, residents may experience a sense of elimination and isolation over planning and development concerning the village and they may even endure a loss of control over the community future as ‘outsiders’ seize over the new development and establishment. Hotels built in massive quantity or restaurants with standardized franchise designs might collide with local standards and disrupt the aesthetic appearance of the community, harm the unique community character, and spread equality.

Furthermore, since the tourism industry has developed, there have been an increasing number of incidents whereby local people are denied access to their traditional rights of use to beaches, land and sea. The locals often allege that they are chased away from their lands and are denied their exclusive rights. The farmers are compelled to move away from their original farms as soon as the area is earmarked for tourism development.

2.3 Doxey’s Irridex Model

Doxey’s created a theoretical model in 1975, which has come to be considered as one of the most significant contribution to tourism literature. The Doxey’s Irridex Model affirms that an increase in the numbers of tourists and a more developed tourism industry at the destination results in irritation in the community. In other words, this can show the way to incongruity of the local people and the guest. This irritation can take the form of unfriendly behavior personified as resentment from the local community towards tourism. In this case the perception of the residents varies from ‘euphoria’ (a feeling of happiness or comfort) to ‘apathy’ when locals start losing interest in tourism; to ‘annoyance’ after the numbers of tourist and the unfavorable impacts have increased; and finally ‘antagonism’ (a generation of hostile reaction against tourism) (Cordero 2008).

2.4 Butler’s Tourism Destination Lifecycle Model

Butler’s Tourism Destination Lifecycle Model (2006) proposed that every tourist destination experience similar stages of development: “exploration involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation, decline and/or rejuvenation”.

Figure 1: Butler’s Tourism Destination Lifecycle Model (Source: Butler 1980)

The primary stage in the destination lifecycle begins with small numbers of tourists who visit the area steadily due to limitation such as accessibility to the area. The numbers of tourist increases as development take several forms depending on such factors as the availability of information, marketing activities in the area and the existence of various services and facilities. The numbers of tourists then begin to decline because of the destination reaching its full carrying capacity. Butler’s model has been supported by scholars such as Akis (1996); it has been contradicted by others such as Dyer (2007). Both Butler’s Destination Lifecycle Model and Doxey’s Irridex Model are limited by their unidirectional conceptualizations.

2.5 Ap’s Model For Understanding Residents’ Reactions

According to Eagly (1993), attitude is defined as an “emotional tendency that is articulated by evaluating a particular entity with some degrees of favor or disfavor”. Development stages here are illustrated as “embracement, tolerance, adjustment and finally withdrawal” (Ap 1993). Similar to Doxey’s and Butler’s models, this model illustrates the way in which tourism development influences local people’s attitudes towards tourism. Embracement takes place when local people, especially those who benefit from tourism, accept it and feel positively about its impacts. In the tolerance stage, local people start feeling more of the impact of tourism. They become divided between being for or against tourism. Depending on the degree of their involvement in tourism, some of them adjust as per the adjustment stage while others do not. To end with, withdrawal takes place when local people can no longer deal with the impact of tourism and so their negative perceptions take over.

2.6 Social Exchange Theory

Social exchange theory (SET), applied here, proposes that residents are akin to support tourism as long as the perceived benefits exceed the perceived costs. SET is supported on the principle that human beings are reward-seeking and punishment avoiding and that people are motivated to action by the expectation of profits (Skidmore, 1975). SET presumes that social relations engage exchange of resources among groups seeking mutual benefits from exchange relationships.

There are a number of issues influencing resident’s attitudes towards tourism development related to its social, cultural, and environmental implications that have been studied using social exchange theory. SET is concerned with identifying the exchange of resources between parties in a dealings situation where the objects suggested for exchange have value, are measurable, and there is mutual dispensation of rewards and costs between actors (Ap, 1992; Madrigal,1995).

From a tourism standpoint, SET hypothesizes that an individual’s attitudes towards this industry, and ensuing level of support for its development, will be prejudiced by his or her valuation of resulting outcomes in the community. Exchanges must take place to have tourism in a community. Thus residents must enlarge and encourage it, and then serve the needs of the tourists. Some community residents obtain the benefits, while others may be negatively impacted. Social exchange theory advocates people estimate an exchange based on the expenses and profit incurred as a result of that exchange. An entity that makes out benefits from an exchange is likely to evaluate it positively; one that makes out costs is likely to evaluate it negatively. Thus, residents perceiving their benefiting from tourism are likely to view it positively, and visa versa. In general, we may end that residents are likely to contribute in an exchange if they believe that they are likely to gain benefits without incurring unacceptable costs. If locals perceive that the benefits are greater than the costs, they are inclined to be involved in the exchange and, thus endorse future development in their community.

2.6 Tourism and Sustainability

Sustainability, for tourism encompasses of three interconnected aspects: Socio Cultural, Economical and Environmental. Sustainability entails durability, so sustainable tourism embrace optimum use of resources, in concert with biological diversity; minimization of ecological, cultural and social impacts, and maximization of benefits to conservation and local communities.

However, the promotion of tourism development in many circumstances often takes place without balancing short term economic other than priorities with longer-term environmental and socio cultural objectives. The tourism development study replicated highlights the importance of people’s participation throughout power sharing, social cohesion and knowledge enhancement (Prentice, 1993; Frumn, 1998; Timothy, 1999; Tosun, 2000; Mitchell and Reid, 2001).

Therefore the justification of this study was to investigate the different type of conflicts and consequences arising from tourism in the village of Belle Mare. Tourism’s socio cultural, economical and environmental impacts are example, from the perspective of the “host” community, of the problem caused by tourists.

2.7 Socio-Cultural Impacts of tourism

The socio cultural impacts are changes occurring in the daily life of the society and the adaptation to the existence and operation of the tourism sector. Tourism has often been assessing for its negative socio cultural impacts, but all types of modern development bring socio cultural impacts. Socio-cultural amendment stimulated by tourism on host communities includes changes in conventional lifestyle, value systems, family relationships, individual behavior and community structure (Ratz 2000). They basically resulted from the cultural and economic differences between residents and tourists (Lavery, 1996; Crosby and Moreda, 1996). Evidence from numerous assessments of tourism impact reveals that tourism activity and development have both positive and negative impacts on local communities and their cultures. In simple term, Wolf (1977:3) states that socio cultural impacts are “People Impacts”; they refer to the positive and negative effects on the host population of their direct and indirect connection with tourist.

Socio-cultural impacts relay to changes in societal value systems, individual behavior, social relationships, lifestyle, and mode of expression and community structures. The focal point of socio-cultural impacts tends to be on the host community, i.e., the people who reside in tourist destinations, rather than the tourist-generating region. Mathieson and Wall (1982), state that “socio-cultural impacts are the effect on the people of host communities, of their direct and indirect associations with tourists.”

The impacts of tourism on socio cultural aspect can be both positive and negative (Swarbrooke 1999). He argues that the negative or positive impacts are concluded in accordance of the factor such as the structure of the local community and its own culture. Thus the resident’s perception on the impacts can alter by factors such as age, education, gender, community attachment, and the reliance on tourism. With regard to community attachment, most studies have accomplished that “the longer, a host has been resident in the area, the less they like tourism that is they are less ‘attached’ to tourism” (Jurowski 1997, Weaver 2001, McGehee and Andereck 2004).

2.7.1 Positive Cultural Impacts of Tourism

Tourists want to welcome the uniqueness aspects of culture of various sections of the heterogeneous population that why they travel from one country to another. However, culture can be understood as the whole way of life that is fundamental for the survival of a specific group or people living in a specific society. Thus, culture can be the dominant values that give direction for the day-to-day activities of people in society, comprising of the symbolic values and beliefs, intellectual and artistic achievements, traditions and rituals as well as the dominant patterns of living.

Arts and Handicrafts

Tourism contributes in the protection of Archeological and Historical sites, Arts and Handicrafts, Customer and Traditions in our country. Special mention should be made to Arts and Handicrafts for tourism in Mauritius as it has paved the way for the success of this particular sector. The arts and Handicrafts sector produces a variety of ‘souvenirs’, with higher-quality carvings, and hand made Artifacts to please the demands of foreign visitors. In order to attract more tourists, architectural and historical sites are restored and protected (Inskeep, 1991; Liu and Var 1986).

Souvenir is recognized as authentic memento of a particular place and is powerful signifiers of ideological meaning. It can be use as an aide memoire of a particular place; a symbols of certain cultures and religions and also as a reflex of social processes, interest and power relations. In certain societies the souvenir is important, not only as a cultural artifact but also as an analytic tool for understanding complex social processes.

Culture Expression

Tourism is the edge for cultural exchange, facilitating the communication between residents and guests (domestic and international). Apart from the economic benefits there are also outside contacts which draws the awareness to the community that is the resident want to intermingle with other culture, learn about other traditions and even meet with new perspectives of life and society. Tourism has brought villagers into closer contact with the outside world; residents come into contact with ideas of the wider world, partly by having conversation with tourists. Tourism also helps to encourage interest in, and conserve aspects of, the host’s cultural heritage, which contribute for additional income for the destination as well as for the individuals and local business. Moreover, many people of different cultures come together by means of tourism facilitating the exchange of cultures (Brayley et al, 1990).

Tourism in general is an experience driven industry, and local culture is a sole experience, than “building attractions”. The further one makes out and learns about a destination or its culture the more satisfying the experience will be. Tourism also helps to encourage a sense of community pride when tourists visit a specific location for a reason. Nonetheless, community pride is normally transmitted into economic prosperity. Well-groomed village and well-maintained facilities help visitors to feel welcome and can contribute to community pride.

2.7.2 Negative Cultural Impacts of Tourism

Negative socio cultural impacts are the result of direct contact and the demonstration effect. Tourism has been criticized because it generates anxiety and it can be a source of inter-generational stress. There are also other instances where cultural tourism has resulted in the commercialization of customs and traditional ceremonies. As stated by McNaughton (2006), tourism has the potential to create inequality and social tension. Sing-Cheong (2007) state that the tourism industry and globalizations are crossing borders between nations and cultures, resulting in many socio-cultural consequences.

Trivialization

It refers to the revolutionized facets of culture into a commercialized form of entertainment for tourist. A very well-known example of trivialization refers to the sega in Mauritius. The sega is mostly being sung by the slaves to grieve for their loss of freedom and taking them away from their homes or loved one. But today it has become a commercialized form of entertainment performed in an “elegant style” by professional groups in Hotels and Restaurants. The customary musical instrument – The Maravanne, The Ravanne, The tambourine, and The Triangle have been replaced by sophisticated modern instruments with a view to develop culture. The sega has lost its natural beauty; they turned out to stimulate the inner feelings of the tourists.

Religious Conviction

Sacred places such as, Grand Bassin, Cathedrale Saint Louis, Le Temple Kaliamen (Kalaysson), La Jummah Mosquee, Le Marie Reine De La Paix and Le tombeau De Pere Laval are famous religious visiting sites in Mauritius. Important issues to be noted here is that tourists in Mauritius are free to visit any religious shrines. But when visiting all these holy places, they are not properly dressed that is they wears shorts, miniskirts, and no removal of shoes at the temple and mosques.

Tourist Behavior

Tourists often, out of ignorance or carelessness, fail to respect local customs and moral values, when they take a quick snap shot of the labourer or fisherman without asking their permission. When they do so, they can bring about irritation and stereotyping and can also invade the local peoples’ lives.

Social Evils

The relationship between tourism and crime is hard to ascertain. According to Doxey, 1975, tourism may also be related to an increased in crime, drugs, and prostitution and beyond a certain volume it can be a source of antagonism. Tourism may also lead to a decline in moral values, invokes use of alcohol and drugs; increase crime rates and tension in the community (Liu and Var 1986; Milman and Pizam 1988). But crime rates naturally increase with the growth and urbanization of an area. The existence of large number of tourists with lots of money to spend, increases the attraction for criminals and brings with it activities like robbery and drug dealing. The commercial sexual exploitation of children and young women has paralleled the growth of tourism. Belle-Mare has become a victim of this act as apartments are being rent on a timely basis. Nevertheless tourism is not the cause of sexual exploitation; it provides easy access to it.

Loss of Control over Community Future

The main collisions of the tourist host relationship are the demonstration effect, when the local people manners are modified in order to imitate tourists. Youth are particular prone to demonstration effect particularly in term of changing dress behavior, spending extravagantly on consumption and so on. As such tourist host interaction constitutes only one factor for change in attitudes, values or behavior. There are also other major agents who lead to the demonstration effects such as radio, internet, print media, increased traveling, television and videos.

Access to Resources

Though Mauritius has a number of potential inland attractions, beach visitation remains a popular leisure activity of Mauritians. The spreading out of hotels and campement along the coastline has snatched away the rights of the citizens to walk freely or enjoy the attractiveness of their beaches. They are even forced to move away from their original farms as soon as the area is earn marked for tourism development. The residents are as such not against tourist but rather against the restriction. The local people express a feeling of fear and frustration as the village of Belle Mare is developing rapidly and this will impinge further Right of Future Generation.

2.8 Economic Impacts of tourism

The most prominent benefits used to promote tourism development are the economic benefits that communities can anticipate to derive from tourism activity. Thus tourism was encouraged first because of its economic impacts. Tourism is an engine for generating a range of new private and public income opportunities. Tourism is an industry with enormous economic impacts The most immediate and direct benefit of tourism development is the creation of jobs and the opportunity for people to increase their income and standard of living in local communities. Hence local communities turn to tourism as a means of raising income, increase employment and living standards (Akis et al., 1996). These impacts are obvious as tourists interact with the local economy, and community. The economic impacts of tourism are the most widely researched impacts of tourism community (Mason, 2003). Economic impacts are easier to research in local community because it is small and generally easier to assess. The impact can either be positive, beneficial, or negative and detrimental to local community. Tourism can have positive economic effects on local economies, and are visible impact on national GDP growth. It could also an essential component for both community development and poverty reduction (Ashe, 2005). The economic impacts of tourism are therefore, generally perceived positively by the residents (Tatoglu et al., 2000).

Economic impacts are one of the most researched areas of tourism. As Pearce (1989) put out:

“Studies of the impact of tourist development on a destination or destinations have been the largest single element of tourism research

……much of this is predominantly the work of economists and has concentrated on the effects of income and employment.”

Hence economic impacts are associated to and cannot be easily alienated from other types of impacts. All economic developments pertaining to tourism have effects on the society, economy and the environment.

2.8.1 Positive Economic Impacts of Tourism

Tourism has been a milestone in the development of Mauritian economy. Our country has passed through several distinct phases and in the process, has successfully diversified from a Monocrop culture highly dependent on the Export of sugar into Manufacturing, Tourism and Financial sector.

Contribution to GDP

The National income or Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one of the most important measures of the pecuniary consequences of Tourism. As the largest component of tourism industry, hotels and restaurants, inevitably reflects a fair idea of overall tourism contribution on the economy. Data from the Bank of Mauritius indicate that gross tourism receipts for the first nine months of 2010 were Rs 28,167 million, i.e. an increase of 9.7% compared to Rs 25,685 million for the same period of 2009, (Table 1).

Increase Opportunities for Shopping

Another argument for the growth of tourism industry is that it gives local people the opportunity for more shopping. This is so because with the development of tourism, there are more and more shopping centers, supermarket, shops, restaurants and many other business units which are setting up in Belle Mare, as providing them with first class services for both the local as well for the foreigners.

Employment Opportunities

Tourism as a highly labour intensive service industry offers a wide range of Direct Employment and Indirect Employment. Also, tourism helps out to generate employments (e.g., Ahmed & Krohn, 1992; Backman & Backman, 1997; Milman &

Pizam, 1987; Var & Kim, 1990). With the setting up of different hotels, restaurants, bungalows, shopping centers, supermarkets and many other businesses in Belle Mare, have help to reduce the unemployment problem. According to the survey of Employment and Earnings conducted by the Central Statistics Office, direct employment in hotels, restaurants and travel and tourism establishments employing 10 persons or more stood at 27,161 at the end of March 2010 showing an increase of 0.6% over the figure of 27,002 for March 2009. Of this number, 20,847 or 76.8% were engaged in hotel, (Table 2).

Improve Transport, Infrastructures and Public Utilities

The development or improvement of infrastructure constitutes an essential economic impact of tourism development in Mauritius. Urbanization caused by rapid development of tourism might improve governmental and local services such as police station, fire station and security (Milman and Pizam 1988). Usually the gains from infrastructural investment leads to good electricity, water network supply, improvements of roads networks and modernization of Airport are widely shared by other economic sector, tourist and hosts of the country

2.8.2 Negative Economic Impacts

According to Schianetz, Kavanagh and Lockington (2007), while tourism provides financial benefits, it can also generate negative effects in other areas. An impact of tourism is generally evaluated negatively, it is concern for the welfare of the community as a whole and cooperation among its citizens is decreased markedly as tourism increases and incomes rise.

Rise in Price

The very expansion of tourism development has increased land values especially in some coastal tourist village. Increasing demand for accommodation, especially in tourism seasons, might push up the rents as well as the land prices for building new houses and hotels (Pizam 1978; Var et al, 1985). For example, lands for residential development in Belle-Mare were sold in 1987 at an average price of hundreds per square meter but in 2010 the land valued is within millions per square meter. Tourism is yet only one factor for escalation in the land values-speculative attitudes have been endangered by the increasing influence of the host population and by a realization that land is a scarce resource in small island Mauritius are potential significant factors to take into consideration.

Cost of Living

Negative economic impacts highlighted by an increase in the price of goods and services have been alleged by residents in several surveys (Belisle & Hoy, 1980; Keogh, 1989; Pizam, 1978; Tosun, 2002; Weaver & Lawton, 2001). Tourism is a contributor to inflation by preempting supplies, leading to higher prices of consumer items especially fresh fruits and vegetables, and fresh fish in tourist zone. Even Liu and Var (1986) argue that the price of goods and services might go up with the increased demand from foreign customers. Resident argues “Belle-Mare” has become very expensive, with the same price charged to resident and tourist alike. There exist a feeling of frustration and irritation among residents of tourist zone who felt deprive of some consumer items.

Imported goods

There are other short-term economic costs that may result from tourism. If tourism growth is largely dependent on imported goods and services, there is a risk that existing local production may be hit adversely. This effect can be particularly noteworthy if demonstration effect results in the local population, copying tourists and increasing their consumption of imported goods and services rather than domestically produced ones.

Infrastructure Cost

The development of tourism can cost the local government and local taxpayers a great deal of money. Developers will rely on the government to improve the airport, roads and other infrastructure, and other financial advantage, which are costly activities for the government and they will only enjoy the benefits. Public resources spent on the financing of infrastructure may trim down government investment in other artificial areas such as education and health

2.9 Environment Impact in Tourism

The environment is being increasingly recognized as a key factor in the tourism sector. In the last decade of the twentieth century, it has been noted that tourism depends ultimately upon the environment, as it is a major tourism attraction itself, or in the context in which tourism activity take place (Holden, 2000). Tourism and the environment are directly linked since the idea of tourism is based completely on man’s desire to get out and experience nature.

The term environment is often assumed to be only the physical or natural features of a landscape but according to swarbrooke, 1999, there are five aspect of the environment, namely, the natural environment, wildlife, the farmed environment, the built environment and natural resources. Among these, each component are linked together.

If tourism is not well planned it can result in the following consequences for the environment:

Land Resources

Since there is a rapid development in the tourism sector, there is a high use of land resources to cater for the demand of recreational facilities as well as construction of tourism accommodation and other infrastructure and consequently the natural landscape is threatened through deforestation.

Sewage and Littering

The construction of hotels, recreation and other facilities often leads to increase sewage and littering. Waste water has polluted seas and rivers surrounding tourist attractions, damaging the flora and fauna. There is also wide use of toxic pesticides on the beaches to control sand files and other pests. The chemical ends up in the sea in a very short time, thus sewage and littering can degrade the physical appearance of the water and cause the death of marine animals.

Pollution

Besides the consumption of large amounts of natural and other local resources, the tourism industry also generates considerable air, noise and sea pollution, which can be detrimental for the resident’s living in the locality.

2.10 Conclusion

Thus we can say that in Mauritius, a more appropriately planned tourism development process is needed which would spread both costs and benefit more equitably as well as be more sensitive to the social and cultural impacts. This would not only reduce for local residents to trade off their quality of life and social costs for economic growth, but would also contribute to having more broadly based positive attitude towards tourism (Mansfield 1992). A larger proportion of the local population should benefit from tourism, rather than merely bearing the burden of its costs. Manu analysts call for greater local participation in the tourism sector to permit a more equitable distribution of costs and benefits (Blank 1989)