International Tourism

The reason why international tourism becomes increasingly popular in the contemporary world is that people get more earnings than before and globalization encourages people's mobility on a global scale. But in the meantime, whether international tourism has more disadvantages than advantages has sparked much debate. Personally, I tend to believe that the benefits brought about by this trend override its drawbacks.

International tourism offers folks an opportunity to experience another culture personally. Tourists can see, hear, touch and even taste the exotic things during their overseas trips, which is much more vivid than just peering at another culture through books or screens. And at the same time, tourism can promote cross-cultural communications, deepen mutual understanding and broaden the minds of not only travelers but also the host. More over, global tourism indeed boosts the economy in the host country and provides employment opportunities in local hospitality and tourism.

Responding to the advocates, some people argues that international tourism, on the other hand, creates tension. Specifically, a mount of non-biodegradable litter left by international tourists pose grave environment threats to the tourist destinations. In addition, we should admit that not all tourists and local people are ready for cultural communication because they lack certain knowledge such as special customs and languages. Therefore, they are likely to misunderstand each other and experience communication breakdown which may lead to cultural conflicts.

Based on all the arguments offered above, there are environmental and social drawbacks to international tourism. But on balance, I still believe that if tourists can restrain themselves and open their mind, international tourism will have much more positive effects on individual, community and societal levels.