A Review of the Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts of Tourism Development

American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business 2021; 7(2): 39-46 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajtab doi: 10.11648/j.ajtab.20210702.12 ISSN: 2469-7834 (Print); ISSN: 2469-7842 (Online) Review Article A Review of the Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts of Tourism Development Alpha Thullah *, Samuel Abdulai Jalloh Agro-Tourism Unit, Department of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Makeni, Sylvanus Koroma Campus, Yoni, Sierra Leone Email address: *Corresponding author To cite this article: Alpha Thullah, Samuel Abdulai Jalloh. A Review of the Economic, Social and Environmental Impacts of Tourism Development. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business . Vol. 7, No. 2, 2021, pp. 39-46. doi: 10.11648/j.ajtab.20210702.12 Received : May 27, 2021; Accepted : June 7, 2021; Published : June 22, 2021 Abstract: The Tourism industry has significantly contributed to diverse social and economic benefits in host communities or regions. Despite the gains that have been realized in the sector, a surging number of negative impacts has been associated with tourism development. This current study reviewed the literature on the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism. Tourism has helped boost economic growth, increased the revenue base, created mass employment, and enhanced the development of small and medium size enterprises in host regions. Despite its positive economic strides, it has contributed to negative outcomes such as the increase in commodities prices, high cost of living and unstable tenure of service in host communities. Tourism development has resulted in positive socio-cultural impacts such as infrastructural development, and cultural exchanges. Nevertheless, it has led to socio-cultural problems, including congestion, soaring crime rates, resentment and conflicts in host communities. On the environment front, tourism has created profoundly disappointing environmental problems. These include carbon emissions, ecological disturbances and waste management problems. The aforementioned environmental problems depend on the type and scale of tourism and the level of environmental awareness of inbound tourists. To maximize the gains of tourism development, its development initiatives must explicitly consider the social and environmental dimensions. Also, the involvement of host communities in tourism planning is pivotal to sustainable tourism development. Keywords: Environment, Social, Economic, Tourism Development, Impacts estimated that tourism contributed to the total GDP in Greece 1. Introduction and Malta was between 17% and 28% respectively [6]. The tourism industry has seen a worldwide boom over the Tourism is the main sector significantly contributing to years [1]. An estimated 1326 million tourist arrivals were economic growth in Malaysia [7]. The travel and tourism recorded in 2017 indicating a 7% growth rate [2]. Tourists industry directly contributed 6.7% to Egypt’s total GDP in visit destination regions for various reasons ranging from 2011, and was projected to increase by 4.8% pa in 2022 [8]. cultural heritages, architectural designs and relief features to Early work by Brida and Risso [9] projected that 100% ecological endowments [3]. Tugcu [4] described tourism as a increase in tourism demand can result in nearly 0.29% means of transferring financial resources from rich countries increase in elasticity of real GDP (29% growth) in South Tyrol to developing nations. In 2019, the World Travel and Tourism in Italy. Furthermore, foreign currency receipts realized from Council reported that travel and tourism contributed an the tourism industry normally exceeded receipts from the estimated 10.4% of global GDP [5]. Tourism is one of the other sectors in many countries [9]. drivers of economic growth in many regions of the world, Tourism growth has resulted in a disturbing array of social, considering its significant contributions to the Gross Domestic environmental and economic impacts especially in destination Product (GDP) of several nations. For example, it was regions. These impacts include the change of local cultures, American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Business 2021; 7(2): 39-46 40 rise in prostitution and crime rate and the pollution of impacts on localities characterized by low non-tourism ecological sensitive sites and over use of water resources [10]. economic activities in contrast to those with high non-tourism For example, tourism contributed to 4.4 million tonnes (Mt) in economic activities. This section described the positive and direct carbon emissions and 5.8 Mt in total domestic emissions negative economic impacts of tourism development. in New Zealand [11]. The negative impacts of tourism development reflect the fact that tourism economic benefits 2.1. Tourism Contribute to the Establishment and Growth of cannot be fully maximized unless its social and environment Small and Medium Enterprises dimensions are given thoughtful consideration [8]. Similarly, In recent years, tourism-related Small- Micro- Medium- Urtasun and Gutiérrez [3] argued that the economic, Enterprises (SMME) have been recognized as drivers of socio-cultural, and environmental dimensions of tourism has poverty reduction [18]. There is massive literature that has tipping points. A high influx of tourists in a region may proven that tourism promote the growth of SMME. For overstretched the existing infrastructures that could example, in Azerbaijan, tourism businesses increased from 96 consequently produce negative impacts [3]. in 2006 to 272 in 2016 and 339 in 2017 [19]. On the Balearic Because of tourism’s negative economic, environmental Islands in Eastern Spain, 86% of the study participants stated and social impacts in destination regions, the concept of that tourism generated business opportunities for local sustainable tourism has been gaining attraction in recent years. residents [20]. In South Africa, the presence of the Pilanesberg Sustainable tourism development (STD) is centered on a National Park increased tourism related entrepreneur ‘triple bottom-line’ approach that takes into account three development as mentioned by 57.7% of residents [17]. In dimensions: economic, environmental and social in tourism Hawassa City, Ethiopia Small Scale Tourism Enterprises development [12]. This concept has been the central theme of significantly increased the income of 71 (57.3%) local the literature on tourism in recent years, as researchers have residents [21]. In Peterborough, USA, tourism has contributed been exploring the linkage between these three dimensions. to a boom in real estate business as tourists buy expensive For example, Tugcu [4] studied the relationship between homes than their local counterparts through real estate tourism and economic growth in European, Asian and Africa agencies [22]. countries based on data from 1998 – 2011. Other researchers had studied the economic, social and environmental impacts 2.2. Job Creation of cruise tourism on local communities in Trujillo, Honduras Tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries in terms of [13]. Gao et al [14] investigated the relationship between CO 2 emissions, energy consumption, economic growth and both income generation and job creation. Tourism is the tourism development in 18 Mediterranean countries using largest industry that could employ both skilled and unskilled data from 1995 to 2010. people [17]. In 2019, the travel and tourism industry created There is a paucity of reviews on the economic, social and 319 million jobs which is 10% of the total employment environmental impacts of tourism. Huang et al. [15] had well worldwide [5, 23]. It was projected that tourism will create reviewed the environmental impacts of the tourism industry. 328 million jobs or 1 in every 10 jobs globally by 2022 [8]. To the best of our knowledge, a comprehensive review on the However, the projection by Ayad and Ye [8] could be affected three dimensions of tourism has not been identified in the by the current COVID19 pandemic which has severely literature, a gap, this current review seeks to fill in. Thus, the affected the global tourism industry. objective of the current piece is to document the economic, Nevertheless, tourism has significantly contributed to social and environmental impacts of the global tourism employment in many nations. An early study in New Zealand industry. The current study will help tourism planners to showed that ‘every 12 inbound tourists create one job for one consider these three dimensions in tourism planning and year’ [24]. development. It will help nations to maximize the tourism In the USA, tourism provides direct employment for 8.8 profits while minimizing its negative implications. million people and approximately 7 million more in ‘indirect’ and ‘induced’ employment [28]. On the Balearic Islands in Eastern Spain, 91% of the respondents agreed that tourism 2. Economic Impacts of Tourism generated employment [20]. In Azerbaijan, employment in The contribution of tourism to a nation’s economy is often tourism enterprises excluding hotels and related businesses assessed by its effect on income, employment and total foreign increased by 35.7% from 2009 to 2017 [19]. As of 2007, an exchange earnings [16]. However, tourism economic impacts estimated 30,000 people were employed in the tourism sector can go beyond these relative shares [9]. The economic impacts in South Tyrol in Italy [9]. An earlier report showed that of tourism have been described as ‘direct effects’

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