Examine in detail the effects of tourism in Economics. The impact of tourism on the economy extends beyond generating income and employment. It acts as a growth engine, stimulating investment in infrastructure, promoting sustainable development, and fostering the conservation of cultural and natural heritage
Examine in detail the effects of tourism in Economics (Tourism)
INTRODUCTION
- This is the activities of people travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for a period not longer than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes and not related to a remunerative activity from within the place visited 🗸🗸
[Max 2]
BODY – MAIN PART
Gross domestic product (GDP)
- Tourism impacts mostly on the services industry than on agriculture or manufacturing although there are upstream effects when agriculture provides foodstuffs to restaurants and manufacturing provides vehicles for transport 🗸🗸
Direct contribution on GDP
- Statistics South Africa (SSA) shows that in 2020 inbound tourists contributed R69 billion and domestic tourists R billion, amounting to R billion – about % of South Africa’s GDP 🗸🗸
Indirect contribution on GDP
- If the indirect contribution is added, tourism add about % to GDP 🗸🗸
- The WTTC estimated that tourism contributed % to the GDP of the world economy in 2020🗸🗸
- In developing economies the service sector is responsible for around % of GDP, while it is responsible for more than % of GDP in developed economies 🗸🗸
- South Africa is similar to that of developed economies and services contributed more than % of GDP in 2020. 🗸🗸
Employment
- Tourism has a major effect on employment and this amounted to million workers in 2020🗸🗸
- Tourism is the world’s largest generator of jobs 🗸🗸
Reasons:
- Tourism is labour intensive 🗸🗸
- More jobs can be created with every unit of capital invested in tourism than elsewhere
- Tourism employs many skills 🗸🗸
- It ranges from accountants and hairdressers to tour guides and trackers, 🗸🗸
- the tourism industry draws upon numerous skills 🗸🗸
- Tourism can provide immediate employment 🗸🗸
- If one quarter of tourists’ accommodation establishment in South Africa starts to offer live entertainment to quests, thousands of entertainers could be employed within days 🗸🗸
- Tourism provides entrepreneurship opportunities 🗸🗸
- The tourism industry accommodates informal sector enterprises, from craft and fruit vendors to pavement vendors, chair rentals 🗸🗸
Poverty
- Tourism is widely recognized as one of the fastest and more effective redistribution mechanisms in development 🗸🗸
- It brings development to the poor in rural areas 🗸🗸
- Tourism provides an alternative to urbanisation, permitting women and youth to continue a rural family lifestyle while giving them business opportunities 🗸🗸
- E.g. to start and operate small-scale tourism businesses around community asserts (forests, parks and rivers) 🗸🗸
Externalities
- The rapidly expanding tourism industry could have both positive and negative impacts that extend well into the future 🗸🗸
- While tourism attracts large amount of revenue, it can also cause undue environmental damage that can harm the very foundation on which it depends 🗸🗸
- All other economic resources, tourism uses resources and produces wastes and also creates environmental costs (pollution) and benefits in the process 🗸🗸
- Rapid growth in tourism aiming at short-term benefits usually results in more negative effects and these includes the degeneration of traditions and cultural values and environmental damage to sites and setting 🗸🗸
Environment
Tourism activities create environmental stress:
- Permanent environmental restructuring which includes major infrastructure 🗸🗸
- Waste product generation such as biological and non-biological waste that damages fish production 🗸🗸
- Direct environmental stress caused by tourist activities, e.g. the destruction of vegetation and dunes 🗸🗸
- Effects on population dynamics such as migration and increased urban densities 🗸🗸
Investment
- An adequate physical, economic and basic services infrastructure is essential for tourist destinations which means they invest in the following:
- Transport infrastructure, e.g. roads, airports 🗸🗸
- Communication and infrastructure including telephone lines, electronic signal stations and radio, TVs’ 🗸🗸
- Energy infrastructure such electricity and liquid fuel 🗸🗸
- Basic service infrastructure such as clean water and sewerage systems 🗸🗸
[Max. 26]
ADDITIONAL PART
How can Indigenous Knowledge Systems be used to promote tourism in South Africa?
- More cultural villages can be improved to facilitate and promote tourism e.g. Shangana in Mpumalanga, Basotho in the Free State and Simunye Zulu Lodge in Kwazulu-Natal. 🗸🗸
- Where guides explain and demonstrate storytelling and indigenous knowledge practices. 🗸🗸
- Advertising campaigns domestically and internationally by travel agencies, hotels and B & B, lodges and SA Tourism can focus on promoting these heritage sites in brochures and fliers, social media. 🗸🗸
- These actions will make tourists more aware of these attractions 🗸🗸
- Encourage tourists to experience different cultures and townships – experience life at home with a household and eat at a shebeen or township restaurant 🗸🗸
- World Heritage Sites of South Africa can be promoted for their cultural significance e.g. the Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, Vredefort Dome and Robben Island 🗸🗸
- Environmental World Heritage Sites of South Africa selected for their natural importance namely the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas, Isimangaliso Wetlands Park as well as uKhahlamba/Drakensberg Park which has been selected for its mixed significance 🗸🗸
- Arts and culture festivals e.g. the National Arts Festival, the Hermanus Festival, Awesome Africa Music Festival and Macufe African Cultural Festival should more widely be advertised to encourage tourists to attend 🗸🗸
- According to the World Health Organisation, a large majority of the African population make use of traditional medicines for health, social-cultural and economic reasons and forms part of the unique experience tourists experience when visiting local villages 🗸🗸
- In South Africa tourists are made more aware of the important role traditional medicine plays in poverty reduction and employment creation 🗸🗸
- Relaxation of restrictive tourist visa laws to facilitate easier entry into South Africa 🗸🗸
[Accept any other relevant answers]
[Max. 10]
CONCLUSION
- South Africa attracted over million tourists in 2020 /For every 8.1 additional tourist to South Africa, one new job is created/one per cent increase in tourism adds R million annually to the SA economy. 🗸🗸
[Accept any other relevant higher order conclusion]
[Max. 2]