Impacts of tourism

Tourism has a significant impact on destinations, influencing their economy, culture, environment, and communities. Tourism positively affects many parties in society but can also be detrimental in certain situations.

In general, tourism positively affects the economy of its destination. The purchasing of commodities, and the usage of hotels and transport by tourists all contribute to economic activity within the country.

The sociocultural impacts of tourism are less straightforward, bringing both benefits and challenges to the destination. The interactions between tourists and locals foster a cultural exchange, particularly exposing tourists to a different culture through direct interactions and overall immersion. However, differing expectations in the societal and moral values of the tourists and those from the host location can cause friction between the two parties.

While tourism may have positive impacts environmentally, through an increase in awareness of certain environmental issues, tourism overall negatively impacts the environment. Tourist destinations and attractions located in the wild may neglect environmental concerns to satisfy the demands of tourists, creating issues such as pollution and deforestation.

Tourism also has positive and negative health outcomes for local people.^[1] The short-term negative impacts of tourism on residents' health are related to the density of tourist arrivals, the risk of disease transmission, road accidents, higher crime levels, as well as traffic congestion, crowding, and other stressful factors.^[2] In addition, residents can experience anxiety and depression related to their risk perceptions about mortality rates, food insecurity, contact with infected tourists, etc.^[3] At the same time, there are positive long-term impacts of tourism on residents' health and well-being outcomes through improving healthcare access, positive emotions, novelty, and social interactions.