The Impact of Wilderness Tourism IELTS Reading Passage
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The tourism market in isolated and out-of-the-way areas has never been more profitable. Countries throughout the world are busily marketing their "wilderness" areas-mountains, Arctic lands, deserts, small islands, and wetlands-to tourists. There is, of course, much to lure people into these never-never lands: wilderness tourism implies practically zero infrastructure costs. This, however, does not mean that these areas do not have an associated cost.
According to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, these areas are vulnerable or fragile, not only from the ecological side but also in regard to culture and the ways of the lives of the inhabitants. In one way or another, the three biggest types of these fragile zones are deserts, mountains, and Arctic landscapes with respect to Earth's surface coverage-another important difference being their high seasonality, with rough weather prevailing in half of the year. During the harsher months, all human activities, most certainly tourism, are confined to certain recognized limits.
Tourists are drawn to these regions by their natural landscape beauty and the unique cultures of their indigenous people. And poor governments in these isolated areas have welcomed the new breed of ‘adventure tourist’, grateful for the hard currency they bring. For several years now, tourism has been the prime source of foreign exchange in Nepal and Bhutan. Tourism is also a key element in the economies of Arctic zones such as Lapland and Alaska and in desert areas such as Ayers Rock in Australia and Arizona’s Monument Valley. such as high-spending
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Once a place becomes a popular tourist attraction, it has a significant impact on the local population. It is hardly surprising that many hill farmers give up their farm work, leaving it to other family members, when they can earn more money in a few weeks working as porters for foreign trekkers than they can in a year working in their fields. Because there is not enough labor to maintain terraces and irrigation systems and to tend to crops, this has resulted in a significant drop in farm productivity and a change in the local cuisine in several hill districts.
As a result, a large number of people in these areas have started relying on outside sources for their rice and other commodities. Hunting fish and animals and gathering fruit during a brief season have historically been the main means of year-round subsistence in Arctic and desert communities. However, as more residents engage in tourism, they have less time to gather wild food, which has increased reliance on stores and purchased food. Such changes are not usually the result of tourism. Government transfers and wage labor of all kinds have a tendency to weaken traditional survival strategies. The problem remains the same regardless of the reason: what would happen if these fresh, outside revenue streams stopped?
The physical impact of visitors is another serious problem associated with the growth in adventure tourism. Much attention has focused on erosion along major trails, but perhaps more important are the deforestation and impacts on water supplies arising from the need to provide tourists with cooked food and hot showers. In both mountains and deserts, slow-growing trees are often the main sources of fuel and water supplies may be limited or vulnerable to degradation through heavy use.
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In recent years, there have been countless stories concerning the issues facing the tourism industry. However, it need not be an issue. The costs to these delicate ecosystems and their local cultures can be kept to a minimum, even if tourism invariably has an impact on the area where it occurs. As demonstrated by the Sherpas of Nepal's Khumbu Valley and in certain Alpine settlements, it can even serve as a means of reviving indigenous cultures. Additionally, an increasing number of adventure tourism businesses are making an effort to guarantee that their operations have a long-term positive impact on the environment and local community. Communities in the Swiss Alps have determined that better integrating tourism with the local economy is essential to their future.
The growing number of second-home developments in the Swiss Pays d'Enhautresuited has raised local concerns about the restrictions placed on their expansion. Additionally, there has been a resurgence of community cheese manufacturing in the region, giving the residents a steady source of income independent of tourists. Outside businesses have taken advantage of many Arctic tourist sites, hiring temporary workers and sending the majority of their earnings back to their home base. However, some Arctic towns are already running their own tour companies, guaranteeing that the profits stay in the area. For example, a local company in Alaska employs locals and operates an air tour from Anchorage to Kotzebue, where visitors may enjoy Arctic cuisine, take a walk on the tundra, and see local musicians and dancers.
Native people in the desert regions of the American Southwest have followed similar strategies, encouraging tourists to visit their pueblos and reservations to purchase high-quality handicrafts and artwork. The Acoma and San Ildefonso pueblos have established highly profitable pottery businesses, while the Navajo and Hopi groups have been similarly successful with jewellery. Too many people living in fragile environments have lost control over their economies, their culture and their environment when tourism has penetrated their homelands. Merely restricting tourism cannot be the solution to the imbalance, because people’s desire to see new places will not just disappear. Instead, communities in fragile environments must achieve greater control over tourism ventures in their regions, in order to balance their needs and aspirations with the demands of tourism. A growing number of communities are demonstrating that, with firm communal decision-making, this is possible. The critical question now is whether this can become the norm, rather than the exception.
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