The Pros and Cons of Tourism

How does tourism affect the places we all visit and are we doing harm without even realizing it?

The culture all throughout East Africa share many similarities, but from village to village traditions and language can vary slightly. Communities consist of families who have lived there for generations, such as my homestay family who were fourth generation, making a livelihood. With more than 80% of the active working population engaged in food production and being the country's primary source of income in Tanzania much of the culture revolves around the agriculture industry. My homestay village consisted of many small house space out from each other with fields of crops between them. People in the villages rely on one another to watch out for each others crops and households. They live by the credo “Love thy neighbor.” People living in these countries are some of the hardest workers I have seen, the day starts with the rising of the sun and they work through the day through the intense heat until the sun begins to set, but when they are home they take that time to relax and be with the family. A big reason to this is that when they lose the light of day that have nothing to work off of, a family will typically own a kerosene or solar lamp to cook with but nothing more. With dark come relaxation, we would sit on the couch in silence just drinking our tea. Our time in the homestay village opened my eyes to what life is really like in a Tanzanian village. People work hard up front and relax when its all said and done with. Life is simple but everyday my family would wake up with a smile on there face. One on the days during my homestay I offered my family to work in the field for them, and after being very persistent, they gave me a...

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...e impact we can make even with the best of intentions. I do believe that tourism can be a negative on local communities. With that being said I was given the tools to be able to see and process what I am doing and know what will make a positive impact and what will make a negative impact. Through tourism you can learn so much about the world and the people who inhabit it, you just have to remain mindful of the impact you make. Is it positive or is it negative?

Works Cited

"East Africa Living Encyclopedia." East Africa Living Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.

Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (Harperone, 2002), 23

"Batwa History." The Batwa Experience. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.

"Trees or Oil." The Economist. N.p., 2 July 2009. Web.

"Zanzibar Islands Ban Plastic Bags." BBC News. BBC, 11 Oct. 2006. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.