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Economic, social and cultural impacts of tourism
The importance of cultural tourism
The importance of cultural tourism
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High in the Andean mountain range, nestled on a ridge between two mountains high above the valley floor below sits the amazing city and archaeological site of Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu is about 1400 kilometers south of the Equator on the eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes. The site lies near the head waters of the Amazon River and is on the ridge between two prominent mountain peaks – Machu Picchu and Hauyna Picchu – about 500 meters above the valley bottom (Wright and Kenneth, 2-3). Machu Picchu, believed to be the royal estate of the Inca ruler Pachacuti, is the most well-known of all the Inca archaeological sites. Professor Hiram Bingham discovered the site in July of 1911 and excavated it with the help of National Geographic and Yale University (Bingham, “The Story of Machu Picchu,” 172). When Professor Bingham discovered the Incan city it was hidden by a thick layer of forest vegetation, but after years of excavation, he uncovered and documented the findings of Machu Picchu (Bingham, Lost City, 223). Now, 94 years later, thousands of tourists fly from around the globe to visit the sacred and awe-inspiring site each year.
The effect of tourism on the people of Peru, the site, and the countries economy is staggering. More than 300,000 people a year go to Peru to make the trek to Machu Picchu where they marvel at the 500 year old structures built from blocks of granite chiseled from the mountainside (Roach). Tourists travel by helicopter, train, foot, and bus and the reasons for visiting the site are variable and many in number – to fulfill a romantic dream, a spiritual quest, or simply because they want to visit one of the world’s must-see sights to name a few. The question that needs to be asked and researched is: How is tourism affecting the archaeological site of Machu Picchu? The reasons for visiting Machu Picchu are not as important as is to understand the impact that the tourists and tourism industry is having on the site, the people, the country, and the environment. It is also important to investigate the possible implications of what will happen in the future and whether Machu Picchu will be preserved for future generations to come.
There are both costs and benefits to the impact of tourism on Machu Picchu and to the community.
Social Costs and Benefits
The social costs and benefits to Machu Picchu are an important part of the puzzle when inv...
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...ilders. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Bingham, Hiram. “In the Wonderland of Peru.” National Geographic Magazine. April,
1913: 387-574.
Bingham, Hiram. “The Story of Machu Picchu: The Peruvian Expeditions of the
National Geographic Society and Yale University.” National Geographic Magazine. February, 1915: 172-217.
Brown, Jeff L. “Landslides may threaten Machu Picchu.” Civil Engineering. May,
2001: 16.
Carlotto, Victor and Jose Cardenas. “Machu Picchu: A Giant Built on a Fragile
Foundation.” Geotimes. August, 2001: 22-24.
Hadfield, Peter. “Slip Sliding Away.” New Scientist. 10, March, 2001: 20.
Roach, John. Machu Picchu Under Threat From Pressures of Tourism. National Geographic News, April 2002. Available online at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0415_020415_machu.html. 13 March 2005.
“The Americas: Road to Ruin; Tourism in Peru.” The Economist. 21, July, 2001: 29.
Wright, Kenneth R. and Alfred Valencia Zegarra. 2000. Machu Picchu a Civil
Engineering Marvel. Virginia: American Society of Civil Engineers.
After the Second World War mass tourism has increased worldwide and has affected almost all countries. Mexico has become a ‘major tourist destination’ and also ethic tourism has taken off, because tourists became more interested in the indigenous cultures and search for authenticity. Nowadays ethnic tourism makes up ‘10% of Mexico’s tourism sector’ (Van Den Berghe 568). This essay will especially examine the commoditisation of the Maya identity; Maya was ‘a highly developed Mesoamerican culture centred in the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico’ (McKay et al 307). Over the last two decades Western tourists have become interested in Indian cultures, traditions and artefacts and they would like to see ‘living Maya culture’, therefore tour guides, tourees, middlemen and artisans have started to work in the ethnic tourism sector. According to Medina ‘The commoditization of culture for tourism may involve the utilization of new channels to access cultural traditions of great antiquity’ (354). To illustrate this: only 20.5% of the inhabitants of San Jose Succotz identifies with the Maya culture (Medina 360). Maya culture is less available through lived experience, because Maya languages and rituals disappear, therefore villagers working in the ethnic tourism sector have to gain knowledge by utilizing other, new channels. Ethic tourism often develops around archaeological sites; tour guides will take tourists to Maya ruins and transfer knowledge that they had gained from the ethnographers, archaeologists, and epigraphers (Medina 362). Some people argue that this ‘staged culture’ is not similar to the ‘authentic culture’. It might be possible that the culture transferred to the tourists at the moment is different from the way Mayans used to do. H...
Did you know that Peru is one of the top ten countries to visit in the world? (UNWTO) Peru has unique music and energetic dances that are fun to see. The people are friendly and charming; they would be happy to help one find their way if they need help. But, the main reason Peru appears on the top ten list is because of its unique geographical features. Some examples are the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu and Cusco. The art and culture of the Peruvians, as well as the people themselves,and the popular places to go, are what tourists like to see in Peru.
cultural heritage of the people of Peru (Buying, Selling, Owning the past, 1).The case of Peru vs.
Over the centuries, man has created an architecture in which not only identifies them self, but also identifies a society, a culture, and a nation. In the new world , as given call this part of the globe before colonization, cultures settled in this site were developed to the point of being able to build gigantic works. Is the case of the Incas, who developed a very functional style of public architecture that was remarkable for its advance engineering and fine stone work. Incas ' architecture is the most important pre-Columbian architecture in South America. The capital of the Inca Empire, Cusco, still contains many fine examples of the Incas ' architecture. The city of Machu Picchu is an example of Inca architecture, other important sites include Sacsayhuman and Ollantaytambo. According to legend, Cusco sacred city and capital of the empire was founded around the eleventh centuries XXII AC. by Manco Capac Inca, who emerged from Titicaca Lake. Cusco was the center of the empire, covered the territories of the countries now known as Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. In this part of the earth any other civilization could achieve the technical
Tourism impacts can be generally classified into seven categories with each having both positive and negative impacts. These impacts include; economic, environmental, social and cultural, crowding and congestion, taxes, and community attitude. It is essential for a balance on array of impacts that may either positively or negatively affect the resident communities. Different groups are concerned about different tourism impacts that affect them in one way or another. Tourism’s benefits can be increased by use of specific plans and actions. These can also lead to decrease in the gravity of negative impacts. Communities will not experience every impact but instead this will depend on particular natural resources, development, or spatial patterns (Glen 1999).
The Inca civilization stands to be one of the most respected empires in the Mesoamerican era. It occupied approximately 772,204 square miles and 20,000,000 people at that time of its collapse. The Incas are renowned for not just their aptitude in subjects such as mathematics, calendrics, and metal work, but also in other pressing areas such as their strategic military, central economy, and pro-active government. They collectively embody diligence, dexterity, and competence; through these qualities, they are dynamic and productive, and desire to be one with the community they surround themselves in. As such, the Incas would undoubtedly survive in the social and economic climate of the 21st century.
The civilization 's sophisticated road and communication system and governance were no small accomplishments. Diverse tribes, many occupying isolated territories in the most obscure of mountain hideaways, were amazing even by today 's standard. They were greedy for the wealth, which existed in fabulous proportion, not the culture. Yet, through the survival of the language and of a few residual traces of the culture, the civilization was not entirely destroyed. The great and relatively humane civilization of the Incas ' main legacy is inspirational, residing in the human ability to imagine that such a fabulously rich, well-ordered, and generally humane society once existed, high up in the Andean
The Inca built Machu Picchu high above the clouds so that their enemies couldn’t see them. This village was home to over 1,000 people. The Inca existed in a time period around the 14th and mid 15th century. The first Inca man and women were Manco Capac and his sister Mama Oqllu.
Peru is filled with architecture and culture, and rich in history. Peru’s history and modern day life style is packed with thrilling facts. Education and food may be scarce for the lower class, but at the end of the day family values remain with unity and a purpose. Yet Peru is wealthy and successful in many other ways, and they still have a thriving economy. Peru boasts many fantastic landscapes. It is a land of unparalleled richness in animal and plant life. Peru has a fulfilled Inca heritage, devoted native communities, and families loyal to each other.
Therefore, I have partially proved my thesis. I said that Machu Picchu was created by the Inca culture for religious observance. Machu Picchu was used for that and many other things and that is why it is such an amazing civilization.
We talked about the first type which is the economic effect on the local community and the second type that is the social effect on the host community. In this part of our essay we will represent the last kind of effect on the local community by tourism. It is the environment effect on the local community. Tourism has positive and negative aspects in term of its impact on the host community. First point, tourism can help to protect the environment through reinvest some of profits, that generated by tourism, to the preservation of local environment and make it popular destination for holidays. However, it can cause pollution and damage in the environment through overuse of natural resources, such as water supply, beaches and coral reef. It also account for increased pollution through traffic emissions and littering. Additionally, tourist accommodations in general dump waste and sewage into seas and rivers. Second point, it might reduce some problems such as over-fishing by creating another source of employment. According to Tourism Concern, tourism account for more than eight per cent of jobs in the world wide and there are approximately two hundred million people work in the tourism sector on all sides of the world. (Tourism Concern, 2004). As a result a lot of people will abandon works in fishing and deforestations and tend to works in tourism industrialization. On the adverse side, it can harm the environment through polish off grass cover, harmful to wildlife and forests and grave local habitats. (BBC,
It is the economic effects of tourism which bring the most benefit to the host nation. Tourism is a low import user which means more of the money earned here stays here. The government is earning money through tourist taxes such as the airport tax, increased export earnings and income tax revenue from people employed by the industry. A balance must be struck between these benefits and associated negative impacts on the community and the environment.
According to the ‘World Tourism Organization’ (UNWTO), the tourism industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world, as it is estimated that by the year 2020, 7.8 billion people (roughly a quarter of the world’s population) will embark on a foreign trip (Bennett & Gebhardt 15). The Caribbean is said to be the most economically dependent on this industry, as the ‘Caribbean Tourism Organisation’ states that the industry forms the “economic backbone of most countries in the Region”(“Caribbean Tourism Industry” 1). The implications for tourism’s affect on the region have arisen and have prompted further research into this matter. Since the 1970’s, research regarding tourism in the Caribbean has attempted to determine the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts of tourism. Much of the research has found that there are in fact many negative adverse effects, and Jackson’s article asserts that, “Governments often commit money and other resources to support the growth and development of tourism and often turn a blind eye to its negative impacts” (574).
Tourism's economic benefits are advertised by the industry for a sum of reasons. The idea of tourism's economic significance gives the industry a much greater respect among the business municipal, public officials, and the public in general. This often translates into decisions to tourism.
Tourism is the journey of people to destinations outside from their normal places of work and residence area. Tourism also the activities that they do during they stay in the selection destinations and the facilities created to serve for their needs. Tourism is the monetary value that tourists spent in the visit to the destination.