Tourism and Economy of UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Tourism and Economy of UK - Essay Example By now, the benefits that tourism brings to any country are plainly incontrovertible. But tourism has its own downsides or drawbacks. It is a volatile and mercurial national undertaking. It is subject to so many factors and influences that may slow down its growth or even send it to the doldrums. Effects of global warming, such as floods, frequent typhoons, hailstorms, tsunamis and other calamities discourage vacationers and affect the tourism industry. So do absence of peace and order, civil wars, religious fanaticism, epidemic outbreaks, â€Å"political instability, currency fluctuations, changes in fashion and changes in the economy† (Nagle 1999,p.5). Speaking of the economy, economic factors can drastically reverse the growth of the tourism industry or advance it further. Financial crisis or the slowing down of the economy or recession definitely gives the tourism industry a big blow that may decelerate it. However, currency devaluation, which increases the spending power of tourists has an opposite effect. In the late 1990’s when Asian currencies, such as the Thai baht and the Philippine peso were devalued, streams of tourists from Europe and North America took advantage of the weakened currencies and enlivened the tourism industry in those parts of the world. But a strong exchange rate will always dissuade tourists from coming. Instead, they will tend to flock to weakened economies where they will get more value for their money. Bad governance especially governance of the economy in any nation always contributes to tourism decline. Mishandling of the economy that always entails graft and corruption gives bad image to the country and travelers shun countries marred by claims of misgovernance and corruption. In tourism promotion, good image counts a lot. Besides misgovernance spawns a destitute citizenry who finds it difficult to travel domestically and domestic tourism provides a sizable chunk of the tourism earnings of any nation. Enacted le gislations inimical to tourism also affects its tourism industry as well as the budgeting of a measly outlay for tourism infrastructures. A hostile foreign relations policy may scuttle the tourism vessel of the nation and cause it to sink to oblivion. An example for this was the near-destruction of Cuba's tourism industry when USA imposed an economic embargo against Cuba in the 60's and 70's (Jafari 2000,p.122).