READ THE PASSAGE AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.
Tourism has emerged as the world's largest
industry. Growing rapidly in the last two
decades, today it accounts for 6% of world
output and employs some 100 million people
around the globe.
Tourism-the travel-based recreationprovides
people with a change of place
and a break from the monotony of daily
life. It brings people of different nations
together, allowing them to come into close
contact with each other's customs and other
aspects of life. It reveals the scenic beauty
and past heritage of a country to people
belonging to other nations. The knowledge
and experience gained in the process can
lead to greater understanding and tolerance,
and can even foster world peace.
The contribution of tourism can be nowhere
seen more clearly than on the economic front.
A study conducted by the United Nations
has shown that developing countries, in
particular, can reap tremendous benefits out
of tourism and greatly boosts their national
income.
Tourism generates employment and adds
to the entrepreneurial wealth of a nation.
While tourism's advantages are many its
undesirable side-effects have raised fresh
problems.
Tourism can cause social, cultural or
environmental disruptions. One of the
greatest concerns is its damage to the
environment. In order to attract more
tourists, sprawling resorts are built which
take neither the local architectural styles
nor the ecology into consideration. Natural
systems come to be destroyed as a result
of indiscriminate construction to provide
water and waste disposal facilities and
recreational arrangements to tourists.
Overuse of environmental wealth disturbs
the ecological balance.
Damage is most in wildlife parks which
remain the foremost sites of tourist
attraction. Tourist vans and the visitor's feet
destroy the ground vegetation, thus affecting
the feeding habits of the animals and the
landscape as well. Overcrowding brings
about congestion, leading to environmental
and health hazards.
The Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders
of the world, has suffered a lot of wear and
tear from trampling feet of tourists.
Some sociocultural effects of tourism have
been damaging. Tourism often ushers in
new life styles; arrangements as desired
by tourists are provided in order to make
them feel at home. The emergence of this
'other' culture in various places has caused
dissatisfaction among the local people. The
concern is that the local people tend to
imitate the foreign values, breaking away
from their own traditions.
To promote safe tourism while ensuring
that it remains a profitable industry it is
imperative to understand the factors that
hamper the growth of tourism and check
them effectively.
General instability of the nation is damaging
to tourism prospects. Political disturbances,
in particular, pose a serious problem. The
growing violence in the international scene
and increasing threat of terrorism affects the
flow of tourists. Countries like Sri Lanka
have been a victim to terrorist threats for
long and have therefore suffered setbacks
in tourism.
Whatever the problems, India must work
hard to reap the benefits from this industry,
for the country has everything to attract
visitors from far and wide.
Give an appropriate title to the passage.
A Emergence of the World's Largest Industry
B The Sociocultural Effects of Tourism on
the Environment
C Tourism - A Boon or a Bane
D The Growth of Eco-tourism