Humanities Leisure and Tourism Coursework St. Lucia Essay

Holidays to far off places and exotic locations are becoming increasingly popular.

Describe the reasons for the growth of such holidays and using an example from less economically developed country, outline the physical, cultural and economic impacts of the effects of increasing tourism and ensure that such growth is sustainable in such places.In this piece of coursework I am going to explain what is meant by Tourism and why holidays to far off places and exotic locations are becoming increasingly popular. I am going to describe the reasons for the growth of such holidays and using an example from a less economically developed country and I am also going to outline the physical, cultural and economic impacts of the growth of tourism and suggest what can be done to limit the negative effects of increasing tourism and ensure that such growth is sustainable in such places.Tourism is basically travel for pleasure, this means travelling or going somewhere to have fun which is the same as pleasure. People travel for pleasure to have a good time, mainly they do this when they are on a holiday from work and mostly spend it with friends and family because they may live far away from their family during work so they then take holidays to visit family or go on holidays with them.Holidays abroad are holidays when you go on holiday in another country than the one you live in. Europe is the most popular destination for UK residents, taking up almost 80 percent of visits abroad.

We Will Write a Custom Essay Specifically
For You For Only $13.90/page!


order now

Spain has been the most popular country to visit since 1994 with France tagging along second in popularity.Holidays abroad have increased rapidly from 6.7 million in 1971 to 66.4 million in 2005.

Most holidays abroad are taken in July and August, this is because of the summer holidays for children from school, and these start approximately in late July and end at the start of September.Tourism is an industry that provides services to tourists who are travelling away from their home, because so many people go on holiday each year there are so many jobs created in the country that is being visited, these include waitresses, hotel manager, pilots, travel agents, tour operators and sports and fitness. There are also many jobs created at the airport as the airports are becoming bigger and bigger because of the increased amount of people going abroad. All the people working in the travel and tourism industry work towards providing the best possible holidays and shorts breaks for the public.Patterns of tourism have changed over the years, more people go on holiday because during 1938, The Holiday with pay act was introduced, and this made it a legal requirement for employers to provide holidays with pay for their employees. Since the holiday with pay act was introduced people were going on holidays in masses, this made Blackpool and Margate a very popular destination for the working class where as the middle classes preferred the more desirable beaches of Bournemouth and Eastbourne.

Travel and tourism grew more popular from the 1960’s and onwards, this was mainly because of technological advances. Modern technology was improving further and further which meant the public could use faster and larger aircrafts, due to the improved transport network and the newly developed computerised booking system it became easier for people to book their holidays and tickets.Because changes in leisure time and income people were working fewer hours and most of them were entitled to a minimum of four weeks paid annual leave. I picked up this information during class while the teacher was explaining about holidays and changes in leisure time.

More people were taking holidays because earning had increased which lead to more people being able to afford holidays. Holidays were becoming cheaper as a result of increased volume of sales and advances in modern technology meaning that costs could be reduced because people had more time off work and increased earning it meant that they could take more than the usual week 1 holiday per year, this was because they had extra money left over that could be spent, people having so much spare time and with nothing to do people decided to take several holidays each year. Holidays abroad have become very popular for UK residents; there were 66.

4 million visits abroad in 2005 alone. Holiday trips have been increasing since 1971; there were 6.7 million trips abroad during 1971.

The number of visits abroad made by UK residents has more than tripled since 1985.Top holiday destinations for British tourists in 2005 remain unchanged since 2004.1) Spain (13.8 Million)2) France (11.1 Million)3) USA (4.

2 Million)4) Irish Republic (4.2 Million)5) Italy (3.4 Million)Preferred Mode of transport is the following:* Air 43 Million* Sea 9.7 Million* Channel Tunnel (train) 5.6 MillionMost Holidays are taken during July and August because kids have holidays from school during these months so this causes increase in holiday activity.Many People take second holidays abroad during the winter these are usually weekends and short breaks to European cities or skiing for a week. The most popular type of holiday is seaside package holidays.

People who work usually decider to take 2 weeks off in the summer.People are taking more holidays abroad because they have more time off now than they used to and have more money at hand.People are taking more holidays abroad because they have more time off than they used to, this means they can spend more time with friends and family on holidays this is because of higher earnings and cheaper holidays.UK residents are attracted towards taking holidays abroad because the weather in the UK is dull most of the time where as abroad they have the sunshine almost all year round.

There are more flights to countries abroad so this means prices go lower. This means that countries abroad are much more easily accessible and quite cheap too.There are more holidays in exotic locations because people want to relax somewhere there isn’t overcrowding and noise.Because of television and internet people can research for exotic locations, they can view images to see what the surroundings of that area are like, If they like what they see on TV and on the internet they will then want to visit that location for their next holiday. The internet enables them to search what they want whereas on TV you can’t watch what you want and have to watch what is already coming on.

By researching into the cultures and religion of exotic locations they may want to experience the way they live their day to day life. They may also want to taste different cuisines and flavours of food.People like to go to places where they have never been before to try new things and to learn. UK residents will want to go to exotic locations because there is no exotic location in the whole of the UK or nearby, It will be a new and fun experience for them.Less economically developed countries (LEDCs) want to bring money into their country, they can do this by renewing their countries status as a tourist destination. By doing this there will be many jobs created and will bring more money into the country, but there are downside to all this such as pollution and environmental damage.

Benefits and problems of tourism in less economically developed countries are: The tourist industry does bring more money and employs lots of people however most of the best paid jobs go to foreigners from more economically developed countries.Foreign companies will invest in the countries infrastructure (roads, power lines) and provides the country with foreign income which they can use to import goods and services from abroad. It may lead to investment in the sustainable use of the environment but there is often and increase in pollution and damage to the natural environment and habitats of animal which could lead some species to become instinct over time.St Lucia is an island in the Caribbean, north of Trinidad of Tobago. It is one of the Windward Islands; these are part of the West Indies.

The island is 44 kilometres long and 22 kilometres wide covering an area of approximately 616 kilometres. The Population is approximately 160,000. One third of the population live in the capital and largest city of Castries.

Other towns include Gros islet, Soufriere and Vieux Fort. The official currency used in St Lucia is the Eastern Caribbean dollar.The Capital City of St Lucia is Castries which is also the largest city in the small country. It is located in a flood gut and built on reclaimed land. It houses the seat of government and the head offices of many businesses both foreign and local.

The city’s design is in a grid pattern similar to metropolitan city like New York but on a much smaller scale. The city is well serviced with a bus system and taxi service.Most of the government promoting is done by the federally-operated Saint Lucia Tourism Board.

The main industry in ST Lucia is growing bananas. Many crops are grown here such mangoes, tomatoes, limes and oranges.The natural features on the island include coral reefs, volcanic springs, traditional villages and crafts, rainforests, fishing in dug out canoes and the popular jazz music.

ST Lucia is a popular holiday destination because the island has high temperatures which attract many people from the UK and other countries where the weather is cold most of the year because the temperature and weather in the UK is dull and cold; many people enjoy the nice hot sun because it is rare for them.. Sandy beaches attract many people because people love sun bathing and get love having tanned bodies. The beaches are suitable for families and kids. The breathtaking sceneries are priceless and on of the best in the world. This attracts many people including old couples whom love to gaze into the scenery.Many people from the UK decide to have their weddings abroad in popular holiday destinations.

This is because their will be a better atmosphere and excited mood whereas in the UK it may start to rain on their wedding.People from the UK and the rest of the world want to go to a holiday destination where it isn’t overcrowded; this is because people like it to be peaceful and quite, People from more economically developed countries like it like this because from where they come from it is always busy and noisy because of the cars and traffic. As there are not that many people living there it will almost be in its natural state whereas countries that have a high population slowly have their environment destroyed because of to many homes being built and not enough land.The warm sea of St Lucia is great to swim in and is a pleasurable experience for people who love surfing and water sports.

Tourism has many effects on the culture of ST Lucia: The positive effects of tourism on ST Lucia include the following. Tourism promotes traditional crafts because people around the world will be coming and will enjoy these activities. Tourism does improve the quality of life for the people who in live in ST Lucia because they can start a business or get employed because of more work available for them. Traditional music may be affected by tourism because some tourists may enjoy the music and some may not but some people forget that it’s not their country and that they need to respect the local cultures.The positive is that they may love the music and it could spread around the world, the St Lucian singers could make albums and sell them all over the world which will be great for them.

The traditional markets will be improved because they will sell more things which will give the more money to improve quality and variety of things that they sell, they will also be able to build shops to sell instead of the stall that they usually use.The negative affects of tourism on ST Lucia will be: increased crime because more and more people are visiting and are bringing lots of money to spend so some people may decide to rob money and belongings as an easy way of getting money or because they may not have a job and might need money. This will give St Lucia a bad reputation from their visitors.

Tourists may not respect local values and dress codes because the tourists might think that local values don’t have any value because they don’t have a value to them. They may also think that people dress in a funny or weird way because they are not used to seeing people dressed in that way. What the visitors don’t really of is that they have a opinion and they may thinks that tourist dress funny but don’t really say anything because they have respect for them, the tourist will need to show respect otherwise the locals wont show any respect back.

Local people will be aware of inequality of living standards compared to the people in more economically developed countries because they will be able to the difference in life styles. Tourist may also inconsiderate of local customs which will give tourists a bad impression on the locals which could decrease tourism and activities for tourists to do because the locals may not want to work anymore due to disrespect from tourists.Tourism has had an affect on the economy of ST Lucia, the positives are; new roads and airports being made which is good because it improves transport for the people. Tourism also brings foreign income from the tourists, because of tourism many job opportunities have been created such as jobs in hotels, restaurants, bars, and farming and in construction industries.The negative affects of tourism on the economy of St Lucia are; increased cost of policing. Costs of providing water and electricity to hotels and restaurants are raised as there will be more hotels and restaurants due to an increase in tourists visiting St Lucia.

Another bad effect is that jobs are seasonal this means that jobs are only available as long as tourists are visiting, because there are holiday seasons businesses tend to only open when the visitors are at the highest amount. The other downside is that all the best paid jobs are given to people form more economically developed countries, this very unfair, it means that people from ST Lucia will have to get the lower paid jobs.Because hotels and businesses are owned by people from more economically developed countries most of the money goes back to them after the workers are paid their wage.The affect that tourism has had on the environment of ST Lucia is conservation of the rainforest which is a positive effect. The negative affects are water shortages, this happens because people that stay in hotels use up to three times more water than local residents. Another negative effect of tourism is noise pollution due to more flights land at St Lucia.

Visual pollution is litter which tourists throw away anywhere around the hotels and on the beach and the way the hotels have been constructed is not visually good looking because it doesn’t fir in with the environment of St Lucia. The rainforests should be left alone but increased tourism is has caused an increase in the land that is needed for agriculture, this is done by clearing rainforests for growing food or building hotels which is really bad on the environment.Sustainable tourism is tourism which doesn’t damage the environment or local people’s lifestyles while helping to generate income, employment, and the conservation of local ecosystems. Sustainable tourism is also making sure local people benefit from the industry. Local people should be involved in making decisions because they may be affecting their lives. It should reduce the impact of tourism on the environment, improve quality of life for the local community and maintain quality of the local environment.To limit the negative impact of tourism in St Lucia, people should get rid off unnecessary packaging before they go on holiday, because they tend to leave it around or throw it which causes St Lucia to look dirty and messy and also spoils the environment, take eco friendly shampoos and suntan lotions, get out of the hotel and spend money in the local community, so that the money gets circulated in the local community instead of just going back to the more economically developed countries because most hotels will be owned by foreigners not local people so the will not be going into St Lucia.

Try local foods and drinks, there is no point of spending money on a holiday without trying new food, cuisines and drinks, you’d rather just stay home if you’re going to have the same when you go abroad.Don’t waste energy, turn off lights and air-conditioning when you leave the room otherwise it’s just a waste of money and causes extra pollution. Buy presents and souvenirs from local crafts people and pay a fair price because they have put long hours into it and do not start bringing the price down unless they are happy to. Ask people before taking photographs of them as you would back at home. Dress appropriately because you are a guest in their country and you may offend them.Tourism can be developed in a sustainable way by adopting a beach scheme because you don’t have to build a beach, people would be using what is already there.

There should also be strict rules for dropping litter on the beach and anywhere else so there is no further damage to the environment. Hotels should fence off turtle beaches during egg laying so people don’t touch or go near the turtle eggs so that they are protected and when the eggs are hatching tour guides should take the tourists to see them when hatching.Tour guides can allow tourists to see coral without damaging it by using glass bottomed boats; this will attract tourists and bring in money. To protect the rainforest and wildlife they could create nature reserves, this will protect the wildlife and give the locals something to do and will bring them income if they do tours. Activity holidays can employ locals to give tours of the rainforest and to help conserve it, it will be bringing in income while at the same time helping the environment which is sustainable tourism.

x

Hi!
I'm Sarah!

Would you like to get a custom essay? How about receiving a customized one?

Check it out