I know then that the money I spend goes to the people themselves

Tyler, Surrey, Canada

In the part of Canada that I live in, tourism is the largest single part of the economy. While mass tourism to a first world country really does not have any real negative effects, mass tourism to the underdeveloped areas of the world can have a detrimental effect. Many in those communities may be employed into the tourism industry, but most will be preyed upon and paid a subsistence wage. How can one really get something out of travelling when they propagate the tourist trap? When I travel I go out of my way not to buy package deals and stay at the "tourist" area. I know then that the money I spend goes to the people themselves and not to the few that run the resort. Try it, your vacation will then be a real experience of that countries culture.
Tyler, Surrey, Canada

Travel is great. Hopefully tourists respect the country and culture of the places they visit. The host country enjoys the opportunity of showing off their unique land and culture. Maybe out of this people can learn more about the world and get a good suntan at the same time.
Tracy, Australia

Coming from Brighton and lived in a house that housed foreign students from many countries. Tourism brings in jobs but it has to be remembered that it is also seasonal and often poorly paid. Does England get many tourists in the winter? Does Switzerland get many tourists in the summer. I feel this is what the pope was talking about.
Robert Parker, United Kingdom

It is important for 'developed country' people to mix with the other 5/6ths of the world who can't afford to come visit them. People might change the way they picture the world. Let's go visit Iran or North Korea and find out what it is like for ourselves; let's live a little. (Are you scared?)
Jan, UK

Tourism creates a lot of local jobs

Rafi, Israel

Tourism is something that the tourist destination countries go to great lengths to promote. Tourism creates a lot of local jobs, inputs foreign cash and encourages development in places where maybe all they have is natural beauty or history to sell. It is true that unbridled development can cause environmental and social problems, but please leave that to the locals to worry about. There is something very patronising in the attitude here that we should not go to visit far flung parts of the world and bring them our money in order to protect them. I would even call this an imperialist or colonialist attitude.

The "natives" are not children or backward. They are adult people. Don't look down on them. By refraining from visiting their countries you could be condemning thousands of people to joblessness, poverty and real exploitation.
Rafi, Israel

Indeed most countries are likely to depend on the invisible industry of tourism - if not why some countries may create new places to attract visitors after some time? It is so significant that most people visit their country - because it means they can earn more. So tourism is positive to a community. It also provides more job opportunities and brings benefit to our society. If not, why is our government so eager to obtain the contract for Disney World construction?
Man Man, Hong Kong

Most tourists will never discover the 'real' country they visit

Philip Jeremy, UK

On the positive side it can bring some wealth to the tourist areas, such as building work and hotel work. Much of the money travellers pay for their holiday will stay in the pockets of the travel agents or some other non-local company. Also on the negative side the jobs are low paid, seasonal, and low skill. In many areas golf courses for tourists and the needs of water for tourism has led to the local populace having their own water supplies cut or made more difficult or expensive to obtain. Air travel is a particularly bad offender with regard to climate change, which in turn will affect some of the poorer countries worst.

Considering most tourists will never discover the 'real' country they visit or just want sand, sea and sun, even the experiences of the tourists are very shallow and insubstantial and could not possibly be worth the damage caused to the locals in all but a few cases.
Philip Jeremy, London, UK

The trick for the destination is to manage the effects of the tourist industry as best it can

LSJ, Barbados

Being born in Barbados gives me perhaps a different perspective on tourism than many of the people here. Yes, tourism does change the culture, not always for the better, but not always for the worse either. There are those that say that Barbados has been spoiled by becoming more "commercial" (whatever that means). However, the quality of life of the average Barbadian has improved through the direct and indirect benefits of tourism. No, it's not the quaint little island it was 20 or 30 years ago, but the standard of living is higher for the average guy in the street. There are no perfect answers to the development question. While people may argue that tourist villages insulate the tourist from the local culture, would the type of tourist that uses these villages even go to the destination if they weren't available? What is better, half a loaf or none? The trick for the destination is to manage the effects of the tourist industry as best it can.
LSJ, Barbados.

Thankfully, in the part of Spain where I have family, the tourists stay in the tourist areas such as Benidorm. What is the point of going to Spain if you are going to drink British beer in a British looking pub and eat British food? They might as well go to Blackpool (No offence to Blackpool of course).
Chris Powell, UK

Tourism is here to stay

Gay Bonnar New Zealand

Whether we like it or not, tourism is here to stay. Migration of peoples over the years has changed our world as people will always want to go back to their roots!
Gay Bonnar, New Zealand

Here we go again! A bunch of leftist wackos want to restrict the ability of people to travel freely in the world. I can't believe that the question is being asked. Some wackos actually believe that offering people choices to travel and enjoy the wonders of the world is "exploitation and a threat to the environment"! In the USA it's quite the opposite, thank God.
John, USA

I agree with the person who said that tourism exploits the tourists. But if they are stupid enough to come, let them come, spend their money and think they are seeing culture.
M. Sedawiep, Durban

Tourism is the natural expression of our wanderlust

Simon Cameron, London, UK

Tourism is the natural expression of our wanderlust. It is the indomitable pioneering spirit in us that took us to the moon and back. How dreary we would be if we never ventured away from home. Tina Cutts, I have been to Truro on business during the winter season and it was dismal. All the locals I met couldn't wait for the tourists to return. John Monroe, I presume your ancestors never travelled to your native land but were beamed over from England. Humanity was created to associate in love and harmony. Tourism is an excellent way of facilitating that process.
Simon Cameron, London, UK

I have been to England and Scotland. When I was there I kept thinking am I really here where the history of the country played out? I felt like I was in a dream. I looked forward to seeing it all for so long. I was a tourist but I wanted to see the history of the country
Elizabeth Sanders, Richardson Texas

Most of that money does not stay in the region

Alpha M. Schram, Oakland, USA

The tourism industry likes to point out that they will bring jobs and money to an area, yet most of that money does not stay in the region. The jobs they bring, for the most part, will be minimum-wage unskilled labour, which replaces the living wage, skilled labour jobs that were there previously (in developed areas) or could exist. A family cannot be supported with a minimum-wage job, and so workers end up working several jobs, and barely getting by. Why would this be "good" for a community?
Alpha M. Schram, Oakland, USA

The problem with tourism is that the money people bring into the area probably never leaves the hotel complex. So many tourists stay within the hotel, and why should they wish to leave when everything is there and included in the price paid for the holiday. I don't think tourism is a problem and indeed is a valuable source of income. I believe it is the style of tourism that should change. People going abroad should get out of the hotel and discover the country in question.
David Claydon, St. Andrews, Fife, UK

Any good thing can be abused and tourism is no exception. I just returned from a wonderful European tour with my husband and 8 other members of his family. We went with one of the major international tour companies. The experience was mind-blowing for the two of us, because we had already studied European history, literature, art, music and some language. For our tour companions, who had no background, or active desire to learn, the same tour was little more than a shopping expedition.
Constance L. Benson, New York City, USA

Your comments during the programme

Tourists do not live in harmony with the environment

Stephen Baker, Columbus, Ohio, USA

The last thing the world environment needs is millions of tourists travelling around the world. Apart from the fuel needed, tourists do not live in harmony with the environment.
Stephen Baker, Columbus, Ohio, USA

I live in Brisbane and if I was to drive for 45 mins to the Gold Coast I feel like an outsider. Signs are in Japanese and I do not speak the language so therefore it does not even feel like my country, it feels more like a part of Asia.
Ben Kinnear, Brisbane, Australia

From an Australian point of view, tourism is more than just others coming to our country for a holiday. It gives us a chance to show off our country and its beauty, and diversity. It shows the rest of the world our culture as well as providing some much needed revenue for local businesses.
Matt Sheno, Perth, Australia

Tourism is a two-edged sword

Shirley Lam, Hong Kong

Tourism is a two-edged sword. People who go travelling can broaden their horizons, have a better understanding of the country they're visiting. The locals benefit from the money tourists spend (at least on food and accommodation) during their stay. To minimise the negative impact tourism might have on local cultures, it's important that when being a visitor, tourists practice responsible tourism, respect local cultures, are environmentally friendly, etc. We're now living in the 21st century; we should treat other countries as our home too.
Shirley Lam, Hong Kong

The sad part of mass tourism is that those who benefit are just a handful of business people and government officials, not to mention travel agencies form developing countries. Tourist should not be kept in some kind of man-made "paradise" in a hotel resort away form the locals. Having said that I am for mass tourism but it should be closely monitored and should help those involved to get exposure to the culture and the plight of the locals.
Sino Tesfamariam, Rome, Italy

The prime reason for the tourism industry is not to exploit people. On the contrary it is there to support the ordinary person trying to make a living in an honest way. It is helping local businesses not to mention the massive contribution it makes to the economy.
Brian David, Melbourne, Australia

I really cannot believe that Pope John Paul II said tourism is exploitation

Ken Parcell, Southampton, England

I really cannot believe that Pope John Paul II said tourism is exploitation. After all, what has he been doing since being Pope? Yes, visiting many countries, including England, and kissing the ground. No wonder so many people are turning away from religion with such hypocritical statements as this. Perhaps he would like to tell us how much money the Vatican makes from tourism.
Ken Parcell, Southampton, England

It is interesting to keep in mind that nations and groups that severely limit tourist contact with local peoples tend to be despotic dictatorships and have a lot to conceal about their political behaviour towards their own people.
Bob Ezergailis, Canada

In my opinion, mass tourism is brainwashing people. There is, very understandably, so many stereotypes and generalisations about the countries or people living there, which have been created by travel agents, magazines, media, publications, and most importantly, those who have been "mass tourists".
Akira Tamura, Adelaide, Australia

Get a life and travel, folks

Gail Devine, Perth, Australia

When I was a little girl in the playgrounds of my school I used to look up to the sky and wonder about all the new people I would meet one day living on the other side of the world. Please don't take that away from me in this serious attempt at political correctness with yet another facet of life. We can do a lot with the knowledge we learn. I don't see the Pope staying at home! Get a life and travel, folks.
Gail Devine, Perth, Australia

I grew up in what the British called a hill station, which, in the past half century has transformed itself into a tourist resort, visited by wealthy Indians and the even more affluent from abroad. During the short summer season, with the heavy influx of tourists, the price of essential commodities shoot up, rendering them beyond the reach of most of the permanent residents on fixed income. The only ones with a smile on their faces during the holiday season are the commercial interests, the hotelwalahs and the taxiwalahs - whose income, it must be said, shrinks to next to nothing in the rest of the year.
Mohansingh, India

Mass tourism is a bother. It is often associated with overcrowding, unsightly development, pollution, displaced locals and loss of true culture, distorted economies etc. I think the basic problem is that so many people live in poor, boring, unsightly and dirty overcrowded areas - of course they would like to escape. Perhaps if we looked after our local environment better, had good planning laws and spent a proportion of the money we presently spend on tourism in improving the beauty of our immediate urban environment instead, then the urge to travel would be less.
John Monro, Thames, New Zealand

Your comments before we went ON AIR

I like a nice clean hotel with a pool and good food

Mark, Middlesbrough, UK

There is so much snobbishness from many of the contributors to this Talking Point! "I like to meet the locals"; "I never hang out at the tourist haunts". I have never heard such rubbish. If I am going on holiday, I like it to be hot, nice beach, plenty to do during the day and on an evening. I like a nice clean hotel with a pool and good food. And I am proud of it! I would never go anywhere where the above criteria could not be met. If I wanted to be stuck in a tent halfway up a mountain with no hot and cold running water, I could do that half an hour from home!
Mark, Middlesbrough, UK

Tourism puts money into both rich and poor countries. The difference is that developed nations find it easier to cope with the serious problems associated with mass tourism. Nepal is one country which benefits financially but at the cost of shocking environmental and cultural destruction.
Robin Basak, UK

Love of travel at holiday time is derived from a completely human desire for a change of environment and a desire to explore. But more and more, its most important motive is, at least for us Americans, an attempt to escape stressful, crowded, ugly, polluted, car jammed cities and towns, and suburbs better described as "suburban sprawl". In so far as our mass tourism is an escape from a responsibility to build workable, beautiful home environments we US citizens find so boring or harmful, we desperately desire to escape from them at any season of the year. This tourism is certainly a kind of exploitation of the places and peoples we impose ourselves on. How much better the entire world would be if all nations concentrated on cutting back on travel and tourism, and focused instead on investing in beautifying their own human settlements.
Louis B. Massano, USA

Tourism can have both positive and negative impacts

Marcus Cotton, Chitwan, Nepal

Tourism can have both positive and negative impacts. Unplanned, unthinking mass tourism is more likely to have serious negative consequences. However, as Paul Connor notes, well-planned tourism in well managed numbers, yielding true value for the experience will undoubtedly benefit both local communities and the destination country. I work for Nepal's leading conservation tourism operator and see clearly, through our provision of schools, clinics, environmental projects etc, the benefits that quality tourism can bring to remote areas. Similarly, I have seen the steady decay of Nepalese youth culture since the arrival of television and video products.
Marcus Cotton, Chitwan, Nepal

I live near what was once a nice seaside fishing town but which has now been ruined by visitors. The shops are either surf shops, or pasty shops with a few gift and fudge ones thrown in but hardly anything for the locals. The jobs last only for a few short months. After that it is nearly impossible to get work. The Government knows this yet does nothing. If it was not for the tourists they would have to get factories and call centres to open up down here and be like the rest of the country.
Tina Cutts, Truro England

Whatever the negative aspects of globalisation, it cannot be denied that mass tourism is one of the most useful outcomes of the phenomenon. It is a complete industry by itself, employing thousands of people and bringing in massive revenues to the government. In fact, some small nations like the Maldives and Nepal thrive on it. Moreover, it is having a tremendous positive cultural impact on this global world. With the mixing and exchange of cultural values, it is bringing in more acceptance of "foreign" and critical insight into "local". There's nothing like tourism. One must be a tourist to experience the bountiful joys and pleasure which it has to offer.
Navin Gupta, Bombay, India

Tourism is a double-edged sword

Rick Pettit, Rutland, Vermont, USA

Tourism is a double-edged sword - it can provide both positives and negatives to a community. Rutland, Vermont is 10 miles away from Killington Ski Area, the biggest in the eastern United States. As such, all Rutlanders have the "living in Disney World" syndrome. The economy lives or dies with each winter - if the season is long & the snow is good, the business owners prosper, as do the supporting industries. Low wages are common, as seasonal workers are entitled to less protection & consideration than full-time employees. So in my area, the business owners prosper, and the winter workforce - usually local & young - are responsible for customer service. This is, I think, a poor choice. One benefit usually overlooked in this debate is the fact that most people with the aforementioned "Disney World Syndrome" are much more aware of resort area dynamics, and deal with them in a more unobtrusive way when they become the tourists. Of course, this is not always the case - I am aware of the opinion (well earned in many cases) residents of other countries have concerning American visitors. But we're not all like that - honest!
Rick Pettit, Rutland, Vermont, USA

Tourism is great for BC and I personally don't see the exploitation of our multicultural and diverse province. We welcome people from all countries. Our country is so young, our highways are huge and our malls to welcome overseas visitors. Canada has a great expanse of land so we don't feel overcrowded in Vancouver or Surrey as you possibly do in London.
Sandy, Surrey, BC, Canada

Of course it's exploitation, but while tourists allow themselves to be exploited in this way I don't see why anyone should stop them.
Gary Dale, Leominster, England

Every country needs tourists. Look what's happening to the British economy with the foreign tourists staying away.
Caron, England

The solution is simple: don't build the facilities and the locust-type tourist won't bother to visit

kb_cm, UK

I don't think people like the Masai are exploited because they can't afford to stay in luxury tourist resorts. The majority of Londoners can't afford to sleep or eat in the Dorchester or Hilton but they don't feel themselves exploited. Tourism has done so much good in helping us understand other cultures and hopefully stop all those wars of the past caused by ignorance and fear.
Em Needle, ENGLAND

Responsible tourism is possible. Perhaps everyone should, for the sake of economy, adopt a minimalist type of tourism (bike/tent/camp cooking). Or perhaps this principle of productivity should be kept in mind: Unless you are going to get something you cannot get at home, DON'T GO! Meeting new friends, photos/postcards, ethnic food recipes, souvenirs, language and cultural minutiae, time to rest, exercise and the like DON'T COUNT. You can be worldly while staying at home, thanks to the Net and immigrants. That would eliminate the need for 90% of travel, leaving business, making art (paintings, novels) or formal education as reasons for travel.
Paul Connor, Toronto, Canada

I agree with Bobbi Thackery that tourists get exploited as well! Tourism is commercialism. "Do" London in two weeks; pack-in the sites. I've always travelled on the poor man's budget, so I've had to shop where locals shop and hang out, out of necessity. My friend Andre travels to observe the people and interact with them. To see what they take for granted. For Andre it's not about going and BUYING an experience. It's more respectful to observe the culture and customs of those one is visiting and to live as they would live. That way, the money I'm bringing from the US is still being injected into their LOCAL economy and not the TOURIST economy.
Nina Kunimoto, New York, NY

If anybody wants to get away from English people and only hear foreign languages, I suggest they simply go to London on any Sunday in summer.
Graham, UK

Yes tourism can damage local landscapes... but only if the governments of the area allow the resorts/hotels/souvenir shops to be built/operated. The solution is simple� don't build the facilities and the locust-type tourist won't bother to visit. To the poor person who lives in Weymouth and experiences difficulty in the summer... move. It's not rocket science: if you live in a resort town you're going to have those problems. Reminds me of the fools who buy a house next to a race track and then complain about the noise of race cars.
kb_cm, UK

The fact is that tourism is a means of earning badly needed foreign hard cash for many areas. It is therefore a benefit in that regard. The fact is that the culture of an area is often reinvented for the tourists to make the place more entertaining. It is usual in my experience of other countries that all culture is an invention of some kind at some time or another and that the only enduring culture is that of morality. This of course is the problem. How much morality can you afford to ditch in order to attract the almighty dollar since the tourists are not interested in strait-laced partners and no booze? Thus morality does get affected but you try being moral on starvation wages or subsistence farming and see how long it is before you open a government sponsored "British Pub - selling fish and chips and Watneys Red Barrel and full of real British people with purulent white flesh and curry stains on their T-shirts.
James Bruce Reid , Aberdeen, Scotland

Every country needs tourists

Caron, England

Some years ago I lived in Salisbury which was then a beautiful city on the edge of the New Forest. Unfortunately the local council appear to have decided that tourists are more important than residents. The result - chronic traffic jams as coach after coach stops, blocking narrow streets, to disgorge another 100 tourists onto the narrow pavements. The tourists inevitably move as a single column taking up the entire pavement. The local shops that cater for residents struggled as the residents were unable to get through the tourists. The local shops closed down to be replaced by chain stores and charity shops. Car parks were demolished to make room for coach parks, while coaches were not required to use the coach parks. Even in our supposedly civilised society the desire to attract the tourists' cash has virtually destroyed a once lovely city. I never go back there now.
Dave Tankard, UK

We are pretty much all guilty in one way or another

Richard, London, UK

Appalling things - in my opinion - have happened to beautiful coastlines and towns because of tourism. If we can't learn from what's happened in the past 50 years - look at Benidorm for example - then the world's beauty spots will probably be ruined within the next 50 years as tourism continues to boom. Shame, but we are pretty much all guilty in one way or another.
Richard, London, UK

Mass tourism damages places when development is undertaken at the expense of the locals. So many places have become over-dependent (or complacent) upon the fickle nature of tourism. In York much of the centre has been transformed into a tourist ghetto, totally ignoring the people who actually live and work there. The City of York Council is only interested in cramming as many tourists as possible into the city whilst pushing out all the locals and workers. You may as well just build a tourist theme park, where tourists can shuffle along streets lined with Ye Olde Souvenire Shoppe, etc.
Dr Duncan Campbell, York, UK

"Educated" tourism which is conducted with sensitivity towards the local environment and culture is good for developing countries. It's the "lager lout" culture of the tourists with no respect which is the real problem!
Rob, England

No doubt mass tourism can create a situation where local people are exploited, but it can have positive effects as well. In the Philippines, a country fairly new to tourism, the fishermen used to use explosives to catch fish, an act which savaged the beautiful coral reefs. Now international aid agencies have taught them that they can gain more money giving boat trips to visitors who wish to see the coral. So now they savage the bank accounts of the tourists rather than the coral.
Steve McCoull, England

If you really want to see the effects of mass tourism on local culture, then visit Goa. This idyllic town with its proud inhabitants has not only been stripped to the bone by marauding commercial tourism, but its way of life and even the basic needs of the people such as water and sanitation are under siege, owing to the enormous burdens the luxury hotels place on the ecosystem. As a resident of Goa I believe we must put a stop to mass tourism to Goa in order to preserve what is left of our beautiful city.
Anthony D'Souza, India

I am always amazed to find that tourists appear to have so little respect for different cultures

Karina, France

I am always amazed to find that tourists appear to have so little respect for different cultures. All the sayings, like "When in Rome..." no longer seem to exist. We complain so often when women are wearing full headdress and stuff in our culture, because it is against ours... why then do I see women on holiday in Egypt wearing really short shorts and little vest tops?

Mass tourism to some parts of the world is very damaging - mass tourism to places like southern Spain and coastal resorts at home provides much needed local income during the holiday season. The thing to remember is that, if the mass tourists are on the beaches, the rest of the countries and their intricate cultures are free for more adventurous and considerate tourists to discover.
Karina, France

What is the real difference between 'travelling' and 'tourism'? I think there is more than a little snobbishness - people 'travel' so they don't have to mix with the oiks. The backpacker trails are just as insular and culturally alien to their host nations as any amount of Spanish fish and chip restaurants, but the travellers are infinitely more smug about their superiority than the tourists, who at least admit that they are there to have fun.
Julian, Wiltshire UK

Can you imagine a world without tourism? There will be very limited cross border interaction. Knowledge of other countries would be accessed mainly through the unreal world of books, radios, television and the internet. Without physical interaction, it will be difficult to achieve world peace and promote an understanding of secular problems such as environmental issues, security threats and poverty. Tourism is a way in which people from different countries can interact and understand each other's culture, language, religion and problems. Any attempt to exploit the tourists is modicum as they can always accept or refuse any services and/or facilities offered by the host countries. On balance, tourism must prevail.
Freddie Tan, Singapore

Go to much of Spain and Greece and all you hear is Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land etc etc, followed by all the other football anthems. Not my cup of tea personally, but much as the locals don't like it, these holidaymakers (let's not call them tourists) do bring in needed money. Without tourist incomes these areas could collapse. Look what's happened to the Lake District due to foot and mouth - it got severely hit.
Alex Banks, Dunkerque, France

The true traveller is always a stranger in a strange land

Robert del Valle, USA

The tourism industry takes great pains to make the tourist feel "at home" - thus negating the point of leaving home and effectively diluting the charm and novelty of a foreign locale. The true traveller is always a stranger in a strange land - and he/she prefers it that way!
Robert del Valle, USA

The importance of tourism should be to expose people to the greater world. Mind you, when I visit other countries, I try to stay away from the tourist traps. I like to go where the locals hang out. It is when you experience the real culture of another country or region that you truly benefit from being a tourist.
Kyle M. Tate, West Point, New York (USA)

I live in a seaside town - Weymouth in Dorset. At the moment it takes me 30 minutes to get to work (rather than the normal 5) and there is just no hope of trying to go to the bank during my lunch break as the whole of the town centre is too busy with tourists. There is no doubt that a huge number of the local residents get extremely fed up with having so many people invading their home town but, at the same time, the sensible ones realise that it is a necessary evil in order for the town to survive.
T, UK

It is their choice which no one can take away

Christopher Laird, Tokyo, Japan

Think of the traditional package holiday to Spain, and you have the worst possible example of tourism. Brits can enjoy an English breakfast, have their favourite beer at "The Red Lion" and survive in a British enclave in Spain. No exposure to the local culture (which may well have been wiped out years ago) and many of the pubs and bars are run by Brits anyway. There is some income for the local community, but it has to be said that there can't be MUCH benefit for the locals. Having said that, the people who join these holidays may not be looking for a cultural experience, but may enjoy the atmosphere in a decent climate (who can blame them for that?). It is their choice which no one can take away. Wouldn't it be a disaster if EVERYONE wanted to explore the inner parts of each country?
Christopher Laird, Tokyo, Japan

As someone who has worked in many of the tourist areas in Asia, I have been astonished by the attitude of many tourists who have no understanding of local sensitivities. Mass tourism is fine, but tourists have to respect local culture and customs.
John Atkins, Bridgwater, England

Tourism really creates exploitation and distorts the local culture. Think of a remote tourist resort in rural Kenya, where the Masai people live. The resort is modern with all the facilities that go with modernity. But how many Masai people will be able to afford that kind of luxury? In that sense it does not benefit the local communities but exploits them. On the other hand it does bring in much needed forex.
Chibamba Douty, Zambian student in Brunei Darussalam

The answer is both

Fred Barnes, Dallas, TX, USA

The answer is both. It exploits the locals, changes the culture AND brings in money and opportunity. On the plus side, the very tourism that some decry has opened the eyes of many people. I've seen people travel to a poor area and come back with not just a nice tan, but a new sensitivity to the lives of the locals, and determination to avoid the worst type of exploitative touring.
Fred Barnes, Dallas, TX, USA

So if we all stop going to these places, then all will be well again, I suppose. It's true, not everyone in that area will benefit from tourism, but those who bother to get involved in that sector will. Personally, I think it's the tourists who visit these places and buy the food/drink/souvenirs that are being exploited!
Bobbi Thackery, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Take away the tourist and you take away most of the money going into the tourist areas.
Richard T. Ketchum, USA