Does Tourism Bring More Advantages Or Disadvantages? | Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample

Tourism is encouraged in many countries. Does tourism bring more advantages or disadvantages to a country?

Here is a band 8 IELTS essay on this topic written by one of our students. Need help with IELTS writing? Get your IELTS essays, letters and reports corrected by me.

Band 8 IELTS essay sample

Decreasing airfare and friendly immigration process have made international tours affordable to the common people. While there are a few drawbacks that come into picture when tourism grows in a country, tourism also brings multiple benefits.

To start with, a thriving tourism industry demands numerous services like hotel or homestay, transport, restaurants and entertainment, which gives birth to a large number of employment opportunities. More importantly, such jobs can be taken by the less educated or less qualified people in the society. Besides, tourists spend a lot of money when they visit a country and this boosts the economy and tax revenue of the government. Furthermore, unlike factories and plants, tourism is a “green industry”, which means it generates less pollution. In fact, the local government and citizens pay extra attention and focus to preserve the natural beauty and habitats in order to keep attracting tourists year after year.

On the flip side, tourism may create a threat to the native culture by influencing the locals. For instance, the local people will incline towards learning the foreign language, food and culture over the local language and culture, so that they can communicate to the tourists easily and make money. Moreover, the tourists not only bring in an alien culture but also certain infections which may impact the health of the people in the host country. This is exemplified by the COVID19 outbreak through international travelers which ultimately resulted in a dreadful pandemic. Additionally, tourists make a lucrative target for theft or robbery since they mostly carry expensive goods like camera or laptop and are unaware of the risks in the host country.

To sum up, as long as the government is taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of tourists as well as citizens, tourism will help the host nation in many ways.