Eco-tourism


 * Economic benefits **
 * Increase GDP directly and indirectly via multiplier effect
 * Taxes increase gov’t revenue
 * Increased foreign exchange earnings
 * Improves balance of payment through increased trade
 * Creates employment, including unskilled occupations
 * Promotes Foreign investments
 * Economic costs **
 * May diversify gov’t attention from needy areas of the economy
 * Requires gov’t expenditure on tourism
 * Profits may go overseas
 * Spread effect is limited and may therefore cause regional inequalities
 * Inflated prices for land, housing, food and clothing
 * Inflated prices for land, housing, food and clothing


 * Social benefits **
 * May enhance role and status of women in society
 * Encourages female education
 * Encourages travel, mobility and social integration
 * Improves services


 * Social costs **
 * Increases rift between rich and poor
 * Breakdown of traditional family values which creates a materialistic society
 * Social pathology, including and increase in prostitution, drug use and petty crime
 * Increased health risks eg. AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases
 * Break down in families due to stress between younger generation and the elderly


 * Cultural benefits **
 * It may save aspects of the indigenous culture of the people due to tourist interest in them
 * Contact with other cultures may enrich domestic culture through widening of ideas
 * Increases international understanding of diverse cultures
 * Culture exchanges stimulates broadening horizons


 * Cultural Costs **
 * Impact of commercialization may lead to dilution of culture
 * Mass tourism may create antagonism/hatred from host population
 * Westernization of culture may lead to the depletion of the cultural heritage of the local people.
 * Destruction of natural culture may lead to the depletion of the cultural heritage of the local people


 * Environmental benefits **
 * Improvement in landscape and architectural standards
 * Establishment of nature reserves and national parks protects the environment
 * Promotes interest in monuments and historic sites which encourages preservation and maintenance of the sites


 * Environmental Costs **
 * Tourist complexes do not reflect local architecture
 * The natural environment and wild life habitat could be destroyed to allow for the development of secondary tourist facilities, such as hotels, nightclubs etc
 * Excessive pressure leads to air, noise and visual pollution
 * Traffic congestion and pollution