The tourism industry is a vast sector that encompasses both the economic, social and other aspects of humanity. Since tourism involves the interaction of people from different parts of the world, it can be referred to as a social practice. There are very many factors and issues that make tourism a social practice. This is because of the potential the industry has. There are myriads of social activities, innovative practices and contributions and cultural activities that make tourism a social practice.
Tourism involves lots of travelling to places all over the world to explore and interact with people one has never met. The sheer fact of travelling with the objective of meeting and interacting with new people in other places makes tourism a social practice. One gets to learn how people in another geographical part of the world live and behave. The tourist is able to make new friends, learn new languages, cultures, games and even get a taste of new food as they socialize with people in their destinations. Therefore, tourism is a social practice where tourists get a chance to meet and interact with other people. Tourists working with local people get to empower the local community as well as the visitors.
Through tourism, there are very many social activities that can be achieved. The tourist destinations around the world, especially in the developing nations always have local communities with needs. Tourists can work with these locals to ensure they lead quality life. For example, tourists shopping in these local tourist destinations can be viewed as a social activity. This is because buying local products such as food is one way of supporting the local community, as well as the economy. Furthermore, tourists should hire local travel agencies and live in local based resorts and hotels as a way of appreciating the locals’ social setting. Such tourist activities are beneficial to the local economy, as well as the community. Tourism also involves interacting with the local communities to learn about the livelihood and culture of the local people. In order to achieve this objective, tourists can travel to their destinations without carrying any other products. This will mean they will consume or use products that were produced locally. This helps reduce transport costs incurred when transporting goods over a long distance to the tourist destination. This makes tourism a social activity because it helps improve the livelihood of the local community by boosting their economic welfare.
Tourism is a social activity because tourists are at times involved in funding or participating in local projects. This is a common way through which tourism supports local destination initiatives as a way of giving back to the community that they visit. Tourists have in the past joined allotment schemes where they can participate in projects such as building of water reservoirs, schools or even health facilities. Local destinations are usually townships or in some cases rural areas where funding projects relies on revenue collected from tourist activities. Therefore, tourists contribute by buying local products, using local facilities, and personally funding local projects to improve the livelihood of the local people. For example, tourists visiting the East African Nation of Kenya can help the community living around the Maasai Mara National Park to put up an electric fence around the park. This would help reduce the human-animal conflict where wild animals often attack livestock and destroy crops because there is no fence around the park. Another example would be engaging helping local community groups increase their productivity to form a strong foundation for responsible tourism. This makes tourism a social activity because local groups and communities get financial help that is used to fund local projects. It is a form of social responsibility by tourists as a gesture of appreciation of the local community.
Ecotourism is a form of tourism that can be used as a good example of social activities in tourism. This form of tourism involves the tourists joining hands with local authorities and the local residents in conserving the environment. The fact that tourists are involved in helping the local community save and conserve the environment makes ecotourism a social activity. The cooperation to help improve the wellbeing of residents and the animals or tourist attraction sites is a social activity. Furthermore, the conservation of the tourist attraction sites means the future of the local community has been secured because they will continue receiving tourists into the future, who will then bring revenue and support the local economy.
Tourism is not only about leisure but also about education. People travel around the world to learn the livelihood of other people and even to conduct research. Tourists come to learn new cultures. They stay amongst the local community, interacting with them on a daily basis and mastering their language and other aspects. However, the process is not one way. The local communities also benefit from such programs because they learn how to interact with new people. They learn to be hospitable people and disciplined. It becomes a cultural exchange program where locals learn the culture of the visitor while the visitor learns the culture of the locals. This ensures a strong bond between these two groups socially. Therefore, tourism is not only a leisure activity but a chance for people to develop a social bond and engage in different issues such as cultural exchange.
When tourists visit different tourist destinations, they do so for various purposes. There are those who go to participate in social activities such as skiing, swimming, cycling, rallying and other competitions. These events are mostly for fun while others are for charity. At these events, a social course is pursued to help a certain group of people. For example, the rhino charge rally is held annually to help the conservation of black and white rhinos in east Africa. These animals are endangered species. It is the social responsibility to help conserve these wonderful animals. Conservation efforts are a social responsibility.
Tourism takes place during times when people are free from their normal work schedules. These could include gap years, adventure holidays, beach holidays and many others. During these time, tourists go out and look to engage in other social activities that they feel are they hobbies. It is during these leisure times that one can enjoy spending time with their families and bond with their loved ones. Social activities are any activities where people come together to achieve a common purpose or to achieve a social course. The leisure time where people of the same family or friends interact is a social activity.
Through tourism, cultural heritage has survived in places where it was being eroded by western culture. Tourism has been instrumental in helping conserve local cultures in places such as Africa, Asia and Latin America. These areas have increasingly bought into western cultural practices. However, for the sake of tourism, there have been several initiatives to help preserve cultural heritage in different places in the world. Important cultural items are now being stored in archives and museums to help save the eroding culture. Therefore, tourism has a major role in social activity because it is one of the reasons that different cultures are being preserved. Tourists even take part in the preservation process by contributing to build storage facilities and to help support the communities with native cultures survive in the changing economic times.
Tourists are usually people with more than one objective. There are some who travel to seek new talent in sports, others are missionaries and others are volunteers. When these people go visit different tourist destinations, they help the people they come across in various ways. For instance, there are several groups of missionaries who began their activity through simple tourist visits. These missionaries spread their religion and also help the needy people in society such as the disabled, the poor and other groups.
However, there are also negative social activities involved with tourism. Even though these are negative social activities that should be discouraged, they can be used to prove that tourism is a social activity. One such activity is human trafficking. This is a social evil especially in the developing world. Several tourists have been caught engaging in human trafficking activities. This is a social activity that impacts negatively on the society. However, it is proof that tourism is a social activity, which must be done for positive benefits of humanity.
Drug trafficking and prostitution are also associated with tourism. As much as tourist activities are beneficial to the economy, the issue of drug trafficking has thrived. Tourists are either clients to drug traffickers or are traffickers themselves. This has led to the destruction of the social lives of many young people around the world who are tricked by tourists and drugged. Prostitution is another social evil associated with tourism. However, these negative social activities are proof that tourism is a social activity.
Tourism has been instrumental in the creation of many social programs and organizations to deal with different initiatives. For instance, there are youth and women groups that are funded entirely by tourist organizations or even individual tourists. These program empower women and youths to engage in economic and social activities that will improve their livelihood. These are social activities meant to improve the welfare of people. Therefore, tourism is a social activity that has helped transform the world in different ways. Tourist social activities have helped conserve the environment, empower people economically, promote and conserve cultural heritage and enhance the social relationships of many people. Social tourism has been an integral part of the humanitarian progress witnessed in developing nations. Therefore, tourism is not only beneficial to the tourists but also to the community living at the destination area.
References
Burns, Peter M and Catherine A Palmer. Tourism and Visual Culture, Volume 1: Theories and Concepts. New York: CABI, 2010.
Dickinson, Janet and Les Lumsdon. Slow Travel and Tourism. New York: Routledge, 2012.
McCabe, Scott, Lynn Minnaert and Anya Diekmann. Social tourism in Europe. illustrated. New York: Channel View Publications, 2011.
Peeters, Paul. Tourism and Climate Change Mitigation: methods, greenhouse gas reducttions and policies. London: NHTV Breda, 2008.
Sharpley, Richard. The Study of Tourism: Past Trends and Future Directions. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2011.
