Positives and Negatives of Tourism Maldives - Research Paper Example

POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES OF TOURISM – MALDIVES I Scope and Significance of the Problem  Tourism in Maldives, commenced in the late 20th century, and ever since then, it has flourished and become the largest contributor to the Maldives’ economy. The Ministry of Tourism of Maldives claimed that initially, the island’s economy depended entirely on fisheries. However, after 1972, the dependence of the economy was rapidly transferred onto tourism. Currently, reaching four decades since the start of tourism, the Ministry of Tourism reported that the flourishing tourism sector has become the major source of the country’s income. It not only contributed the most to the country’s GDP but also became the country’s greatest contributor to earning foreign currency (Ministry of Tourism, 2011). Over the years, Maldives has been a tourist attraction based on its tropical setting and favourable climate. Its aesthetic quality gives it the appearance of a paradise on the earth. Away from the hustle and bustle of daily lives, it attracts tourists from all over the world to enjoy tranquillity in its clear water and tropical climate. The several islands and blissful beaches of Maldives are ideal for relaxation. Maldives offers extraordinary underwater scenery and taking advantage of its clear waters, the islands have introduced water-sporting activities such as scuba diving, water skiing and kite boarding (Masters 2006). Recently, Maldives has been acknowledged as one of the best destinations of the world to experience recreational diving (Garrod et al 2008). Alongside these positive aspects of tourism in Maldives, it must be noted that this flourishing sector is also resulting in some adverse effects on the wildlife of the islands and their natural surroundings. The increasing numbers of tourists that visit Maldives throughout the years are known to be a cause of disruption of the natural environment of Maldives’ wildlife. Due to this large influx of tourists visiting the islands, Maldives is experiencing a slow yet massive decline in its wildlife (Shelton 2010). Ormond, a leading scientist at SaveOurSeas Foundation, claimed that even though tourism may provide the financial support to preserve the water species, it may negatively affect the feeding patterns of the animals, which may migrate or decline in population; therefore, degrading the wildlife experienced by the tourists. In 2009, Maldives was awarded the title of Marine Protected Area (MPA) and laws and regulations were enacted for control and prevention of harm to the islands’ flora, fauna and wildlife. Despite these laws and regulations, the wildlife is declining, mainly because of the lack of effective reinforcement of these laws. Stevens, a researcher working to save the lives of the manta rays, claims that without ensuring quick control on numbers of tourists and other regulations regarding the influx of people, the islands will experience a great negative impact due to its largest contributor towards economy. Therefore, proper management must be enacted for the betterment of wildlife and the tourist experience (Shelton 2010). Moreover, in the last three decades of flourishing tourism, Maldives has experienced a rise in the number of resorts available to tourists on the islands. However, interestingly, the locals do not reside in the same areas where the resorts are located. Therefore, the tourists are quite segregated from the local population of the islands. This limits the positive and negative impacts on both the tourists and the locals. The tourists may be unable to understand the culture or even the frustration the locals feel at the negative impacts of tourism while the locals may be unable to grasp foreign cultures and therefore, exposure to the international world is limited. II) Historical Origins  Initially, the economy of Maldives was almost entirely based on fisheries, yet towards the end of the 20th century, Maldives became introduced to the world as a tourist spot. Since then, tourism has been the most dominating sector of Maldives' economy. In the early periods of the history of tourism, from 1981-2003, the initial groups of tourists were mostly from Western Europe. These tourists were attracted to the islands mainly because of the scenic views and the calming beaches. Moreover, the rate of tourists arriving to Maldives increased rapidly over the last years of the 20th century. This increase is mainly owed to the building of infrastructure such as the international airport and luxurious resorts (Riaz et al 2008). Even in the initial history of Maldives’ tourism, this industry accounted for 16 per cent of the country’s GDP, the proportion of which increased exponentially over the years. (Bowman 2000).The foreign exchange earnings in the 1980s were recorded as 41 per cent due to tourism yet just ten years later, in the 1990s, an increase of 21 per cent was observed. The fame that the tourism industry enjoyed in its early stages allowed this booming sector to recruit many foreigners, which accounted for almost one-third of the foreign labour force in the country (Riaz et al 2008). Despite the drawbacks of tourism, it is observed since its historical origins that the tourism sector of Maldives provided fishermen and farmers with opportunities of selling their produce to the foreign tourists at the resorts. Interestingly, at present, there are more than a hundred functional and luxurious resorts that are mostly full and overbooked for months. Dating back to its historical origins, tourism in Maldives commenced with only two stations, Bandos and Kurumba villa, which served as resorts for tourists in those days and had a capacity of about 280 beds only. In 1981, just early in the history of Maldives’ tourism sector, the bed capacity of the resorts was 3228; however, since then, the bed capacity rose at an astounding rate of 7.7 per cent per year. In 2008, the recorded capacity of resorts was 16,318 beds (Riaz et al 2008). Since the last years of the 20th century, Maldives welcomed tourists from the Western Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Oceania. As compared to earlier decades, the total number of travellers and tourists to Maldives increased drastically at an annual rate of 9.7 per cent (Riaz et al 2008). Every year, an estimated number of 500,000 tourists visit the exotic islands of Maldives. At present, it is recorded that there are over 200 countries from where tourists arrive to Maldives, mostly from the continent of Africa, followed by South America and Eastern Europe. The emergence of tourism and the rapid flourishing of this sector have encouraged the government and other official bodies to enact laws regarding the protection and preservation of wildlife and natural scenery of Maldives. Therefore, any hotel or resort opening up in Maldives has to abide by the laws of ensuring the wellbeing of the sea creatures and the environment around it (Carlsen 2011). Works Cited Bowman, John S. Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. Print. Carlsen, Jack, and Richard Butler. Island Tourism: Sustainable Perspectives. Wallingford, Oxfordshire: CABI, 2011. Print. Garrod, B, and Stefan Go?ssling. New Frontiers in Marine Tourism: Diving Experiences, Sustainability, Management. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2008. Print. Masters, Tom. Maldives: Lonely Planet. Footscray, Vic: Lonely Planet, 2006. Print. Ministry of Tourism. Republic of Maldives - Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. . Shareef, Riaz, Suhejla Hoti, and Michael McAleer. The Economics of Small Island Tourism: International Demand and Country Risk Analysis. Cheltenham, Glos, UK: Edward Elgar, 2008. Print. Shelton, Emily. “Maldives ‘tourism boom’ putting manta rays at risk”. The Ecologist. 20 Oct 2010. Web. 27 Nov 2011. Read More