African Tourism and Its Impact
People go to places to see the other people that are different then them selves and how the other people live. Africa is not just a vacation destination, it is a place were you can connect to the country. They go there for adventure, culture and service. Although there are lot of tourists who go to Africa with a connection, tourism also has a lot of negative impacts on wild life, the people of Africa, and the land.
Adventure is a fun way to go to Africa but
I didn't do that but here is some info. Adventure trips to Africa include safaris. A safari is an expedition to observe or hunt animals in their natural habitat. Safaris are mostly in Africa in the Sahara dessert for the most part. Safaris are very common but hiking and climbing are common too. Most people that come to Africa to hike or climb go to Mt.Kilimanjaro, a popular mountain with tourists. There are also other mountains like the Atlas mountain range, but people don’t just go to Africa for adventure they go for the culture too.
I went to Africa for culture, i'll tell you what it means to go to Africa for culture. Cultural interests include cooking, fashion, and music. Tourist that go to Africa for cooking go to explore a variety of food and spices to bring back to their own country to share with others. They also go to Africa to find and study different types of fabric and get inspiration from the people’s outfits. Americans were first introduced to African music when the slave trade came to America. Many American musical artists go to Africa to find other music that they can use for their sounds. “African music has been the foundation of recent popular music.”(1) For example Waka Waka by Shakira uses an African beat and some words.
Service is another very common trip to Africa.
Service was also a reason I went to Africa but not as intense then this. Service trips are trips where you help people that are in need. A good organization to join if you would like to help other people would be the Peace Corps. Lots of people that go to Africa for service go with the Peace Corps because you get many benefits. student loans, transition funds- you receive $7,425 pre-tax after you complete 27 months of service, free travel, living allowance, vacation-two days per month, medical and dental care, health insurance and no fee for joining are all of the benefits that you get when you enter the Peace Corps.(3) Also the good feeling that you get when you help others in need you feel warm inside like your making a difference in the world is a huge benefit. Ms. Greeley a 7th grade math teacher said, “It is an amazing experience to live in a different cultural. I now have a different life, I learned and new language and learned other things that have helped me. Also it looks good on a resumé.” (4)Ms. Greeley went to Tanzania in the Please Core.
I didn't go to any "hot spots" but i'll still talk about them. The “hot spots” in Africa are the places that are popular. This past summer the 2010 Fifa World Cup was held in South Africa. The World Cup had a big impact on Africa. Another “hot spot” that is popular in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro, is a common place for people to climb and a big tourist destination. The thousand year old pyramids in Egypt are like most historical places with many visitors, but there are some things about tourism that aren't good for Africa.
Tourism has a big impact on Africa. The animals are suffering and dying off because of tourism. “Tourists in remote areas usually disturb animal patterns by their very presence and introduce viruses and bacteria unknown to local fauna. The construction necessary to support a tourist trade, hotels, highways, power supply lines and power stations, seriously damage the land of the area close to the parks. The single most threat to the environment is the very nature of tourism in the parks. Safaris disrupt the balance of the ecosystem. Tourist buses carelessly chase over the grasslands in the hunt for good close-up photographs and ruin the food of the animals. Tourists are also producers of trash which is often deposited at a distant place from the hotels and the sewage is usually untreated and led into the sea. Another aspect of the negative impact that tourism has on the environment is the stress on natural resources like drinking water, land and marine ecology. In conclusion, the tourist consumption of nature leads to the economic exploitation of landscape and finally to the destruction of the environment.” (2) Animals aren’t the only ones that are hurting as a result of tourism. Local companies are hurting too but in different ways.
I didn't do that but here is some info. Adventure trips to Africa include safaris. A safari is an expedition to observe or hunt animals in their natural habitat. Safaris are mostly in Africa in the Sahara dessert for the most part. Safaris are very common but hiking and climbing are common too. Most people that come to Africa to hike or climb go to Mt.Kilimanjaro, a popular mountain with tourists. There are also other mountains like the Atlas mountain range, but people don’t just go to Africa for adventure they go for the culture too.
I went to Africa for culture, i'll tell you what it means to go to Africa for culture. Cultural interests include cooking, fashion, and music. Tourist that go to Africa for cooking go to explore a variety of food and spices to bring back to their own country to share with others. They also go to Africa to find and study different types of fabric and get inspiration from the people’s outfits. Americans were first introduced to African music when the slave trade came to America. Many American musical artists go to Africa to find other music that they can use for their sounds. “African music has been the foundation of recent popular music.”(1) For example Waka Waka by Shakira uses an African beat and some words.
Service is another very common trip to Africa.
Service was also a reason I went to Africa but not as intense then this. Service trips are trips where you help people that are in need. A good organization to join if you would like to help other people would be the Peace Corps. Lots of people that go to Africa for service go with the Peace Corps because you get many benefits. student loans, transition funds- you receive $7,425 pre-tax after you complete 27 months of service, free travel, living allowance, vacation-two days per month, medical and dental care, health insurance and no fee for joining are all of the benefits that you get when you enter the Peace Corps.(3) Also the good feeling that you get when you help others in need you feel warm inside like your making a difference in the world is a huge benefit. Ms. Greeley a 7th grade math teacher said, “It is an amazing experience to live in a different cultural. I now have a different life, I learned and new language and learned other things that have helped me. Also it looks good on a resumé.” (4)Ms. Greeley went to Tanzania in the Please Core.
I didn't go to any "hot spots" but i'll still talk about them. The “hot spots” in Africa are the places that are popular. This past summer the 2010 Fifa World Cup was held in South Africa. The World Cup had a big impact on Africa. Another “hot spot” that is popular in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro, is a common place for people to climb and a big tourist destination. The thousand year old pyramids in Egypt are like most historical places with many visitors, but there are some things about tourism that aren't good for Africa.
Tourism has a big impact on Africa. The animals are suffering and dying off because of tourism. “Tourists in remote areas usually disturb animal patterns by their very presence and introduce viruses and bacteria unknown to local fauna. The construction necessary to support a tourist trade, hotels, highways, power supply lines and power stations, seriously damage the land of the area close to the parks. The single most threat to the environment is the very nature of tourism in the parks. Safaris disrupt the balance of the ecosystem. Tourist buses carelessly chase over the grasslands in the hunt for good close-up photographs and ruin the food of the animals. Tourists are also producers of trash which is often deposited at a distant place from the hotels and the sewage is usually untreated and led into the sea. Another aspect of the negative impact that tourism has on the environment is the stress on natural resources like drinking water, land and marine ecology. In conclusion, the tourist consumption of nature leads to the economic exploitation of landscape and finally to the destruction of the environment.” (2) Animals aren’t the only ones that are hurting as a result of tourism. Local companies are hurting too but in different ways.
The local companies are losing money because people don’t have the money anymore to travel. The recession in the United States impacted the economy in Africa too. Money is the foundation of tourism so if other people don't have money the tourist industry goes plummeting downward.
Tourism is a way to make money in every country. No matter how small or big, or how wealthy a country is, you still have tourism. Everything has positive and negative aspects to it. The important thing is to keep them in balance. When tourists have passions for something they will probably travel and explore it in different places. Everyone in the world will go to a place that is different from where they live. Everyone will eventually be a tourist.
I hope everyone who red this blog now know what we do to Africa but it was a great trip and everyone should go to Africa too!
Bibliography:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Africa.
- http://www1.american.edu/TED/kenya.htm
- http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol
- Ms.Greeley a 7th grade math teacher at Graland Country Day School.
