Analysis of Alternative Tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of Alternative Tourism - Essay Example These tourists want to gain more profound experiences in the countries of their destinations. In such a way, tourists are able to get acquainted with the authentic experiences of source cultures and be involved in the culturally-marked activities of the local communities. Very often alternative tourism is criticized for a major focus of tourism developers on financial gains and not cultural interchange between the tourists and the local communities (Shilling 2007; Tappe, 2011). Further on the paper is focused on alternative tourism, mass tourism, and sustainable tourism. Mass tourism, alternative tourism, and sustainable tourism There is a need to create sustainable places for tourism and it requires the cooperation of tourism developers and community developers. Alternative tourism is more specific than mass tourism due to an abundance of cultural traditions and customs, which are available for tourists. In the mass tourism the visitors are looking for the sun, the sea and sand. The refore, they do not have culturally-specific needs and they need only to have rest. The key concepts of mass tourism are focused on the reduction of direct participation and communication with the locals. Tourism developers are interested in the promotion of interaction between tourists and locals, which is absent in mass tourism. For this purpose place development is required and it should be noted that money expenditures should be invested in this aspect of tourism. Alternative visitors, as a rule, prefer spending their money in local districts and not in the greater region. In order to correlate the needs of alternative visitors and the interests of the local communities, it should be mentioned that careful planning is in need (Crabbe, 2010). Tourism developers of alternative tourism usually consist of families, friends, and representatives of the communities, who are caring about the environment. The concept of alternative tourism is usually used by tourism developers or governm ental representatives. Ordinary tourists would hardly use this term. Natural environments or marine protected areas are of great importance for alternative tourists. Cultural interchange, participation in local traditions and customs are very important for visitors, especially when they come to underdeveloped regions. Pros and cons of alternative tourism, Unfortunately, alternative tourism can be intimidating for natural wildlife, disturb water quality, threaten communities, and disrupt local culture. Therefore, the major challenge of tourism is that it can destroy the resources, on the basis of which it is created. Consequently, both tourism developers and local communities should keep in mind their mutual coexistence and mutual help in the name of alternative tourism promotion and development. Tours of special interest belong to the sphere of alternative tourism. There is an evident shift in the field of tourism from Fordism to the more specific scale of modes of production and co nsumption. Nevertheless, very often alternative tourism prevails over mass tourism. In case tourism is in the hands of the indigenous population, it can lead to their marginalization. â€Å"Sustainable tourism† may be often considered by tourism developers as â€Å"hijacked by many to give moral rectitude and ‘green’ credentials to tourist activities†.  Ã‚