Page 22 - EXPOTIME!Sept2017

Analysis

ized cog of the UNO, in charge of promoting tourism The negative aspects prove to be especially visible in
while seeing to it that the interests of developing coun- the domain of the environment. Indeed, the spatial con-
tries are preserved. A whole set of national, regional, centration and the multiplication of the facilities, roads,
and local committee pyramid pursues relatively similar parking lots, harbours and marinas, airports, hotel com-
objectives. The tourist offices facilitate the stays. In plexes, bathing amenities, golf courses, ski-runs, bars
the private domain, the tour operators, the "Trick Op- and discos disrupt and disturb the natural habitat and
erators", the companies of navigation and other enter- the ecosystems. Some beaches disappear because the
prises of transportation, of the various agencies are in construction of big tourist complexes, harbour ameni-
charge the convenient organization. Tourist engineering ties and urbanization reduce the gathering of sand and
entitled with the elaboration of management tools has put the coastal balances at stake. Vegetation in these
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developed lately. Junior schools and high schools, and new areas is stressed and regenerates only under major
even some universities prepare the youth to the profes- difficulties. The number of the animals, constrained by
sions of tourism, kitchen, guidance and superior man- the anthropization of their habitat, inter alia by abusive
agement. hunting and fishing, is reduced. Over-developing resorts
can be found on high mountains or at some coasts can be
Since the XIXth Century, the journeys are facilitated by found in Florida, Cancun, on Djerba, the French Riviera,
the descriptions and the convenient information that are or on Majorca. Over-frequentation leads to problems
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made available by magazines and guidebooks, to men- in energy, garbage disposal and feshwater. The use of
tion the British Murrays, the German Baedeckers, the water causes some conflicts between professionals of
Joannes, ancestors of the Guides bleus, the Michelins tourism and local agriculturists: in the Mediterranean, a
and Routards in French. 30 resident tourist in a hotel can consume up to 250 liters
per day and even 600 in the establishments of luxury of
Tourism constitutes a fragile activity. This activity mo- Morocco. The water consumption and the possible in-
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bilizes more and more funds and produces an impact on sufficiency of purification stations pose other problems
the environment. Also the state intervenes for invest- and harm to the quality of the bathing waters, to fishing
ment, scheduling, construction of roads, harbors and and agriculture.
airports, the legislation on the time of work and school
calendar and by providing a more or less marked will for III. The socio-cultural dimension
regulation. This regulation grants a relatively important
place to the private investors that are attracted by a Tourism often brings an enhancement to the heritage
lucrative sector. 31 that attracts visitors. Scholarly researches and some-
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times remarkable conservation-restoration are done
The vulnerability of tourism appears through the risks of on the monuments of the Pharaonic Egypt, Greece and
the economy. In periods of economic crisis, everything the Roman Empire, pyramids of Teotihuacan in Mexico,
that has to do with leisure and discovery, in short: temples of Angkor in Cambodia which welcome millions
everything not linked to vital needs usually will be re- of visitors per year. In the Arab world, medinas, souks,
tracted. All kinds of unrests, insecurity, as was the case palaces, ribats, mosques, fortifications are often given
in Algeria previously and in Libya today, terrorism re- extensive care. Emblematic places such as Kairouans
veals the peculiar fragility of the sector. Thus, peace is or the Moroccan imperial cities attract many visitors.
a primordial factor in favour of tourism. France can be The enrollment of monuments and remarkable sites to
happy to rank under the top destinations, but after the the World Heritage of the UNESCO constitute a precious
record year 2015 with 85 millions of visitors, the num- advertising argument. The big museums, lodged in old
bers dropped due to terroristic attacks to 83 millions monuments or recent buildings which are sometimes
in 2016. The bloody attacks of Luxor in 1997 (with 62 quite daring, also cause touristic interest. The special-
deaths), those of Bardo in 2015 (with 24 deaths) and of ized circuits of art, focused on a region or a theme as
Sousse the same year (with 39 deaths), of Paris in No- the painted chapels of Bukovine in the Ukraine or Ro-
vember 13, 2015 (with 130 deaths), of Nice on July 14, mania or the Art Deco Districts of Vienna, widen the
2016 (with 86 deaths), among many other violent attacks tourist offer. Some monuments benefit from a familiari-
of the same kind, produced a disastrous effect on tour- ty thanks to a new purpose: the Ancient Theater of Or-
ism in these destinations. Subsequently, the tourist flux- ange, constructed in the 1 cent., which is remarkably
st
es moved toward regions considered to be sure, notably preserved and capable of welcoming 8600 spectators,
Croatia, Portugal, Greece, Italy and Spain. served this setting for the oldest French festival, the
Choregies, founded in 1869, which are dedicated to the
Of course, tourism can have negative effects on the re- lyric art. The Roman arenas of Nice sheltered a prestig-
gional development: some inequalities are frequently ious festival of jazz for a long time. The Picasso museum
observed between a much frequented region, offering of Antibes is installed in a medieval castle and that of
a picture of prosperity, and a disregarded neighboring Paris in a particular hotel of the XVIIth century. “Sound
sector, that remained frozen in its traditional activities & Light"shows are organized at the pyramids of Gizeh, in
with relatively low outputs.
the Pnyx facing the Acropolis of Athens or in the castles
of the Loire. Some owners of castles have their lodgings

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EXPOTIME!, issue August/September 2017