Travel Let People Be More Understanding Essay Example for Free

Travel Let People Be More Understanding Essay Traveling is an excellent opportunity to go beyond the boundaries of own country. International tourism enables to open new corners of the world and get familiar with unique unknown cultures, which are multiple on the Universe. Yet, what is more important, traveling allows people not to just enlarge the physical limits of regular existence, but it also widens the outlook and even shapes the existing values by showing how others live and perceive the world.   Ã‚   There exist different types of international tourism – leisure tourism, business travel, medical travel, and historical travel. Leisure travel allows people to go to different usually exotic places (Africa, South East Asia etc.) and have a rest there enjoying the seaside, the sun, beautiful beaches. Business travel supposes that a person visits other countries on business trips. Nowadays, medical traveling is becoming more and more popular. People go abroad to cure from certain diseases or simply enhance there health. Finally, the main purpose of historical tourism is to see the historical heritage of the country. Such a trip supposes multiple excursions to different places of interest of the particular country. However, no matter what is the main purpose of traveling abroad, visiting other country opens new boundaries before the person, which reflect in the different things.   Ã‚   First of all, trip abroad enables people to get familiar with new things – geography, culture, history of the visiting place. This upraises the educational level of the person and enhances self-consciousness of him. For example, we all know that Egypt is famous for its pyramids that are thousands years old. Those pyramids are the foremost glory and distinction of the country. However, not all knows how much effort and human lives were put into those constructions. Only seeing those giants own self, it is possible to understand the real value of human life. Seeing those pyramids, one can realize that his life is nothing compared to thousands year old stone. Such important revelation very often makes people reflect on what they do in their life and how much time they have on this world to do something valuable unless they go away. Another relevant example is Turkey. We used to think that Turkey is a great resort with its wonderful beaches and sea. Yet, on coming to Turkey one gets a chance to see exciting historical places, cause Turkey is the place where there are traces of all three major religions – Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Thus, we can see that international tourism helps to raise educational level and the level of self-consciousness of a person.   Ã‚   Secondly, traveling enables to form own objective point of view independent of those, which are based on TV programs, journal and newspaper articles, radio broadcasts etc. For instance, Pico Iyer (2002) assures that Arab population is not as evil as American officials portray it. All the media has been stating and convincing other countries that Arabs are terrorist and Americans have to fear them. Moreover, special campaign was even launch to assure that the war against terrorist was the only mean to save and help the nations where this terrorism originated. Yet, as author tells, he was greatly surprised visiting   Bolivia, Vietnam, India and other countries to hear that the those nations are actually against American’s decision to initiate the war. Being â€Å"locked† within the borders of one territory, it is impossible to get a clear picture and understand how others perceive you nation and your country, cause mass media might interpret the events and the opinions according to its own benefit. Thus, only visiting other countries, it is possible to get an objective panorama of everything that is going on in the world. Giving the example of Iyer, international traveling enables Americans to tell other nations that USA is not an evil.   Ã‚   To the third, traveling enables to get rid of certain prejudices that might exist in society in the form of â€Å"common opinion†. Again, as Iyer (2002) states, when he took his mother to Syria, she was very pleasantly surprised to realize that this country was much friendlier, much cleaner and more well-off that she previously thought of. It happens very often when we derive our opinion from certain common sources and form a stereotype and prejudice concerning the thing. Thus, traveling destroys stereotypes and creates more space for us to let in other opinions, views, thoughts. Ultimately, it helps us to be more receptive, more attentive and more tolerant to other cultures, to other opinions, which can be different from ours.   Ã‚   Finally, traveling influences the behavior of people. When one goes to China or Japan and gets exposed to this unique special culture, get to know the beliefs and habits of those people, there is always a temptation to follow the example. Watching the very ascetic Japanese man who can sleep on the mattress and eat only seafood, the thought about the excessive exuberance and its unimportance arises itself. Thus, the habit of living luxuriously might change into a habit of living according to the need. When observing how brave and enduring the peoples of Latin America are, the desire of being like them, fighting to the last comes instantly. Thus, traveling is able to change the whole behavior of a person.   Ã‚   To   conclude, it is important to say that traveling doesn’t simply allow to go beyond the border of the country of residence, but it also allows to go far beyond the limits of traditional thinking and mind. Exposing one to different cultures, vies, beliefs, traveling changes people’s values, behavior, destroy stereotypes and widens general outlook. The summarized benefits that traveling gives are the following: Deeper and wider outlook – new knowledge, new insights; Possibility to form personal objective rather than subjective opinion concerning different things based on own experience; Destruction of prejudices and ability to become more flexible and receptive; Gain of new patterns of behavior, new personal qualities.       References Butler R. â€Å"Contemporary Issues in Tourism Development† Routledge, London, 1999- Cooper C. â€Å"Tourism at the Age of Globalization† Routledge, London, 2001 Pico Iyer â€Å"The necessity of Travel† 2002. Jan.27, 2007 http://www.tourismofindia.com/misc/newstravelnecessity.htm

austrailia foreign policy :: essays research papers

Australian Foreign Policy What is Foreign Policy? Foreign Policy is a nations’ attitude, actions (ie economic sanctions, peacekeeping, military activity) as well as our dealings with other countries (ie trade, immigration, aid, defence) and anything that is directed towards preserving and furthering certain national interests. Foreign Policy seeks to maintain national security, promote economic and trade interests, expand regional and global links, and promote the nation as a good global citizen. Why is FP unique in terms of FP making? Indeed, FP is unique in terms of policy making, largely because it requires little legislation. In essence, governments do not have to face a review of their policy enshrined in legislation in the Senate. Arguably FP may be made with little reference to Parliament as it usually obtains bi-partisan support as recently exemplified by the outstanding Labor Party support for an additional Medicare levy to cover the costs of Australian peacekeeping forces in East Timor. Consequentially, FP is seldom a topic for elections as it does not directly affect the electorate, nor does it gather the same level of community participation or interest as many other policies. Key features†¦ A 1997 White Paper on Foreign and Trade Policy called ‘In the National Interest’ is the most important single statement on FP in recent years. It set the guideline for FP according to the National Interest. Implicit in the National Interest is to maintain national security through international diplomacy and readiness to defend the continent and territories against possible armed attack or other aggression, to protect and promote the nation’s economic welfare and living standards, which increasingly depend on global economic growth, free international trade and the confidence of global international markets, and to keep our democratic way of life, and our civil and political liberties. A more recent foreign policy priority is the promotion of the nation as an active and responsible global citizen. Success in this area is measured by our response to human rights, terrorism, third world debt, and drug issues. Australia already has a well deserved international reputation because of the work of previous foreign ministers, e.g Bill Hayden and Gareth Evans on human rights. Key players and their roles†¦ Decisions about FP are made by the executive and the bureaucracy making it incompatible with the democracy that Australia is. The government can dominate foreign policy in a way that it cannot dominate domestic policy.

Ecotourism in Ecuador

On behalf on the Quichua nation organisation I have been asked to write a report on whether ecotourism is the way forward for countries such as Ecuador. The Quichua people are a native group who live in Napo. In this report I will look at whether Commercial tourism or ecotourism would be best for Napo. Commercial tourism is the traditional tourism that the western world knows. Ecotourism is a way of travelling while improving the welfare of the local people. Ecuador is a republic in north-western South America. It has an area of 272,045 sq km which is roughly the same as the United Kingdom. Ecuador has a pollution of 11 million with a growth rate of 3% per year. It has a diverse population composed of people of European, Native American and African descent. The main language spoken is Spanish but many Indian languages are also spoken. Most Native Americans in Ecuador have become converts to the Roman Catholic faith. Agriculture dominated the economy of Ecuador until the 1970s, when the discovery of petroleum deposits brought added income to the nation. The influx of cash resulted in price increases for many goods and because Ecuador had a limited manufacturing base, people spent the new oil money on goods imported from abroad, therefore increasing Ecuador's foreign debt. Ecuador is a developing and poverty stricken country. There is only one nurse per 2,320 patients which does not help the child mortality rate at 82 deaths per 1000 births. Only 44% of the rural population have access to safe drinking water and the GNP is $1000. Ecuador would benefit from attracting tourists because it would bring money into the country, improving the quality of life. As Ecuador is an LEDC (Less Economically Developed Country), tourism may be its last option and a quick way of bringing money into the country. Commercial Tourism LEDCs promote tourism because it is a very large source of money. LEDCs that do not have any other sources of money coming into the country can turn to tourism for a reliable and steady income unlike farming and other sources which are unreliable. Tourism brings much needed money into the country to help with clean water, electricity, health care, schooling and housing. Tourism creates direct employment at hotels, bars and shops and it creates indirect employment, for example the local farmers growing produce for nearby hotels. Local people would be able to produce and sell their souvenirs to tourists opening up the souvenir trade. Local unskilled people would be trained to work in hotels, and as tour guides. Commercial tourism creates many more jobs than ecotourism due to the number of facilities and hotels and because of this unemployment in the region would be very low. Tourism encourages overseas investment into airports and roads, improving transport systems. This would then encourage more tourists to come to that country. The profit and improvements made from tourism would stop migration of people from the country as there would be many jobs available and an incentive to stay. Tourism can have very positive effects on a country while at the same time ruining the culture, traditions and lives of native people. The sight of hotels and planes can spoil the appearance of the once untouched surroundings creating air and noise pollution. Usually only between 10 and 20% of all profits made stays in the country. As most hotels are foreign owned and most tourists spend their money in the hotels all of the profits go out of the country. As the tourism industry is seasonal, people may not be earning an income for some parts of the year. As the hotels are foreign owned most of the high paid jobs for example ‘manager' would be filled by foreign people. The money earned by these people would not stay in the country. Local craft industries would be destroyed due to the need for mass produced cheap souvenirs unlike their hand made quality pieces. Foreign companies may seize the souvenir monopoly by selling very cheap mass produced goods. Again this profit would be leaving the country. The farming economy is damaged as land is sold off to developers to build hotels. The hotels would prefer to buy food from overseas as the food grown in Ecuador would not meet the demands of European style foods for the tourists. All the new facilities, for example, airports and other transport services would not benefit the native people as they could not afford to use them. The borrowed money from overseas would increase the country's national debt which would not help the overall economy. Tourists expect unlimited water supplies into hotels and attractions. Their supply is ten times greater than the local people's demand. This could cause water shortages for local people's domestic and farmland use. If farmers do not have enough water to grow their crops, they could lose their entire harvest for the year which can have devastating effects. Local cultures and traditions can be destroyed by the new problems that are only due to tourism for example crime, prostitution and drugs. This is because they have never before had any contact from the western world. Tourists do not have any respect for the local people's customs and beliefs by walking into mosques and temples inappropriately dressed. The building of hotels, airports and other facilities means local people lose their homes, land and traditional means of livelihood. For example fishermen are no longer able to fish, because overseas companies have closed off parts of the beach and sea to only allow their hotel customers to use it. There can also be many risks in commercial tourism. Commercial tourism can be greatly affected by political events such as terrorism. Tourism trends can change. Places where tourists used to go can become unwanted travel destinations, leaving many people unemployed. People are unemployed, as businesses have failed as there are not any customers. This can have a great effect on a country's economic structure. The people who would be in favour of this type of tourism would be overseas companies who want to invest in LEDCs. The land in LEDCs is very cheap so it would not cost companies that much to build hotels. These companies could then discriminate employees by paying them a very low wage and charging tourists a lot to stay in them. They also know that there is a large willing workforce to use and would be able to take advantage of this. Overseas tour operators would prefer commercial tourism as it attracts many more tourists. Tour operators would make more money from selling commercial holidays rather than eco holidays. Local businesses would also like commercial tourism as it brings more customers, along with good transport links such as, roads, trains and airports. This also opens up the rest of the world to businesses who want to export goods internationally. Local farmers may also be in favour of commercial tourism as it opens up a large market to sell their produce. The people who would be opposed to this tourism would be local native people who would not want airports, roads and other facilities to ruin their culture and natural way of life. Commercial tourism creates a lot of jobs, but most of the profits go out of the country to large companies who own the hotels and other facilities. Their natural ways of life would be taken away by the invasion of foreign cultures and traditions. Local people who sell souvenirs would not like commercial tourism as this would bring in mass produced cheap souvenirs crushing the local people's businesses. Foreign companies would have more money to set up shops unlike local people attracting more customers. A lot of the money earned from commercial tourism would leave the country for large foreign companies and does not benefit everyone. People's cultures and traditions are ruined, and with that their jobs and lives. Below are some quotes from people who have been employed and disrupted by commercial tourism. â€Å"Commercial tourism has been in Napo for a long time but it's benefited only the tour companies and not us. It also brought crime into the area† â€Å"Commercial guides brought tourists to our villages and paid us hardly anything, not even enough for a bus fare to Tena. The tourists walked around our villages, into houses, and took photos without asking† â€Å"We want to continue existing according to our own culture and alongside our natural mother, the jungle† Ecotourism Ecotourism is a responsible type of travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of the local people Ecotourism is a way of travelling while improving the welfare of the local people. This means that in ecotourism areas, there are not any hotels or airports that ruin the landscape. People stay in the same facilities as the local people. This means there is not air or noise pollution. All the income made by this type of tourism stays in the country with the local people helping towards schooling, clean water and healthcare. No money leaves the country to go to large overseas companies. Local craft industries can grow as there are not any large companies mass producing cheap souvenirs. People will pay for the time and effort that a local person has put into making that souvenir. No land is taken over for development of hotels and airports so farmland is not lost. No food is imported from abroad as all the food eaten by the tourists is locally grown. Ecotourism costs a lot less than commercial tourism so it does not increase national debt. Local cultures and traditions are not destroyed as local people are allowed to carry on living normally. The type of people going on eco holidays are not the same people who go on commercial holidays. This means that in eco areas, they will not get any drug abuse, prostitution or crime. The people who go on eco holidays respect the local people's ways of life, try and help the local people and will not try and get in their way. Farmers and people do not lose their land or houses to ecotourism or their traditional way of life as there are not any large companies taking over parts of land or beaches for foreign use only. The local people let tourists into their way of life instead of adapting to foreign ways. Also the local people and the environment is respected and cared for in ecotourism unlike commercial tourism. The disadvantages of ecotourism are that a lot less money is made from ecotourism than commercial tourism. As a lot less people go on eco holidays the countries get less money, but all the money is going straight to the local people instead of out of the country. Ecotourism does not create as much employment as commercial tourism as it is not on a large scale. It is based around the local people and not always for the tourist's benefit. Due to this there are not any attractions or many facilities which in commercial tourism would create a lot of jobs. The people who would be in favour for ecotourism are the Quichua people in Napo who would not want commercial tourism in their area. Here is a quote from the Quichua people about ecotourism: â€Å"Our way of life, traditions and culture are being preserved. Some people who left our village to find work are now returning to work in ecotourism. Our community is becoming stronger† They would not want commercial tourism as the hotels, airports, roads and other facilities would spoil the natural environment and ruin their cultures and natural ways of life. They would prefer ecotourism which would invite tourists into the area, generating money for the country without spoiling the natural environment or disturbing their native way of life. The Quichua people earn a living from making souvenirs and farming. With commercial tourism, their farmland would be taken away and their souvenir industries ruined. All the money created would stay in the country and be used directly to improve their way of life. Below are some quotes from people who have been employed and benefited from ecotourism. â€Å"We work as guides and decide who we invite to our village. We grow food and make handicraft to sell to the tourists† â€Å"The profits we earn from ecotourism are invested to improve our community, by building schools and a health centre for our children† â€Å"Now we can make a living preserving the forest and not destroying it† The people who would not be in favour of ecotourism are companies and businesses in Napo and Ecuador. Companies and businesses in Napo would prefer commercial tourism as it brings in more customers. Ecotourism has a lot less tourists entering the country which would not benefit them. Commercial tourism also brings good transport links such as airports, roads and trains unlike ecotourism. These transport links would create international customers, expanding the business and recovering Ecuador's debt. Ecotourism limits companies expanding by the low number of tourists and transport links. Local hunters and loggers in Napo may also be against ecotourism. This is because ecotourism enforces many rules on local people, preventing any more destruction of the rainforest. Hunters and loggers could be out of work and find it very hard to earn a living as they are unskilled in others areas of employment. Conclusion I have looked at Commercial Tourism and Ecotourism for possible tourism solutions in Napo on behalf of the Quichua people. Both have advantages and disadvantages but in my opinion the most important factors are preserving the Quichua culture and traditions, keeping the Quichua people happy. The advantages of ecotourism are, it protects the people's traditions and native ways of life, it helps the local people instead of using them, it creates money directly for the native people and is a more respective and friendly type of tourism. Although there are some advantages to Commercial tourism such as more customers, more money and more overseas investment, these things can sometimes be a disadvantage to the native people. Overall I would choose ecotourism for the Napo region as this type of tourism fills the needs of the Quichua people. I would also choose this type of tourism for LEDCs similar to Ecuador.

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