Tourism has become an increasingly important industry in many countries, and the added advantage is that the earnings are in hard currencies. At first most Europeans remained within Europe, population such is the pressure to find exciting places to visit that international tourism by well-off Europeans (as well as by people from other rich countries, such as the USA) has spread throughout the world.
In third-world countries there is a huge differences between the world of tourists and the world of the local inhabitants. To put it at its simplest, the tourist's camera , with its various accessories, could well cost more than most locals earn in a year. No wonder that tourism can spread envy and dissatisfaction among the local people . Moreover, tourists can have a devastating effect on the local life-style.
There are exciting many places left in the world that have not been developed or opened up for tourism, but there are important differences from place to place in the way this has happened. In some countries the local population has been able to adapt to tourism without sacrificing too much of their life-style or environment. As more and more people go abroad for a holiday it is hoped that tourist venues can find ways of continuing to have the benefits while minimising the disadvantages.