With the increasing growth in tourist arrival in India, there are positive and negative changes to the country.
Positive changes:
· The growth of tourism has helped in generating a source of income and employment for the locals. It has contributed 6.23% to the national GDP and 8.27% of the total employment in India.
· Tourism has become an important source of foreign exchange earnings in India. With the tourism industry, the country has generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and is expected to increase to US$275.5 billion in 2018.
· With tourism and globalization, comes the development of infrastructure that both acts as an advantage to the local community, including various means of transportation, healthcare, sports centres, hotels and high-end restaurants
Negative changes:
· Tourism may create tension and hostility with the tourists and the locals due to misunderstanding and disrespecting each other’s culture and way of life. If it gets worse, it will lead to violence and increase in crime rates.
· Through tourism, the country may face undesirable social and cultural change. With the inflow of tourists, there will be a tendency for the place to lose its identity. One example is in Goa where it was strong with its Hippy culture back in the 60s. Now, it has turned into a place filled with drugs and prostitution.
· The adverse effects it has on the environment and ecology has a great impact in India. With the increase in tourist arrivals, there will be a greater potential for land pollution such as waste dumping. Tourist arrival will also disrupt the natural habitats of endangered species due to trampling, killing and disturbance. Also noise pollution will persist due to the increase in vehicles. These factors will destroy the ambience and image of India.
http://www.trcollege.net/articles/100-impact-of-tourism-in-india