The tourism industry therefore is very important to economic growth as well as the environment.
Tourism can help a country's economy and infrastructure. For example it provides jobs. Some countries such as the Caribbean have tourism as their main source of income.

Countries rich in physical resources - such as warm climates, beautiful beaches, rare ecosystems, and abundant plant and animal life - are often sought-after holiday destinations by people from MEDCs. Tour operators and developers invest in these locations in the hope that they will become as popular as European resorts.
Places such as Kenya in East Africa, where tourists go on safari, or Bali in Indonesia, visited for its beautiful beaches, all benefit financially from tourism. However, tourism in LEDCs needs to be carefully managed to prevent harm to the environment and disruption to local communities.

Foreign currency spent by tourists can be invested in improving local education, health and other services. Profits go to foreign companies, such as tour operators and hotel chains, rather than to the local community.
Jobs for local people are created and people can learn new skills in tourism services.
Foreign companies may bring foreign workers to do the skilled jobs; so local people only do low skilled, poorly paid work.
Construction creates jobs and develops skills for local people.
House prices rise when foreign companies and investors buy property for hotels and holiday homes. This often makes houses too expensive for locals.
Local infrastructure is improved as water and sanitation facilities, roads, buses, taxis and airports are provided for tourists.
Important projects for local communities might be sidelined as infrastructure developments are focused on tourists.
Visitors get an insight into local customs and traditions. If the aim of activities is to entertain, rather than educate tourists, this may belittle the local people.
Tourists see beautiful landscapes, wildlife and plants. They can also be educated about the dangers to fragile ecosystems in the modern world.
Pollution and disruption to wildlife habitats could occur if tourism isn't sustainable.

Negative impacts of tourism

Environmental damage - roads and tracks for safari jeeps can erode grass cover, damaging plants and animals and disturbing local habitats. The removal of trees and other vegetation for the construction of roads can lead to soil erosion.
Inequality - often the profits of tourism are reaped by wealthy landowners or the hotel and travel companies in MEDCs.
Loss of traditional cultures - the Masai's way of life and traditional farming methods have been disrupted by the setting up of the Serengeti National Park.
Water cycle damage - diverting water for tourists can exploit local water reserves, leaving local people, plants and animals short of water. Tourist hotels sometimes dump waste into rivers.
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The ecotourism approach

Ensuring that tourism does not exploit the natural environment or local communities.
Consultation with local communities on planned developments.
Making sure that infrastructure improvements benefit local people and not just tourists.
Ecotourism now has the backing of the United Nations, which made 2002 the International Year of Ecotourism.

Ecotourism sets out guidelines for how tourists should behave when visiting fragile environments:
Protect the environment - keep to footpaths, don't leave litter or start fires.
Don't interfere with wildlife - don't scare or feed the animals.
Protect resources - don't take too many showers or use air conditioning.
Support local communities - stay in locally owned accommodation and buy produce from local people.
Eat local food and drink - avoid products that have been imported from MEDCs.
Respect local customs and traditions - some communities are offended when tourists wear inappropriate clothes in religious places, strip off on the beach or behave in a rowdy manner. Locals appreciate tourists who try to learn the language and show an interest in their culture.
Ecotourism is increasingly popular and many people appreciate remote locations, small numbers of tourists and less sophisticated facilities. If a resort becomes overdeveloped then they will choose alternative destinations.

Uluru in Australia is one of the largest rocks (or monoliths) in the world. (Uluru is the aboriginal name for the rock, also named Ayers Rock in 1873). Until recently large numbers of tourists visited the rock and climbed it using a rope-and-pole path drilled into the side of the rock. As a result the rock was becoming eroded.
In 1985 the Australian government handed the land on which Uluru stands back to the Aboriginal inhabitants, the Anangu. The rock has spiritual significance for the Anangu and they do not climb it. The Anangu now ask tourists to respect the rock by not climbing it, and most tourists comply.