Eco-tourism: a Blessing or a Curse? - Www2.hkedcity.net

Eco-tourism:F. 6AFok Wai Kit,Kelvina Blessing or a Curse?Despite a deteriorating global economy, the demand for tourismremains strong. According to a report from the World TourismOrganisation, there were 924 million international tourist arrivals in 2008,up two per cent from 2007. At the same time, Hong Kong saw moretourists than ever with around 28 million visiting the SAR in 2008. So it isno surprise to Hong Kongers that the tourism industry plays an essentialrole in our economy. Tourism in Hong Kongis worth exploring, and both the benefits itbrings and the price we pay should fueldebate about the future of the industry.A range of socio-economic benefitshave come from tourism. Undoubtedly,tourism boosts the local economy. Money spent by tourists becomes therevenue of the public. In addition, cultural exchange is promoted. Atypical tour will include Hong Kong‟s local monuments, museums, andrural villages. Tourists can taste our culture and broaden their horizons.People can choose the excitement of our „hustle and bustle‟ city life ortake a time-out in one of our more quiet corners. Therefore, tourism canbe considered a value-added industry in human aspects. Afterconsidering these benefits, it is clear why tourism is considered one ofthe four key industries in the economy of Hong Kong.40

First of all, our ability greatly determines our choice of job. Justtake a few examples. We must have succeeded at science subjects anda lot of professional training before we can be a doctor. Good languageskills are essential for a journalist to report the news and describe eventsto others. A teacher should be a loving and caring person who cantolerate naughty students and pass on ideas and knowledge and helpthem to become responsible citizens. Thus it is important for us tounderstand whether our abilities are suitable for the job. This allows usnot only to handle our work more easily, butalso to increase our work efficiency.Secondly, remuneration is a majorelement to consider in choosing a job.Personally, I think that the payment for work must be proportional to theworkload. Otherwise, it will be unfair to the workers who work so hard.Besides that, a reasonable income allows us to enjoy a comfortable life.That is we can have enough money to support daily life, food, transportor entertainment. There is no doubt that most people prefer a highincome to a humble one.For some ambitious and aggressive people,they may find that greater opportunities for jobpromotion are important in looking for a job. Theymay like to work at a higher position, perhaps as amanager or a CEO, in order to earn more money orpower. However I think this consideration for jobchoice is not as important as taking intoconsideration our interest in a job.43

If we are interested in our job, it definitely will boost our motivation.This is very important for workers as heavy workloads are meant to beharsh for us. If we don‟t find interest in it, it is difficult for us to workeffectively and happily. Moreover, working happily can reduce the stressand pressure that we experience from work. We will not treat work as aburden and we will enjoy ourselves.Choosing a job is really important. No one canescape this as we have to support ourselves byearning money. It is you that have to face the musiceventually. An understanding of our ability to choosea rewarding job, which suits our interests, is the keyto choose wisely.Marriage Equals the Grave for Teen IdolsFlippingthrough magazines,there is always newsabout artists being„frozen‟ because ofhaving a date. MostF. 7AFung Tsz Hin,Nicoleof the agencies state that the fans do not liketheir teen idols or getting married so they forbidthe celebrities from dating. A few decades ago, marriage, undeniably,was a grave for a teen idol‟s career. Youngsters then tended to havecrushes on the stars they adored since fans always dreamt to developclose relationship with idols and thought idols would disappear if they got44

married. Yet, as time passed, the attitude of fans towards marriage oftheir idols has changed a lot and I do not agree with the claim of thoseagencies.First of all, what teenagers like about their idols are theiroutstanding talent, charming appearance andunique personalities, so it does not depend onwhether the idols are married or not. In somecases, getting married may help these celebritiesto achieve a higher accomplishment and becomeDavid & Victoria more popular than before. Take DavidBeckham, one of the most famous footballplayers in the world, as an example. He married a pop singer, VictoriaAdams, ten years ago, but there is no sign that his popularity has beendeclining. This is because fans are sensible, as they do not only lovehis appearance, but also his talent playing football. In fact, apart fromhis sporting life, he has a varied image and a higher profile in the fashionand entertainment industries bringing his career to the next level.Secondly, a married teen idol can raise his or her image with thehelp of their family members. Canto-pop singer Eason Chan has tolook after his family after his marriage with his wife and the birth of hisdaughter, but his work has not been affected. He works as hard as hedid before -- his latest concerts were fully booked, his albums are stillselling well and he still has supporters around the world.A few years ago, he used his daughter‟s photo ashis CD cover. Since the media has always beenmentioning her daughter, fans became interested in how45

Eason Chan gets along with his family and were eager to learn morenews about them, thus raising his popularity.It is acknowledged that husbands and wives canwork together in order to raise their popularity. BradPitt and Angelina Jolie, a famous couple from Hollywood,brought the movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”, acted by themboth, to a success. The two of them sometimes worktogether in the same function that attracts a larger audience.The Hollywood couple also tells us that marriage provides a greatopportunity for teen idols to give the public a favourable impression ofbeing reliable and responsible. Fans nowadays prefer idols to bewell-behaved so they could be role models. Being naughty or havingmany different girlfriends is no longer in favour with today‟s teenagers.Due to Jolie‟s increasingly responsible image, she became theambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. Thesame goes for Audrey Hepburn, the most famousHollywood actress in the 60s. Atthat time, the media predicted heracting career might decline after getting married.However, she became even more famous after that,as fans thought she was more mature and attractive.Later on, she even became the international ambassador of UNICEF,making her more well-known around the world.To sum up, it is natural for people to form families and there shouldnot be exceptions for teen idols, as they are the same as ordinary peopleand they have the right to enjoy their own life. Obviously, it should be a46

aroused the awareness of schoolviolence. Some people are concernedabout this phenomenon and urge thegovernment to ban violent comics forpeople under the age of eighteen. Theyare worried about that these comic books will harm our future leaders. Istrongly share this view. In this essay, I will argue that banning violentcomics for teenagers under the age of eighteen should be implemented.In fact, reading those violent comics is really time-wasting. Whatcan the youngsters really learn from those books? Kungfu? Ways totorture or kill? Actually, the teenagers are just lured by the excitement ofthe fighting and bloody scene in the violent comics. Reading thosecomics will only squander time meaninglessly. As we all know, theschedule of the Hong Kong‟s education curriculum is very tight. Studentsare required to grasp knowledge within a very short period of time. Oncethey get addicted to reading violent comics, they will dedicate all theirspirits into the comic books but not theiracademic studies. As a corollary, they can learnnothing useful. Since Hong Kong has aknowledge-based economy, we need to have ahigh academic qualification; otherwise, we haveto struggle hard for survival in the future. Violentcomics should be banned for teenagers under theage of eighteen so they can concentrate more ontheir studies and have more time to equip themselves and raise theircompetitiveness. Our society‟s future will be brighter as a result.48

On top of wasting their time, violent comic books will adverselyaffect the youngsters‟ routine activities. Once they get hooked onreading those diabolic comics, they can hardly kick them away, as theylack self-discipline. They will just cage themselves in their own room andimmersed in an unreal world. Those teenagers will no longer want to goout to enlarge their social circle or communicate with others. As they areconfined to their own world, they will become egocentric and have poorinterpersonal and communication skills. Those teenagers will thereforehave no friends to share their ups and downs. Thus, they will be verylonely and their mental growth will be impaired.The main theme in these violent comics, describing theprotagonists use of violence to protect our world and get rid of antagonistwill directly influence youngsters‟ morality.Teenagers receive a wrong message: violence isthe only solution to the problem. Although theimportance of having relaxation should not beneglected, reading those violent comics is not awise choice. Moreover, in a civilized society,violence is not allowed. However, those wrongconcepts from violent comics have been instilled in youngsters. Thus,once, they meet barriers in their life or feel unhappy, they will useviolence to solve the problem and try every means to achieve their goals.Of course, that is absolutely wrong, but the youngsters are still immatureand lack the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. If all ourfuture leaders only use such an uncivilized way to solve problems, thefuture of our society will be bleak.49

All in all, reading violent comics has many negative consequencesand some of them directly affect the future of our world. In fact, there aremany meaningful activities for young people to relax, say, hiking,swimming, playing basketball and the like. These activities are beneficialto both their physical and mental growth. The government shouldimplement this proposal as soon as possible, in order to help youngstersto ward off violent comics. I really do not want to see society become agrim!《》Authors: Students of Pentecostal SchoolEditorial Group: Mrs. Lo Yuen Mei Yung, BettyMiss Chan Suet Fa, MaggieMr. Leung Lak Hang, EricMiss Lam Man YanMiss Kwong Ah Lan, DorisMr. Roberts, GarethMiss Kam Siu Ping, PriscillaPublishing Date: October, 2009(We give our sincere thanks toPentecostal School Parent-Teacher Associationfor sponsoring the publishingof this collection.)50