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298 impact, economic
order to acquire permission to undertake a
substantial tourism development �see impact
assessment, environmental). Such evaluations
often incorporate economic and social consequences
in addition to environmental impact
assessments more narrowly defined. However, the
backward-looking perspective adopted by many
academic impact researchers is not readily transferred
to the predictive perspective required of
many practitioners, nor does it direct them clearly
towards variables which may be manipulated to
influence the outcomes of tourism.
Since the impacts of tourism occur at the same
time as other changes affecting people and places,
and the consequences of the industry often exhibit
similarities with those of other agents of change, it
is often difficult to separate more general changes
from those which are attributable specifically to it.
This is not only a difficult analytical problem, it
also sometimes results in tourism being blamed for
changes for which it is not responsible. Nevertheless,
it is true that too much tourism can result
in the destruction of the very resources on which it
depends, as well as degrading tourist experiences
and disrupting the lifestyles of local residents.
Recognition of such situations has led to the
development of such concepts as carrying
capacity and limits of acceptable change in
an attempt to guide managers in their efforts to
keep negative impacts within acceptable levels.
While outside observers often bemoan the
existence of impacts, some impacts are desired
and tourists are actively sought by residents of
destination areas as a means of modifying the life
opportunities of their children and themselves.
However, the impacts of tourism are felt differently
by various members of society reflecting such
attributes as degree of involvement in tourism,
gender, language skills, race, class and access to
power. However, other things being equal, the
greater the differences between the characteristics
of the tourists and the residents of the destination
areas, the greater the impacts of tourism are likely
to be.
Further reading
Crick, M. �1989) `Representations of international
tourism in the social sciences: sun, sex, sights,
savings and servility', Annual Review of Anthropology
18: 307±44. �Contains many references to the
social and cultural impacts of tourism.)
Hunter, C. and Green, H. �1995) Tourism and the
Environment:A Sustainable Relationship?, London:
Routledge. �Includes useful chapters on environmental
impacts and their assessment.)
Knight, R.L. and Gutzwiller, K.J. �1995) Wildlife
and Recreationists:Coexistence through Management and
Research, Washington, DC: Island Press. �Features
a number of papers on the impacts of tourism on
wildlife.)
Wall, G. �1996) `Rethinking impacts of tourism',
Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research 2�3/4):
207±15. �Examines the status of research on the
impacts of tourism.)
Wall, G. and Wright, C. �1977) The Environmental
Impact of Outdoor Recreation, Department of
Geography Publication Series No. 11, Waterloo,
Ont.: University of Waterloo. �Reviews the
environmental impacts of recreational activities.)
impact, economic
GEOFFREY WALL, CANADA
A change in the level or nature of an activity in a
productive sector of an economic system causes an
economic impact. Changes in the level or pattern
of tourism expenditure will create an impact on
the economy where that expenditure is made. The
impact can be expressed as of income, employment,
government revenue, output or foreign
exchange flows, and is generally measured by the
use of multiplier effect.
impact, environmental
JOHN FLETCHER, UK
Environmental impact refers to positive as well as
negative aspects of a tourism organisation's
environmental performance. It usually covers
physical, biological, economic, social or cultural
aspects. Environmental impacts of tourism are
often cumulative. Recognising the positive and
cumulative impacts can be just as beneficial to