Tourism Essay
Tourism is undoubtedly the single largest industry in the world and contributes vast amounts of revenue into any given country. In New Zealand alone, tourism accounted for 10.2% of Gross Domestic Product in 1996 or in dollar terms $11.78 billion (Collier, 1999). In 1999, half a billion people traveled worldwide which indicates the huge scale of the tourism industry. And the speed of tourism growth is also outstanding - airplane numbers have increased thirty times since 1960 and in the last fifteen years the number has doubled. And the amount of international tourists is also increasing rapidly. In 1939 there were only one million tourists worldwide whereas in 1999 there were more than one million international tourists from New Zealand alone (Otago University Resource, 2001).

After understanding how large the tourism industry is and the speed it is growing at, it is necessary to then learn about the associated impacts from tourism. The impacts are divided into three categories: economic, socio-cultural and environmental and each impact can create either a positive or negative outcome. Obviously the most important impacts that need to be dealt with are the negative ones. Throughout this essay each different impact will be explained and an example provided. It will also indicate how important it is for a tourism manager to be aware of these impacts and how they could possibly minimise or eliminate any of these adverse effects.

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Socio-cultural impacts are concerned with the effects tourism has on host communities and the residents. Travelers can have either a positive or negative impact on a host community but in this particular example the negative socio-cultural impacts on Queenstown will be examined.

Queenstown is a vastly growing, popular tourist destination in the Southern Island of New Zealand. Labeled as the 'Adventure Capital of the World,' attractions range from jet boating to snowboarding to parapenting hiking. Although one may assume the city is reaping the economic benefits from tourism, it is also suffering from negative socio cultural impacts. Tourists from Europe, the United States, Scandinavia, Australia and Asia outnumber the 9,000 residents two to one (Sunday Star Times, 2000). Due to the high tourist to resident ratio it is inevitable that residents are feeling the disruption in their everyday lives. Locals are feeling as though their town has been taken over by tourists. A specific example of this 'take over' is the congestion caused by tourists in Queenstown. Suppose a Queenstown resident wants to make a trip into town to do some shopping. Extra caution must be taken when driving into town due to the number of vehicles on the road. Also a lot of the drivers are foreign and unfamiliar to New Zealand's road rules which adds to the danger. Getting around Queenstown can take a lot longer due to vehicles like buses and campervans slowing down the traffic and since there are limited passing lanes driving can be quite frustrating for residents. Once the resident gets to town they find the streets crowded with tourists and queues at the counters. Prices on necessity goods have been inflated and some locals probably would not even consider buying luxury goods in Queenstown due to the augmented 'tourist' prices (Sunday Star Times, 2000). Signs on the windows of shops are starting to appear in foreign languages, typically Japanese. Even some of the shops are owned and operated by foreigners and the shop assistants cannot speak fluent English.

This example of a Queenstown resident's trip to the shops highlights the gradual disruption of a local community and culture. Therefore it is necessary for Queenstown tourism mangers to become aware of these negative socio cultural impacts and do something to either minimise or eliminate the effects. All of the tourist attractions are going to be more successful if they get full support from the residents.

There are various tools tourism managers could use to help manage these socio cultural impacts. The first step is to assess the carrying capacity of the city. There are only so many beds in Queenstown that can accommodate visitors. In terms of an accommodation carrying capacity, the figure could be worked out by surveying how many beds there are at every form of accommodation in the region.

The second step would be to look at how many tourists are visiting the Queenstown district and see how essential it is to create more accommodation or attractions. One must remember that the authenticity of a destination can be ruined if it is overdeveloped. By visiting Queenstown right now it is possible to see how much of a mess the town is in due to tourism development.

In order to reduce the congestion on the roads there are two steps that could be taken. Firstly a heavy traffic by-pass could be created to stop people travelling through town centres unnecessarily. The second solution would be to create more passing lanes where possible to keep the traffic flowing smoothly.

And finally the last tool that could be used to help the host community is by actually involving them in tourism planning and development. If tourism managers respect and listen to the resident's opinions it may help reduce future negative impacts. After all without the locals there would be no 'kiwi' culture in the town and there would be no one to help operate the tourist attractions.

The most arguable aspect of tourism today is the impact it has on the environment, with most comments suggesting that it does more harm than good. Environmental impacts are concerned with the disruption and destruction of floral and faunal species, pollution, litter, erosion and any changes to the natural and built environments of a community due to tourism activity.

In Australia there are many natural environments that are under threat due to large numbers of tourists visiting them. The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland is a prime example of a natural environment being ruined by tourism. Coral reefs are delicate, vulnerable ecosystems that live and grow below sea level. The Great Barrier Reef has been under sustained attack from development, tourism and natural factors. It is slowly eroding due to human activity, such as boats and anchors hitting it and thousands of snorkellers and scuba divers breaking off huge chunks for jewelry and souvenirs (Anderton, 1995). Considering the vast amounts of tourists who visit the reef every year, there is possible risk that parts of the reef could be completely destroyed if the impacts are not managed properly.

And it is not just the destruction of the idyllic reef settings at risk but also the extensive range of wildlife living in the reef. Tourism is causing disruption to breeding habitats, changes in vegetation and extinction of species due to water pollution (Anderton, 1995). And if tourism in the reef continues to escalate and no restrictions are enforced, then there is a possibility that there will be no beautiful coral or fish to see in the near future. One can now understand how important environmental impacts are and why responsible tourism managers should be aware.

The approach a tourism manager should take to fixing or minimsing any negative impacts is a 'Sustainable Approach.' From a 1987 report 'Our Common Future,' sustainable development was defined as "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." There are four possible solutions to managing the latter environmental impacts.

The first solution is to place a limit on the amount of tourism operators in the Great Barrier Reef region. If there are too many tourism operators at the reef, it is creating overcrowding and pressure on the reef. Also having a limitation of visitors on each vessel would reduce the pressure. Operations like snorkeling and scuba diving should have to be registered and undergo specific training programmes that educate people on reef protection.

Legislation should be introduced reflecting the collection of coral souvenirs. It should become illegal to break off pieces of coral from the reef. Since visitor numbers are relatively high one can imagine there would be no coral left if every visitor took home a chunk.

The third solution would be to build or create specific reef viewing areas. It would be like land zoning and therefore some areas would be 'out of bounds.' This would help protect certain endangered areas and allow for future generation's use.

Finally education is an important and effective management tool. Education could be included in tourist activity pamphlets, distributed through travel agents and information centres, to illustrate how important it is to care for the reef.

Tourists then have a chance to understand the appropriate behaviour expected by the operators before arriving to the activity. The expected behaviour would then be repeated verbally upon arrival to the activity to signify the importance of protecting the reef. Glen Burns is an employee of a Great Barrier Reef scuba diving operation and he believes that educating tourists is very successful. On a recent television programme 'Assignment: The Tourism Trap' he said: "Once people become aware of the fact that these corals are living animals, living organisms and that by standing on them they will crush and kill them, then you'd be amazed. People really do want to look after (the Great Barrier Reef); they don't want to do any damage. They want to see it stay (pristine) and they will do their utmost to make sure it stays that way (Assignment, 2001)." The quote simply excentuates how effective education is for minimising environmental impacts.

The last example is about the economic impacts caused by tourism. Typically concerned with the monetary costs and benefits created by tourism development and operation, people generally associate high revenue to popular tourist attractions. And one can understand their opinions since tourism contributes greatly to New Zealand's Gross Domestic Product, Foreign Exchange earnings and it also supports a significant number of jobs (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 1997). But in the following example the issues of sustainability and weather reliance will illustrate just how tourism attractions can suffer economically.

In late 2000 Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (also the owner of Whakapapa skifield) bought Turoa Ski Resort due to Turoa's poor financial status. Turoa ended up in receivership early last year, resulting from poor snowfalls and the issue of seasonality. A ski resort is typically a winter-orientated operation and a season can be as short as three months. So with huge set-up and operational costs and the addition of hiring and training mainly seasonal staff, it can be seen that it is a pricey attraction to run. For any tourism operator receivership would undoubtedly be the worst economic impact of tourism.

The first problem Turoa Ski Resort faced was the issue of seasonality, which contributed to the negative economic impacts. The mountain would be packed in the winter season but as soon as the winter season ended the tourists would disappear. Even though the resort is open during summer for sightseeing, the visitor numbers are significantly low (Turoa Staff Handguide, 2000).

In order to even out the seasonal peaks and troughs it is necessary for the tourism managers to work out ways to attract more people in the off peak season. Offering reduced chairlift rates might attract more tourists and the resort could work in conjunction with local accommodation outlets to provide cheap packages. Advertising may need to be increased, as people may be unaware of the summer activities at the resort. Maybe the option of complete closure over the summer could be the most feasible solution.

The second problem that caused negative economic impacts on Turoa was the reliance on weather. Unfortunately for the last five years there has been a series of poor snowfalls. The lack of snow resulted in many closed days and with the addition of the 1995 volcanic eruption Turoa suffered financially - big time.

The first important prerequisite to buying a ski resort would be to have experience in how the resort operates or to have done substantial background research. Since the weather determines greatly how many visitors the resort receives, tourism managers should be aware of ways to cope with bad seasons.

A new idea bought in by Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (now known as Mt Ruapehu) this year is an 'Activity Pass.' International tourists purchase an Activity Pass that entitles them to a day skiing or if the weather is poor they can transfer it to money value at selected tourist attractions within the region (for example 4WD motorbiking). It is a great of retaining prospective customers until the weather clears.

Since the main economic problem in operating a ski resort is the possibility of financial hardship, the most effective management tool would be to have excellent accounting skills. If managers know where the money is being spent and areas where it could be saved they find themselves financially stable. This also included selecting the right employees and making sure they are being as productive as possible.

Having looked at three examples of socio-cultural, environmental and economic impacts of tourism, the message is clear - in order to continue to operate and develop tourist attractions tourism managers must have huge interest in all of the impacts, essentially the negative effects. If tourism managers do not make an effort to even consider these tourism impacts, it is possible that their individual businesses could in the future suffer. And these managers must also understand that not one impact is more important than the others are. In order for a tourism manager to be considered a 'responsible' manager these tourism impacts must be dealt with, otherwise there could be some serious outcomes, potentially jeopardising their businesses.

Fisherman
Elizabeth Bishop's poem "The Fish" is a work in which a fisherman takes a detailed observation of a fish. With a closer look at the poem, it becomes apparent that the fisherman develops a connection with the fish on three different levels. The fisherman connects with the fish physically, in age, and mentally.

The fisherman and the fish are connected by the physical similarities between the two. The fisherman talks about the fish’s “coarse white flesh,” like the flesh of the fisherman (27). The author talks about the small and large bones in the fish, which is similar to a human’s small and large bones in his or her body. The author then goes on to compare her eyes with the eyes of the fish. The author says, “I looked into his eyes / which were far larger than mine / but shallower, and yellowed,” showing the similarities and differences between the two (34-36). The author then begins to talk about the similarities between the two mouths. The author uses the word lip giving the fish human-like characteristics, putting the fish on the same level as the author. The fish and the fisherman are connected on more levels than just the physical.

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Throughout the poem, the author notes the fish’s experience. Bishop starts by noticing the fish’s outside appearance. She writes, “… Here and there / his brown skin hung in strips / like ancient wallpaper,” showing how the fish’s skin has changed with its age (9-11). Bishop then says that “He was speckled with barnacles,” which indicates that the fish has been in the water a very long time (16). The author goes on to talk about the appearance of the fish’s eyes by saying,

“The irises backed and packed with tarnished tinfoil seen through the lenses of old scratched isinglass.” (37-40)

This quotation further emphasizes the fish’s age. Bishop moves her focus to the fish’s mouth, where she notices “… five old pieces of fish-line,” (51). She describes the hooks as, “a five-haired beard of wisdom” (63). This goes on to show the fish’s age and experience. The reason that the fisherman focuses so much on the age of the fish is because it causes the fisherman to meditate on her own life and experience, which allows her to connect with the fish on that level.

Lastly, the fisherman tries to connect with the fish on a mental level. The fisherman begins her quest to connect with the fish on a mental level when she looks into its eyes. Eyes are seen as a passageway into one’s mind. The fish does not seem to have the same interest in the fisherman.

This is shown when the author writes, “They [the fish’s eyes] shifted a little, but not / to return my stare.” (41-42). The fisherman is unable to connect with the fish until oil from her boat creates a rainbow in the water. A rainbow is a symbol of good after the bad. The fisherman lets the fish go, which gives the fish another chance at life. The fisherman does this because she hopes that one day her act of goodwill will come back to her in her favor when she is in a tough spot. This rainbow in the water allows the fisherman to finally connect with the fish on a mental level.

By the end of the poem, the fisherman connects with her catch on three different levels. First, she connects with the fish physically. Then, she connects with the fish in age and experience. Lastly, with the notice of the rainbow, the fisherman connects with the fish in thought. This allows the fisherman to further understand her catch and come to the decision to let it go.

Essay on Relationships
Many controversial issues storm the world today. Everyone has opinions about how they view these issues. Some of the most popular issues are; legalizing marijuana, abortion, interracial relationships, gun control, and homelessness. The issue of discussion here is that of interracial relationships. This was chosen because everyone in the world is affected by or is around them. This issue is also something that can be discussed by everyone. Some people do not mind dating outside of their race and some people are highly against dating those of a different race. There are logical arguments that favor and disfavor both opinions. This is why it is so controversial. The topic of interracial relationships can be reasonably discussed by giving background descriptions of it, analyzing formal literary elements, and by a persuasive discussion.

The world has many different races. The most common are white Caucasians, black African Americans, Mexican/Spanish, Asians, Native American Indians, and islanders. The world in the far past was extremely segregated in that each race/ethnic group lived in with each other and had very little relations to other groups. Now that the world is rapidly growing it is becoming more difficult to keep the different races separated. For instance, in the United States, each of the races described above reside here freely. The Caucasian race has always been the more overpowering of the races. Whites held African Americans slaves years ago as well as forced the Indians of America to give up their land. These activities are heavily present in the minds of these effected racial groups, and this causes great friction between the races when people believe it is harmless to associate sexually in a biracial way.

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The issue of interracial dating is controversial because it joins two races and in many eyes brings back past memories of how minority races were unequally treated. Also, Whites, more often than not, disapprove of interracial relationships because of the resulting appearance of the children. For example “Parents fear how their children will be treated as a result of the relationship.”(Burnette, 2) This is saying that the parents of the interracial couple are worried about their children having children together because of how the child would be treated. When a White woman or man has a child with an African American woman or man, the child appears more Black than White. To clarify where this is going, “Families also argue that interracial couples re selfish for getting married because their children will have identity problems.”(Burnette, 2). This is said because of the fact that the children born do not resemble their mother or father. Also, the child does not look white at all and this is a common argument for why white people oppose interracial relationships. Many say that the white race diminishes because of this. Furthermore, many argue that the only reason a person of color marries a white person is to move up in social status. “Black men will trade certain personal assets, for example, money and physical attractiveness, for the status of a union with a white woman in compensation for her higher racial caste.”(Yancey, 2) This is an example of how a Black man may be perceived in his motives.

On the other side, millions of people believe that dating outside of their race is okay. Usually people of color do not mind dating others of a different ethnic background as opposed to Whites, who are more against the idea. However, there is still a large number of whites that do not mind. Presently, many people that are in an interracial relationship are actually in it for the love. For instance, “The fact is that individuals in interracial couples are attracted to each other for the same reasons that individuals in same race couples are, they consistently state that they get married because they like and love each other.”(Burnette, 2) this is evidence that there are biracial couples in the relationship for more than just to gain something out of it, they are in the relationship for love. Many of the people that approve of interracial mixing are the younger people of the world, the teenagers because they are surrounded by it early on whereas the older people of society were not exposed to different races being in a relationship because it was not as accepted as it is now. This idea is strongly supported by the statement “I think people are getting used to growing up with different races, and you feel a lot more comfortable now, says Vertice Duke.” (Peterson, 2) Furthermore, the fact remains that the human race is continuing to change and this includes all nationalities. Therefore, interaction rates among nationalities increases. So, many people understand that the frequency of races mixing is going to increase and it is accepted with these people. For these reasons, the issue of interracial relationships is very controversial because each side has strong reasons for either accepting or opposing it.

The second way of discussing the issue of interracial relationships is by analyzing several different articles on the issue and the specific rhetorical elements that they contain. To start off, the most common rhetorical element that is used amongst all four articles is appeal to emotion.

The issue of interracial relationships can be a very touchy subject sometimes and when speaking to someone whose opinion is different from yours, it is very beneficial to appeal to his/her emotions. Every human has emotions and this characteristic can be helpful and can sometimes be harmful in certain circumstances. In this case it is harmful because people are vulnerable to persuasion if the fact given to them appeals to their emotions. Therefore it is not surprising that all four authors used this appeal to emotion device. For example, the author of the article Interracial Sex uses appeal to emotion to get the reader to sympathize with white women and their reasons for dating a man of color by saying “Such a woman naturally falls from the good graces of other White folk, but the pedestal is a small price to pay for her hard-won sexual fulfillment.”(Monroy, 1) Similarly, Karen Peterson, the author of USA Today’s article Interracial Dating uses appeal to emotion to touch younger people by saying “Pocahontas is an interracial dating story in a cartoon for children.”(Peterson, 4) Children can be persuaded more easily and playing on their emotional side has a very successful effect.

An article in the magazine Ebony by Lynn Norment titled Wesley Snipes On His Hot Career, Black Women, Interracial Relationships And His Multimillion-Dollar Hideaway really acts on the emotions of any admirers because when someone admires someone, he/she tries hard to be like that someone. The author uses Snipes’ experiences to strengthen her argument on interracial dating and this appeals to the emotions of his admirers. To clarify, Norment writes “Continuing with his openness, Snipes says he’s had his heart broken more than once, and at times by Black women.”(Norment, 6) She says this because when she was speaking to Snipes, he declared that when he dated someone of his own race he had his heart broken, and those that cherish Wesley Snipes do not want that at all. Lastly, the rhetorical element of appeal to emotion was exhibited also an article on the web entitled The Strengths of Mixed-Race Relationships. This author chose to strengthen the opposing party of interracial relationships. The author Erin Burnette wants the reader to sympathize with the parents of the interracial couple by saying “Parents fear how their children’s children will be treated as a result of the relationship.”(Burnette, 2) Grandparents have the image of being very wise and as the author portrays this, people really listen.

The second rhetorical element commonly displayed is that of a statistical element. Using statistics to move an audience in a certain direction is very successful in the results. People will believe cold, hard, proven facts over just about anything else. Also, just the idea that some individual or group of people took the time to research a certain topic gives the audience confidence in the results laid before them. For example, USA Today has an article that gives statistical evidence on how interracial relationships are becoming more accepted. The article Interracial Dating by Karen Peterson emphasizes this by the statement “They also credit increasing acceptance and frequency of interracial marriage: There were nearly 1.3 million married interracial couples in 1994, the Census Bureau reported, four times the number in 1970.”(Peterson, 2) This statistical element represented in this article gives the readers a stronger more believable perspective on how Peterson is trying to reveal interracial relationships. In the article The Strengths of Mixed-Raced Relationship by Erin Burnette, statistical devices are also used. “Within 50 years, half of the U.S population will be people of color, said Christine Iijima Hall, PhD.”(Burnette, 1), this statement not only was said by a woman with an advanced education, but it reveals facts about how the population will increase. Ms. Hall, a psychologist is known for her research in this field and just about everything she is known to say comes from her findings which are, in every aspect, factual statistics. It is much easier to believe something that has been proven and demonstrated than believing just opinion-like words from someone.

The last rhetorical element used in the discussion of interracial relationships is that of scientific tone. Of the four articles examined, only one shows evidence of this element. To some that might demonstrate that adding a twist of science into an argument is not as persuasive considering many people today do not believe in scientific methods or practices. However, Burnette, the author of The Strengths of Mixed-Race Relationships believes it helps capture the audience. Burnette probably uses a scientific method because some would understand why interracial relationships last if they saw that certain actions have reactions. For instance, she says “Despite the inherent difficulties of mixing two cultures into one romantic union, some mixed-race couples actually have stronger relationships as a result of the unique experiences they endure.” (Burnette, 1) The key phrase in this is “as a result” because it is much like a scientific experiment in its own sense. All in all, using a touch of science might persuade some people because they would better understand the reasons of interracial success if they knew what caused it to be a success.

Before I actually researched this topic, I had my opinion formulated beforehand. I have nothing other than complete support for two people of different racial backgrounds dating one another. There are so many negative vibrations all over the world because of violence and hatred that it hurts very much when someone puts another down for loving someone. It should be enough that someone gives a certain other great happiness in life and that happiness is what the world needs more of. Additionally, people might think that biracial couples are a mismatch; well, what can people say about a white man and a white woman marrying and then divorcing a month later? Is this not a mismatch as well? Marriage is a very honorable thing to do and is disrespected by the act of divorce more often with same race couples than mixed race couples.

The human race is all one species and therefore humans are all related somehow just as all birds are related in some way. Some may argue that the children of a biracial couple have to go through many dilemmas and must cope with negative societal acceptance. These incidents occur in small numbers in today’s world and people dwell on these few scenarios, well what about the big picture? Members of the Caucasian race are more opposed to interracial relationships because the children that result are supposedly not “white” in their appearance. Well, anyone who agrees with this is and still advocates that image is not everything is a hypocrite. The reason I say this is because I have noticed that society is pushing hard against the “image is everything” notion and is trying to persuade society into judging a person by who he/she is inside. Interracial relationships are usually formed for the same reasons as same race relationships are, because each person in the relationship adores the other. Yet, this biracial couple is still despised by many because the one of them is a little darker or a little different than the “common” image of the other.

I have grown up with this issue eating me up because my parents are a biracial couple. My mother is Caucasian (German) and my father is African American-Caucasian mixed, so I am 25% African American. I know I am going to become a benefit to society and if interracial relationships were banned, the world would never be able to benefit from what I can offer. The future is curious to many and if we were allowed to see, say, ten years ahead and we saw that a biracial child found the cure for AIDS, would people then accept interracial mixing? The point is that there is a reason for the interaction of different races, if it is for the greater good, then interracial relationships should not be argued about.

To sum up, interracial relationships is a very controversial issue that is discussed here by first describing the issue, then analyzing it rhetorically, and later revealing an opinion in a persuasive manner. Everyone has an opinion about biracial couples and there are valid and logical arguments for both sides. There are some situations that occur when two people are trying to persuade one another to believe their side. Situations like this should be handled in formative and logical ways not by arguing. Society is full of debatable issues that need resolving and we tend to do this violently. The world will always have controversy but how it is handled is what matters in the long run.