Vancouver is a city located on the coast of British Columbia in Canada (McGillivray, 2010). It is an ethnically diverse city with inhabitants, most of whom English is not their first language. It is placed on a settlement that was originally known as Gastown and has since gone metropolitan and grown to be one of the busiest cities in Canada today. The forestry and tourism industries are the main supporters and avenues of growth for the economy and infrastructure of Vancouver as it was originally started as a sawmill and logging center (Little, 2011). However, other industries have also come up. The film industry, for instance, has grown to be so large and lucrative that it might as well be one of the most developed in the world.
The economy of Vancouver has, for a long time, had forestry as the chief industry with logging as the main revenue earner for the city. With the opening of the transcontinental railway in 1887, the city became a trade route and a busy port, one of the busiest in North America to date. This has helped in the rapid growth of the city as it became a trading centre, and subsequently an entry point for tourists and traders. As a result, tourism has largely influenced the expansion, growth and expansion of Vancouver.
Vancouver has been a recreation site for over a century. Little(2011) describes it as a playground and expounds on that fact by citing the activities that took place since as early as the mid 30s, for example, picnics and dance cruises from the Union Pier to Snug Cove. These activities were organized by corporations and rich families and were highly prevalent, despite the fact that historians and researchers often ignore them when compiling their works on tourism and its development (Little, 2011).
Vancouver is a prime tourism destination in the world, a factor that has significantly boosted the growth of its economy (Olson, 2011). A number of factors favour its tourism sector. Vancouver is strategically located on the western Canadian coast, which gives it the advantage of easy accessibility by land, air and water (Bcstats, 2012). Over the winter period, the temperatures at Vancouver are relatively higher than those in other Canadian regions, prompting local folks to visit the island (Little, 2011). While on the island, there are a myriad of activities that the tourists can involve themselves in. Whale watching is common practice on the western coast (McGillivray, 2010). The visitors can also visit the Butchart Gardens.
While tourism is often described as being a factor that spurs economic growth in a region, the study on changes in economic structure of such areas has hardly been exhausted. The most visible changes are those indicating the transformation of a subsistence society to a tourism dependent economy. The causation of emergence of external economies as a result of tourism has hardly been proven. The fact that with tourism comes development can, however, not be disputed (Bcstats, 2012). As an area becomes a major tourism destination, infrastructure such as transport systems, sanitation and water availability improve.
It is irrefutable that better infrastructure such as roads, rail and air opens up regions that were otherwise inaccessible (Olson, 2011). This presents opportunities for potential investors to explore the region and exploit its market capabilities. Better infrastructure also enables the local producer to access a larger market as their products get an avenue to outside markets (Olson, 2011). As commodities from outside the region find their way into local markets, it leads to the expansion of the local consumers’ choice. This is an advantage to the consumer as prices for essential commodities may also go down.
However, the effects of tourism could also injure the locals economically. The worth of local land increases with improvement in its accessibility and economic viability. Developers flock the land in a bid to construct on it and reap from the real estate potential that it holds. This leads to an exponential increase in the prices of land, which in turn makes homes and residential areas so expensive that the locals can barely afford them as happened in Vancouver. This is a benefit to property owners but a drawback to young locals who desire to own property in the future (Bcstats, 2012). Another effect is the deterioration of primary production of essential products such as food. Farmers and labourers abandon their former jobs for the emerging ones that seem more rewarding. This leads to movement of able workforce to urban or semi urban areas leaving no one to work on the agricultural land they have left behind. With less food production, the self-sufficiency of the region in terms of food production is in jeopardy (McGillivray, 2010). The region is a t risk of dependence on outside economies for food, which the region could otherwise produce locally.
The increased demand for land that results from tourism activities raises the prices of land. This causes increase in land sales. Due to change in land uses, the land is fragmented and sold in small portions at high prices, which encourages inflation (Bcstats, 2012). These instances seek to show that although tourism is generally viewed as being beneficial to society, it could result to various negative effects. The development and higher standard of living that accrues to local residents as a consequence of tourism may come with various side effects as well, some of which include crime, interference of local culture and prostitution.
Research and studies on tourism and its effects is not conclusive. Most studies are localized, just as this one is focusing on Vancouver. This makes it difficult for researchers to generalise on the overall role of tourism in economic development. Furthermore, most areas developed devoid of sound policy that can be said to have steered the development. As such, development is largely random. However, some areas used tourism as a means to develop themselves (Bcstats, 2012). These two scenarios are dissimilar and hence hardly comparable, therefore, coming up with a list of tourism roles from comparison of the two would be inappropriate.
Looking at regions that instituted various policies to spur economic growth and development from tourism, some effects of tourism include redistribution of national income (Bcstats, 2012). This is because the rural areas that were otherwise less productive act as a major destination as tourists are attracted to cultural heritage. The income that comes from the tourist activity benefits the area (Olson, 2011). Increase in local production due to increased demand leads to increase in job opportunities and subsequently increase in employment levels. Theoretically, increase in the per capita income of the locals will help bridge the income disparity between the developed regions and those that are less developed. Tourism also allows regions that would otherwise have not been economically productive to be put unto profitable use.
References
Little, J. I. (2011). VANCOUVER’S PLAYGROUND: Leisure and Sociability on Bowen Island, 1902-57. BC Studies, (171), 37-68.
Olson, D. S. (2011). Frommer’s Vancouver & Victoria 2011. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Bcstats. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca
McGillivray, B. (2010). Geography of British Columbia: People and Landscapes in Transition. University of British Columbia Press.
