International travel has many advantages to both travellers and the country that they visited. Do advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

There is little doubt that the growth of the international travel industry has exerted many positive influences on tourists as well as the host nations which receive them. Although this development still has some negative consequences, I contend that these are outweighed by the advantages.

On the one hand, the downsides of welcoming visitors from abroad are varied. In terms of tourists themselves, travel expenses in famous tourist destinations are usually grossly inflated. They may be overcharged for everything such as meals, accommodation or even souvenirs. In addition, there are many complicated and tedious prerequisite procedures, such as visa application or plane ticket reservation. Regarding the nations that play host to international travellers, the problems of waste disposal, pollution and unregulated construction of hotels and tourist attractions often lead to the environmental degradation. Many beach resorts in Viet Nam, for example, Phu Quoc Island, have become concrete jungles of high-rise hotels and apartments to accommodate mass tourism from other countries.

On the other hand, despite such grave issues, I suppose that the merits of the growing international tourism industry would eclipse these analyzed disadvantages. Firstly, tourist operators are likely to offer numbers of holiday packages which are good value for money due to the ever-greater competition, and therefore, holiday-makers can enjoy their experience of sampling different ways of life in foreign countries and exotic cultures to the full. A typical example of this is when tourists from other countries pay a visit to Viet Nam , they would have the chance to use chopsticks and enjoy traditional meals. Secondly, the influx of foreign tourists coming to visit another country would evidently enhance tourism industries through the provision of job opportunities and services for hotels and construction industries,contributing greatly to the wealth of the host nations. Employees in these sectors generally benefit from higher salaries and the improvement in living standards.

In conclusion, it seems to me that the merits of international tourism for both travellers and host nations are more significant than the drawbacks, serious though these are.