Benidorm Online answer PDF

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(b) Ass esst hei mpact soft our i s m ont heenv i r onment ,s oci et yand economyofone t our i star eaorr es or tyouhav es t udi ed.[ 20] Benidorm was the model for many Spanish holiday resorts, so it is makes a good case study for assessing the impacts of mass tourism. A far-sighted decision was taken in the 1950s by the town council to turn a small, attractive village bordered by fine sandy beaches into a holiday resort. The magnitude of the impact of tourism can be assessed in both positive and negative changes. The first impact can be seen in environmental terms, the most noticeable being rapid urbanisation. However, the 1963 revision of the 1950s General Urban Development Plan (GUDP) proposed a high-rise model for a hotel building programme to welcome large numbers of tourists. Due to the deliberate policy of high-rise building which was an essential ingredient in the GUDP, the loss of agricultural land bordering the coastline around the previous small village was minimised. High-rise buildings are also efficient, with lower water loss (street water piping is the main reason for wastage), and the need to conserve water in one of the driest regions of Europe is paramount. The increase in tourists has also caused severe pollution from rubbish dropped on to the beach and from untreated sewage. The shallow sea and high-water temperatures have encouraged the growth of bacteria and pollution lingered for a long time as currents in the sea are weak. Many tourists became ill and marine wildlife was damaged. This is not to say there were no problems with water: in fact there was a very serious water shortage after the vast increase in water consumption drained the aquifers in the area and led to influx of salt water from the sea, contaminating the wells. This can be considered as a major negative environmental impact. Each tourist uses 880 litres of water a day. The peak tourism figure in 1977 - when Benidorm entertained 12 million visitors – coincided with a water crisis so serious that fresh water had to be brought in by tanker ships. While this crisis led to a remarkably successful regional water plan – using piped water from Guadalest reservoir and other transferable conduit supplies – another problem was created: increased water use meant the old sewage disposal system was inadequate. Sewage was pumped directly into the sea at Sierra Helada – on the north east updrift side of Benidorm, so it began to contaminate the beaches. A new sewage plant had to be built to process the waste. This in turn successfully generated an environmentally positive benefit, as grey water was recycled for agricultural use in exchange for agreements from remaining agricultural interests to use fresh water to supply urban needs. The positive environmental impacts of tourism can be seen in a number of other ways, such as the increased leisure facilities, parks and sports facilities such as golf courses, together with a re-kindling of interest in countryside and mountain preservation, conservation of landforms, wild flowers and animals. This has been possible due to the economic input from tourism. It was also due to the fact authorities within Benidorm decided to take action seeing as Benidorm has recently reached the stage where tourism was beginning to stagnate and even decline, so they decided to invest huge amounts of money to improve to environment. For example, beach replenishment. Sand has been imported to improve the quality of the beach. Showers and footpaths have also been installed on the beach to prevent the removal of sand. Moreover, there has also been a new Park which has been built in the centre, costing £20 million. And lastly a new

sewage system has been installed so raw sewage doesn’t get pumped into the sea causing further pollution to the environment. Secondly, in terms of Benidorm society the impact of tourism can be seen at its most positive in employment opportunities. The majority of local people are either directly employed in tourism or benefit in some way from associated sources of employment: e.g. retail, food supply, building, and transport. The gradual social changes brought about by increased foreign residents led to a rich international mix, with many cultural events reflecting a wider European influence and a cosmopolitan feel to the social life of the town. Some negative social consequences can also be observed, with the increase in crime, vandalism, alcohol related behaviours, all associated with mass tourism. In fact during the 1980s and 1990s the formerly peaceful area of the old fishing village where there were many bars, was taken over by drunken gangs of young British and German tourists fighting and causing vandalism The loss of traditional local Valenciano culture and society are also negative impacts on social structures, and changing family patterns begin to reflect a more homogenised western European norm of nuclear families, single parent families, and even minority lifestyles, instead of the traditional extended family associated with past social life. The third major impact of tourism is in the economy of Benidorm, with a revenue of 17 million Euros every day of the year. In fact, today Benidorm contributes 12% of Spains gross national product. This constant massive injection of foreign currency into the resort has made a positive contribution in a number of ways. The rapid growth of the tertiary sector in the consolidation period of growth in the 1960s meant that the local authority income was greatly increased. Consequently, this benefited the town by providing funds for such services as education, health and social welfare spending, as well as improvements to the general infrastructure. The loss of local economic activities such as farming and fishing are sometimes cited as a negative consequence, however it can be shown that the original fishing method – the almadraba tuna industry – was already in decline before the arrival of mass tourism, and agriculture in the immediate area of Benidorm was on a much smaller and unproductive scale than further north in Callosa or Valencia, and further south in Murcia, so there was no match for these greater local agricultural economies. Added to that, agriculture is also in natural decline because of climate change, as witnessed by recent drought conditions. In conclusion, it can be confidently claimed that the impacts of tourism on Benidorm have been overwhelmingly beneficial on all three counts. Although some minor negative consequences have been identified, some of these – like the environmental problems – have been overcome. Social changes may be regarded as for better or worse, depending on a person’s outlook, but in general we can assume that social change will happen anyway, tourism or no tourism. Finally, in economic terms, we have seen that Benidorm has become one of the most successful parts of the Spanish economy. None of the negative impacts can take away from the positive impacts I have identified above....