Final Thoughts

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), there will be 1.6 billion tourists worldwide by 2020. Tourism on such a mass scale does not necessarily spell out economic prosperity for the destinations affected by it. In fact, overtourism can lead to cultural deterioration and environmental degradation. In many developing areas, mass tourism is largely shaped and operated by foreign companies. This foreign ownership of tourism organizations has led to the leakage of tourism

One of the most prevalent myths about tourism is that where there is tourism, there is economic progress. Tourism, like any other global industry, affects each destination differently. There are the winners, such as Cyprus, an island destination that has reaped the economic benefits of tourism to the tune of $2.4 billion euros annually (Lemesios et al., 2016). Tourism has invigorated the Cypriot economy and provided an invaluable source of income to locals. Very few