It is only when I
started to travel and live beyond my home that I understood how viable Tourism
is for local community development. Many people refer to Tourism as a frivolous
asset of little economic value. But residents should educate themselves about the
potential positive impact of tourism and the opportunities it can create to
bring people together.
I have had the chance to
experience two roles during my trips or whenever I stay in my home town: the
tourist and the resident. In fact, every resident and every visitor are
essentially complimentary partners in tourism planning and its impact on
community development.
Five months ago, I decided to cross the borders of my country and of my
mind by travelling to Alaska. The trip was undoubtedly unique, as was the fact
of being in a place that was, to some extent, infamous. Anchorage, the biggest
city in Alaska, is a place that has benefitted from Tourism for years. Even
during cold seasons, Anchorage still attracts tourists with a passion for
winter sports, lofty mountain peaks, marine wildlife, ice-sculptured fjords and
glacier cruises to see the massive tidewater glaciers of Alaska. Tourism
supports about 40,000 jobs for Alaskans on an annual average basis. Many of
these jobs are in restaurants, bars, hotels, lodges, sightseeing businesses and
other establishments that provide services to tourists.
What I have learned while I was in Alaska is that every resident, not
just tourism employees, has the capacity to affect a visitor’s perception of
the place. Every resident in Alaska is a partner in customer service which is
significant in tourism, because it thrives on word-of-mouth reports to friends
and family, and now through social media, too. This means that the whole
community takes part into the tourism development process, which will
contribute to the community’s development afterwards and therefore make tourism
a sustainable business.
In my home town, visitors have the opportunity to enjoy something else.
Having been the centre of the Carthaginian Empire and a Phoenician colony
during the 1st millennium BC, Carthage has been an excellent historic site in
the north of Tunisia, which is over 2800 years old. This city of 20,000
inhabitants attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world
each year.
Carthage has grown rapidly during the last decade. We have been
encouraging support for tourism by residents, as well as government and local
businesses. Many hotels, resorts, museums, and the prestigious International
Festival of Carthage have all been contributing to the development and the
reputation of the city and the country as a whole.
I believe that residents and tourists are able to help communities
discover their tourism potential and work on it. For many communities on earth,
tourism has grown into a global economic power and savior in the developing
world. However, tourism is also about endless possibilities of life in new
places with different people. Because I believe that, to live means to travel
in high-definition; any other life is black-and-white.
Ala Oueslati
Somewhere in Anchorage
Anchorage Trails
