Cultural tourism, in which people travel in order to visit museums, monuments and archaeological sites among other things, is a growing industry. Having so many visitors may sometimes benefit a nation's cultural heritage, but it can also cause problems. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement? v.1

Nowadays, cultural tourism is welcomed and encouraged in most countries, where it is seen both as an opportunity to display national treasures and achievements to visitors, and also as a source of income and jobs. However, in spite of these benefits, it can also pose severe problems for the specific sites which are visited. There are various advantages of cultural tourism for the sites themselves. IN particular, they may benefit from greatly increased income, part of which may be spent, for example, on improving museums and galleries and on more frequent and more ambitious exhibitions. Even though these may be designed primarily to attract tourists, they are also available for local people to enjoy. A further advantage is that local authorities recognise the value of their sites, which they then invest money in. As a result, monuments and historic buildings are restored and protected. Finally, visitors learn first hand about the country, whose culture and the customs are consequently understood and appreciated better by both tourists and local people. On the other hand, cultural tourism has a number of drawbacks. The main one is that, in spite of protective measures being taken, the sheer number of visitors can cause serious damage to monuments such as ancient temples or cave paintings. This may mean that an important part of a country's national heritage is lost. Furthermore, in a region which the monuments are expected to generate income for the local economy, the site may be spoilt by being surrounded by ugly hotels and other tourist facilities. Finally, if too many tourists visit a site, it may lose its cultural significance within the local community. This is particularly the case for monuments which religious or social importance makes them a central part of community life. On the whole, while cultural tourism is generally beneficial, the problems which it causes can only be avoided with proper planning and sufficient investment in the protection and preservation of the sites which tourists visit. In addition, although cultural tourism in general should not be discouraged, the number of tourists visiting certain sites should be restricted and tourists should be educated to respect them.