Some people believe that tourism creates more tension between countries rather than helping individuals better understand other cultures. To what extent do you agree with this opinion?

The majority of people believe that instead of easing tensions between countries, tourism creates strain in relationships between individuals of different countries. However, in my opinion, despite such a perception, tourist interactions usually tend to be positiveOne of the major reasons for the occurrence of conflict and tensions between tourists and locals is due to lack of understanding of cultures. In the Middle East and Southeast Asia, people are conservative and they have a strict code of conduct and dressing. When people from liberal countries visit these countries, there is a huge possibility for problems to arise. While locals expect foreigners to follow local customs, visitors may not comply. This is one reason why there are instances of locals attacking tourists for disrespecting their culture. Generally, the majority of interactions between a tourist and the local people are friendly and cordial. An average person, who is on a trip to another country encounters friendly custom officials, taxi drivers who chat amiably till they reach the destination, and other similar countless interactions. The tourist’s curiosity is matched by the local community’s enthusiasm to make a good impression of themselves and their own country. Negative interactions between a local and tourist are rare. The cordial communication between tourists and locals emphasize mutual understanding between diverse cultures. In conclusion, friendly interactions of locals and tourists outweigh exaggerated glitches in tourism and culture. Therefore, people need to keep this perspective while traveling to any other country to overcome prejudices and misunderstandings.