With the advancement in transportation technology, the tourism industry is now a prominent source of revenue for most countries. With millions of people crossing the borders to visit other parts of the world, the social norms that the visitors should conform to in the country of destination is subject for debate. While some people believe that visitors should observe the local customs, I believe the host country should be tolerant of the cultural differences.
On the other hand, some believe that visitors should feel responsible to adapt themselves to the rules and the customs of the country that they are visiting. From their point of view, since many norms and customs have a religious root, overlooking them might lead to conflict. For example, visitors to Islamic countries should be fully aware of the fact that they should refrain from eating and drinking in public areas in Ramadan. Tourists and expatriates who are oblivious to the mentioned rule might offend the local people or even end up in prison.
On the other hand, there are those who subscribe to the view that tourists should not be compelled to follow the customs of the destination country. They argue the host country should be willing to embrace cultural differences wholeheartedly. From a cultural perspective, learning the customs and rules of the destination country may be time consuming and require too much effort. Therefore, many tourists may find it a tedious and futile task.
In my personal experience, once local are exposed to the cultural differences as exhibited by the visitors, differences in behavior for instance, they gain valuable knowledge of cultures around the world. In this way, locals can also gain insight into the lifestyle and cuisine of the visitors, which can help them cater for their needs more suitably.
In conclusion, there are advantages to conforming to the local customs when visiting a foreign country. However, I believe, the host country should welcome the differences and create an atmosphere of comfort for the tourists and lift the burden from the visitors' shoulders.
With the advancement in transportation technology, the tourism industry is
now
a prominent source of revenue for most
countries
. With millions of
people
crossing the borders to visit other parts of the world, the social norms that the
visitors
should conform to in the
country
of destination is subject for debate. While
some
people
believe
that
visitors
should observe the
local
customs, I
believe
the host
country
should be tolerant of the
cultural
differences.
On the other hand
,
some
believe
that
visitors
should feel responsible to adapt themselves to the
rules
and the customs of the
country
that they are visiting. From their point of view, since
many
norms and customs have a religious root, overlooking them might lead to conflict.
For example
,
visitors
to Islamic
countries
should be
fully
aware of the fact that they should refrain from eating and drinking in public areas in Ramadan.
Tourists
and expatriates who are oblivious to the mentioned
rule
might offend the
local
people
or even
end
up in prison.
On the other hand
, there are those who subscribe to the view that
tourists
should not
be compelled
to follow the customs of the destination
country
. They argue the host
country
should be willing to embrace
cultural
differences
wholeheartedly
. From a
cultural
perspective, learning the customs and
rules
of the destination
country
may be
time consuming
and require too much effort.
Therefore
,
many
tourists
may find it a tedious and futile task.
In my personal experience, once
local
are exposed
to the
cultural
differences
as exhibited by the
visitors
,
differences
in behavior
for instance
, they gain valuable knowledge of cultures around the world. In this way,
locals
can
also
gain insight into the lifestyle and cuisine of the
visitors
, which can
help
them cater for their needs more
suitably
.
In
conclusion, there are advantages to conforming to the
local
customs when visiting a foreign
country
.
However
, I
believe
, the host
country
should welcome the
differences
and create an atmosphere of comfort for the
tourists
and lift the burden from the
visitors&
#039; shoulders.