Good Essay On Why Tourism Should Be Part Of High School Economics Curriculum

As a high school economics teacher, it would be extremely important to include tourism in the curriculum. To convince the principle to allow it become part of the course, I would use three arguments. First, tourism is the worlds single biggest industry. Second, it is also a growing field because of globalism and multiculturalism. Third, I would concentrate on eco-tourism, a growing field that focuses on preserving the environment and sustainability. Overall, I would stress that tourism is too important of an economic topic to ignore. The economic, social, cultural, and environmental elements of tourism are important in todays society. Even if a student does not pursue tourism as a career, the information is valuable in other fields, such as marketing.
Tourism is big business and generates 30% of the worlds trade in the service industry. It is a multi-faceted industry that includes hotels, resorts, aviation and entertainment. Students can learn about all aspects of hospitality management, which is another related field of study. Tourism is a growing field and there are many high paying careers in the fields. Students need to learn about their job options before they get to college.
Globalism and multiculturalism means more people are traveling to see relatives, learn about new cultures or pursue other interests. For example, as more people become interested in a sport like soccer, they travel to places Brazil, which hosted the World Cup. Today, more people travel than ever before and the foreign cultural exchange is good for people and countries to better understand each.
Eco-Tourism is a way for people to investigate the rest of the world, particularly endangered areas like the Amazon rain forest. In a world that has recognized the need to ecological protections, the more people see beautiful places on Earth, the more they will want to protect them. Students need to understand that there are careers in tourism that may align with their environmental concerns.
Tourism is multidimensional, and has only recently “attracted the attention of scholars of many fields” (Goeldner and Grent 7). It is a growing field and students need exposure to the business side of touris. Tourism created 4.2% of the global GDP in 2001 (Goeldner and Grent 25). Tourism is not a unskilled job, but can be a meaningful and rewarding career. More importantly, tourism is an essential part of the global economy. Therefore, as an economics course, it is impossible to exclude tourism.

Work Cited

Goeldner, Charles R., and J. R. Brent. Ritchie. Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012. Print.