To attract tourism to one’s country was once thought of as an unqualified success; there seemed to be no negative aspects to it. However, today we are coming to realize that tourism is a mixed blessing: it has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it can bring money to parts of the world that very much need it. People can earn a great deal through tourism. And this income can help to preserve the environment. Anything that helps to protect the ecosystem, the interrelated community of plants and animals that makes up the earth, is, of course, positive.
　　A recent worry, however, is the fact that tourism can cause serious damage to the fragile environments they love to visit. Ecosystems are delicate and easily damaged. Around the world, areas are endangered by the large numbers of tourism who visit them. On every continent, tourism threatens the environment. Even trekkers who take difficult journeys on foot can cause damage.

　　There are, then, serious dangers that come with the promise of tourism. Every advantages bring with it real disadvantages. This dilemma makes planning difficult for nations trying to decide what to do. Countries can make a good deal more money from the tourist industry than they need to put into attracting tourists. This financial profit can help nations protect habitats where endangered animals and plants live. It also may be that tourism can help strengthen local culture by encouraging awareness of traditions and ceremonies. Historic buildings thrive on tourism. These cultural locations enjoy great success with the money and respect brought by tourism.
　　But there is a down side to all this. Because cultural sites are becoming too crowded, Disneyland-like reproductions are being created. These are not authentic cultural sites but copies of something that may or may not have ever really existed. Some people say, “what’s the value of tradition if it’s kept alive for profit, and bears little relation to real life?”
　　Taken together, the negative effects of tourism grow larger over time. The cumulative effects of tourism are great because every time we use cars or planes to travel we contribute to one of the greatest disruptions in the history of the planet: global warming and climate change are interrupting what has been the normal climate pattern for centuries.
　　New approaches to the problem are also being developed. One initiative has been the development of tourist opportunities in which the tourists both give and receive through working vacations. This kind of personal, small-scale tourism is meant to be a positive response with its large-scale organizing. Working tourism may not be for everyone, but the hope is that some kinds of travel can become more planet friendly.
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　　吸引游客到某个国家旅游曾一度被认为是绝对成功的，因为这种做法似乎没有什么负面效应。然而，今天我们开始意识到旅游业是福也是祸;它既能给我们带来有利的一面，也会给我们带来不利之处。一方面，它可以为急需资金的国家带来财富。人们可以从旅游业赚到很多钱，这些收入足够用来保护环境。当然，任何有助于保护生态系统——这个构成我们赖以生存的世界、由动物和植物组成的生物群落，都是值得肯定的。
　　然而，最近令人们担心的一个事实是：游客会对自己钟爱的脆弱环境千万严重破坏。生态系统非常脆弱，容易遭到破坏。全世界范围内游客云集的地区都面临着危险。无论在哪个洲，游客们都危胁着那里的环境。就连喜欢艰苦跋涉的步行爱好者们也会对环境赞成危害。
　　那就是说旅游业给人们带来希望的同时，也给人类带来了危险。每个优点都伴随着缺点。这种两难境地使得那些国家在做规划时难以抉择。这些国家从旅游业挣到的钱远比他们为吸引游客而投入的奖金多得多。这部分财政收入可以帮助这些国家保护濒危动物和植物的栖息地。通过鼓励人们保持传统和风俗的意识，旅游业还可以起到促进当地文化的作用。历史景点需要旅游业的支持才能得以繁荣。旅游业带来的奖金和人们对历史的尊重会使这些文化景点越来越兴旺。
　　但是，除此以外，旅游业也有负面影响。因为文化景点变得越来越拥挤，类似迪尼斯乐园的娱乐场所越来越多。而这些并不是真正的文化景点，只是可能存在或是可能不存在的某种东西的翻版而已。有些人会问：“如果传统的存在只是为了盈利，而与真实生活无关，那么传统的价值又何在呢?”
　　归结起来，旅游业带来的负面效应随着时间的推移会越来越大。旅游业的累积效应是巨大的，因为每次我们驾车或乘飞机出游，都会对我们所生活的星球造成破坏：全球气温升高和气候变化会打乱几世纪以来一直正常的气候模式。
　　解决问题的新办法也正在陆续出台。其中一个首创就是在旅游者工作休假期间给其提供度假机会。这种个人的、小规模旅游被认为是那种典型的、已经产业化的大规模旅游业的积极反应。工作旅游并非对所有人适用，但是给人希望的是：有些旅游形式能够更有益我们生活在这个星球。