Prompt: Nowadays, international tourism is the biggest industry in the world. Unfortunately, international tourism creates tension rather than understanding between people from different cultures. To what extent do you agree or disagree ?

International tourism is no doubt one of the biggest income earners for many countries in the world today. Apart from providing employment and better infrastructure, it has also helped in fostering better understanding between people from different cultures. Ċ World cultures are merging; tourism has helped the rapid spread of cultures and enabled a better understanding of cultures foreign. This has helped thaw the tension in race relationships. A visiting tourist lives amongst the people, learns their ways and their local languages. He or she begins to understand why they behave in certain ways. For example my friend Tina, who works as an international student consultant, who visited Africa some years back, finds it very easy to understand the African students compared to her other colleagues because she being in Africa as a tourist and understands their ways. Unlike the others who constantly have problems with them and wonder what voodoo she uses to get them to be good friends with her. It is no voodoo it is tourism. Ċ Tourism has brought about exchange of expertise and better understanding between nations. Recently China and Kenya signed a tourism pact. This pact is to help develop and maintain game reserves in Kenya. This pact will see some Kenyan students and workers going to study in China and Chinese engineers and wild life specialist will have to learn local languages in Kenya. This will only foster a better relationship and a deep understanding between these two countries. Ċ Tourism is big business but it no doubt fosters better relationship between countries and people of different races. I think it is unwise for any country to neglect tourism.