Essay on Negative Impacts Affecting Tourism at the Destination of the World Heritage Site of Cyrene

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been on the forefront in protecting and conserving various world heritage sites around the world (UNESCO, 2016, p. 1). Among such sites is the Cyrene World Heritage attraction situated in Libya. Nevertheless, the Cyrene World Heritage attraction, as a major tourist destination site in the world, has negatively been impacted by a variety of factors over the years Christie & Augenti, 2012, p. 177). A few instances of such factors include the lack of a proper transportation network and poor accommodation services among others. Consequently, such factors have significantly reduced the number of visitors traveling to Libya with the aim of experiencing the adventure of visiting the Cyrene ruins. This research is based on the interview reports collected from three tourists who visited the Cyrene ruins at different times. The response of the interview is focused on determining the negative impacts that affect tourism, at the Cyrene world heritage, tourist attraction site in Libya.

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The responses of three interview respondents will be employed to advance the analysis of the dissertation results. The interviewees in the interview exercise were Mahmoud, Mansour, and Najat. The interview took place in 2017, and it was focused on evaluating the negative impacts that faces the tourists while visiting the Cyrene heritage attraction site. The factors that will be evaluated during this analysis will include poor transportation infrastructure, poor accommodation system infrastructure in Cyrene. Cyrene is characterized by a poor tourist experience due to the regions poor infrastructure. This is more so due to the roads that are used by the tourists in accessing the Cyrene attraction site. The roads are dilapidated and entirely unpassable during rainy seasons. Additionally, it is not possible to go to the Cyrene sites by a vehicle all the way. This is because a substantial distance to the Cyrene ruins can only be accessed by walking on foot.

Consequently, this has become a major challenge to a significant number of tourists who might not be in a position to walk for long distances to access the attraction site. The negative experience of a tourist while traveling to the world heritage site at Cyrene has also been furthered by the existence of substandard and expensive accommodation facilities in the region. Additionally, there is also a lack of internet connection that can be employed to book travels and visits to the attraction site. Moreover, there is a poor and unreliable hotel booking system that is performed only by phone. It has also been documented that Cyrene lacks essential public social services and utility centers such as hospitals, and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). The power connectivity in the region is also poor because accommodation centers often lose power in most days.

Tourist Activities

A good transportation system heightens the mobility of tourists from one attraction site to another (Pineda & Brebbia, 2012, p. 57). The term transport refers to the ease in mobility of persons, freight as well as information. Today, transport and travel cannot be analyzed without placing tourism into consideration. However, tourism cannot exist without travel CITATION Hsu12 \l 1033 (Hsu & Gartner, 2012). As such, it is evident that transportation is an imperative aspect of the tourism industry. This hypothesis is also fundamentally valid because an improved transportation system aids in expanding the tourism section in a given region. In past research, it is evident that poor transportation network has negatively impacted the tourism industry in the World Heritage Site that is situated at Cyrene (Davies, 2009, p. 365). From the interview reports, it is apparent that poor transport has greatly affected the tourism industry in Cyrene. To access the Cyrene ruins, most tourists have been forced to travel through rugged roads and even walk several kilometers on foot so as to arrive at the attraction site.

According to Mahmoud (2017), the public transport system in Cyrene is very poor. Tourists traveling the Cyrene attraction site have to rely on using the Microbus, which is the only tourist transportation system in the region. Consequently, this has greatly affected the convenience of tourists in traveling to the Cyrene ruins. In addition, the Microbus only takes people from the Albayda City to Shahhat City or Cyrene. Tourists have to walk for 2 kilometers (Mahmoud, 2017, p. 1) to arrive at the world heritage site. This is also a major problem because not all tourists can be in a position to walk for such long distances on foot. Consequently, it has caused thousands of tourists who cannot walk for long distances to opt out of visiting the attraction site. Additionally, according to Mansour (2017), tourists can only hire a taxi to be driven to the Cyrene ruins.

This method is not convenient for many tourists because they are not guaranteed to catch a taxi back to the Cyrene ruins. As such, they are often forced to carry their luggage with them to the attraction site. I had to take my stuff like the laptop and bag (Mansour, 2017). From the interview, Najat (2017) also confirmed that there are very few public transport buses that can be used by tourists in the region. According to a publication authored by Timothy and Boyd (2003), the demand for heritage tourism in different parts of the world has soared over the last two decades. As such its economic, as well as socio-cultural significance in most societies, cannot be overstated. Timothy and Boyd (2003) theorizes that managers must deal with theoretical issues as well as applied subjects that could affect persons during their heritage tourism activities CITATION Tim03 \l 1033 (Timothy & Boyd, 2003). Among such factors is the need for effective infrastructure system through which tourists can visit different destinations. This book by Timothy and Boyd (2003) illustrates the need to have a good transport system that can open up various tourist destinations such as the Cyrene ruins, which is currently affected by the problem of infrastructure.

Tourist Facilities

Accommodation is the most imperative basic need of the tourism sector (Page, 2014, p.192). This is because all travelers require good lodging facilities for them to rest during their tours. Good accommodation facilities play a remarkably important role in promoting the tourism activities of a region. This is because travelers enjoy comfort and luxury during the traveling activities. However, from past research, it is evident that Cyrene has a remarkably poor tourists accommodation system. This is because there are substandard and expensive accommodation facilities that can be used by tourists. Such facilities are characterized by a lack of power during most days, lack of proper meals for tourists at all times and a generally expensive accommodation cost charged on the substandard boarding facilities. This problem has remarkably affected thousands of tourists who have visited the Cyrene attraction site.

Additionally, it has also reduced the number of tourists visiting the region since most of them are afraid of staying at poor boarding facilities during their travels. From the interview, Mahmoud (2017) stated that he stayed at a youth hostel since it was cheap compared to other accommodation facilities in the region such as hotels. Nevertheless, Mahmoud stated that visitors were not offered some meals such as breakfast during their stay at the hostels (Mahmoud, 2017. P. 2). Moreover, Najat (2017) also stated that Yes, hotels are not many there. I know that visitors go from one city to another in order to find a hotel From Najats response, it is also evident that there are also very few accommodation facilities for visitors in the Cyrene. Additionally, Mansour (2017) stated that during his travel he experienced accommodation problems. Mansour stated that although there were not many tourists visiting the region at the time, he and his fellow tourists could not find an accommodation facility in the region.

Instead, he had to travel to a distant city to check whether there were available accommodation facilities. From the responses of the three interview respondents, it is apparent that finding a good place to stay at Cyrene while visiting the world heritage site is a problem. Consequently, this problem has been a major barrier to thousands of other tourists from other parts of the world in visiting Cyrene. This is primarily because such tourists fear being stranded in Cyrene at night during their travels to the archaeological sites at the Cyrene. Additionally, this has reduced the number of tourists visiting the tourist attraction sites in the region each year.

According to a publication authored by Issa (2011), in some nations, foreign-owned hotels usually represent approximately 70% of all hotels in such nations. Nevertheless, in Libya, the level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the nation accounts for less than 1% of all the hotels operating in the region (Issa, 2011, p. 15). This phenomenon can be attributed to factors such as political instability in the nation, that has been eminent since 2011. Consequently, this has caused the prices of the hospitality sector in the nation to go up due to the limited entities that offer catering and accommodation services to the public. The high cost of hotels in Libya accompanied by poor quality services in the establishment is one of the negative experiences that most tourist traveling to the Cyrene ruins encounter. In addition, it is remarkably inconvenient to book a hotel in the operating hotels because booking can only be performed via phone.

Tourist Services

Communication is an important aspect of tourism. This is because tourists rely on proper communication channels to locate their destination sites and to access basic amenities during their travels. Nevertheless, from past research, it is evident that Cyrene lacks a proper communication infrastructure. This has affected thousands of potential tourists who would have liked to visit the Cyrene World Heritage Site. For example, almost all hotels in the region lack internet connectivity, a major tool of communication in todays contemporary society. As a result, tourists cannot check on best accommodation facilities in Cyrene using the internet because the hotels also do not possess websites. Moreover, there are no online booking systems for hotels in the region. Instead, visitors are forced to make their accommodation reservations through the use of phones, which is also not entirely dependable. In most cases, visitors who book their reservations for accommodation using phone communication often find that their spots have been issued to other tourists upon their arrival in Cyrene. As such, they are often left stranded during their first day at the new environment, and such occurrences ultimately affect other visitors from visiting the region.

According to Mahmoud, the lack of internet connection in almost all the hotels in the Cyrene poses an immense challenge to travelers. For example, Mahmoud used a traveling agency to book his reservation prior to his visit at Cyrene. In this case, the traveling agency used phone communication to make a reservation. Nevertheless, when Mahmoud arrived at Cyrene, he found that his reservation had already been issued to another tourist. Additionally, Mahmoud stated that the lack of modern communication infrastructure in Cyrene also made it hard for him to make essential traveling arrangements such as booking a flight and a taxi service among other services. Additionally, Najat affirmed tha...