The Economical and Social Impacts of Tourism on Kharga Oasis Local Citizens in Egypt

Abstract

Tourism industry is recognized by specialists as a sector which support and sustain economic growth recording important increases in different parts of the world. It has proven effectiveness as it has significant effect on culture, environment and provide economic incentive both in developed regions and in developing or poor regions. This paper aims to explain the relationship between tourism activities and the economic development, and to measure the attitudes of Kharga Oasis local citizens in Egypt towards the economic indicators of tourism development. In addition, it attempts to assess the impacts of tourism development projects (TDP) on the local people. A quantitative research method was adopted for this study. To achieve the research objectives, data has been collected through 116 questionnaires distributed among Kharga Oasis local citizens. Also secondary data has been used together with reviewing some literature in the field of tourism economics and tourism development. The results revealed that tourism development has positive impacts on Kharga Oasis citizens from the viewpoints of Kharga local people. However there is a quite number of citizens who failed to decide positive or negative scale for a number of tourism development measures. So tourism development policies in Kharga Oasis should concentrate on tourism projects that are fulfilling the requirements of sustainable tourism development. To maximize the benefits of tourism development in Kharga Oasis, it is essential to create local culture consciousness for the importance of concentrating on sustainability requirements in the future.