This photo I took shows the varying degrees of people who came to visit the UNESCO World
Heritage “Giant Causeway”, generating almost half a billion pounds (£484.26 million) for its
local economy in 2017.
Tourism induces significant spending in local accommodation, retail, and hospitality sectors.
This is evident in the Ulster University report which discovered that the average spend per
tourist staying in the area of Bushmills, Northern Island was £420, with 1,012,000 visiting
within 2017-2018.
The legend behind this natural phenomenon entails that the formation of the landscape was
due to a fight between two giants. As the story has incentivised more people from overseas
to visit, this induces an increase in employment opportunities, hence creating jobs for locals,
whereby they can then spend their increased disposable income on normal goods:
enhancing their living standards and welfare, whilst reducing poverty and inequality.
Furthermore, this increase in tourism will strengthen the local economy as there is improved
tax revenue; foreigners will spend their money on goods and services in more industries,
inducing a decrease in the opportunity cost for the government as they can now contribute to
local infrastructure development, whilst conserving the natural environment.
