RR Tourism by Foo Kye Loon

I agree that mass tourism threatens to destroy a country's environment as it causes a loss of biodiversity. The writer explains that when coastal areas in Philippines are converted into beach resorts, mangrove areas and corals that serve as fish sanctuaries are damaged or even completely removed. This causes the loss of natural habitats for the fishes and they are either forced to migrate of die off. When more coastal areas are cleared with the rising number of tourists, these fishes would have even fewer places to live and some of the species of fishes may become endangered or extinct. According to research, more than 95 percent of of the estimated 540 square kilometers of original vegetation in Singapore has been cleared since the British first established a presence here. With so much deforestation going on in Singapore, many natural habitats of the animals living here are destroyed, leaving the animals with nowhere to live, resulting in the death of these animals and possibly their entire species. If deforestation continues to go on to clear land for hotels and tourist attractions, more animal species would meet the same fate. Thus, mass tourism destroys a country's environment as it results in a loss of biodiversity.