What is a tourism impact assessment?

A tourism impact assessment is primarily focused on evaluating the effects and consequences of tourism on a specific destination. This includes examining various dimensions such as economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts. By conducting this assessment, stakeholders gain a comprehensive understanding of how tourism development or growth might affect the local community, environment, and economy.

This approach allows for informed decision-making by identifying both positive and negative consequences of tourism. Consequently, it aids in creating policies that enhance benefits (like increased local employment or improved infrastructure) while mitigating drawbacks (such as environmental degradation or social displacement).

The other options, while related to tourism in some capacity, do not capture the essence of what a tourism impact assessment entails. A detailed marketing strategy focuses on promoting a destination, a program for increasing visitor numbers aims primarily at boosting tourism quantitatively, and a financial report on tourism revenue tends to analyze fiscal data rather than the broader impacts of tourism on a destination. All of these are important components of tourism management but do not provide a holistic view of the consequences associated with tourism development.