The influence of tourism on socio-cultural environment of regions

The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing economic branches in the world. Because of a multiplication effect, which is one of it's important characteristics, it creates suitable conditions for increasing an economic and socio-cultural value of a region. Nevertheless, this value increasing depends on a development level of a region, it's potential to develop tourism and a co-ordination of activities which ensure the potential development. Research was mostly focused on economic impacts of tourism development in regions. But it's impacts on socio-cultural environment are very important as well. If tourism development is managed responsibly in a region it can generate considerable positive effects on local communities (first of all an improvement of living standards, development of public facilities etc.). In the opposite case it can generate irretrievable negative effects, especially changes of local community lifestyle , changes in local social and cultural values or changes in physical environment. On one hand tourism contributes to keep cultural diversity in the world and mediates cognition and interaction between different people and cultures , on the other hand it transmits negative aspects of globalization which tend to affect traditions and specific cultures of particular regions in a destructive way. So the aim of the diploma thesis is to point out psychological and sociological aspects of tourism, it's relation to culture and cultural identity and it's impacts on local communities. The analysis is focused on Prague characteristics and tourism impacts on it's socio-cultural environment.