Univocite et variabilite des impacts sociaux du tourisme international: Quelques elements de reflexion

International tourism is steadily growing. Some people welcome this growth which supports economic and social development. Others are suspicious and afraid of the threat which tourism could create for the tourist destinations, the loss of cultural identity and of social alienation to its society. Reality is more complex than these two contrary positions suggest. After analyzing the existent attempts to explain the social effects of tourism, this paper intends to illustrate the variability of these effects. In this regard, the globalisation of human activities and its consequences on cultural identity are taken into account.