Tourism Multiplier Effect
What is it?: The tourism multiplier effect is a positive feedback loop in human systems where tourism growth feeds back to create even more tourism growth.
How it works:
- More tourists visit an area
- Tourists spend money on hotels, food, and activities
- Local businesses grow and hire more workers
- Workers earn money and pay taxes
- Government uses taxes to build better roads and facilities
- Better infrastructure attracts even more tourists
- Cycle continues — tourism causes more tourism
This is positive feedback because the output (more tourists) feeds back to amplify the input (tourist attraction).
Why it matters for sustainability
The tourism multiplier can have both positive and negative effects:
Benefits
- Creates jobs and income
- Funds conservation efforts
- Improves local infrastructure
- Can protect wildlife as an economic asset
Problems
- Increased demand on water and energy
- Habitat destruction for buildings
- More waste and pollution
- Can displace local communities
Positive feedback loops can spiral out of control — tourism growth without limits can damage the environment it depends on.
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Economic Inequality Feedback
Economic inequality is another example of positive feedback in human systems:
- Wealthy people have money to invest
- Investments generate more income
- More income allows even more investment
- Wealth grows faster for those who already have it
- Gap between rich and poor widens over time
Without intervention (negative feedback like taxes or regulations), positive feedback loops keep amplifying.
How to explain feedback loops
When explaining any feedback loop, follow these steps:
- Identify the starting change — what changed first?
- Follow the chain of effects — what did that change cause?
- Show the loop closing — how does the effect feed back to the start?
- State the type — does it stabilise (negative) or amplify (positive)?
Quick definitions to remember
Positive feedback: A change causes effects that increase the original change.
Negative feedback: A change causes effects that reduce the original change.
Multiplier effect: When growth in one area creates growth in connected areas, which feeds back to create even more growth.
Summary: Positive Feedback Examples
- Ice-albedo — melting → darker surface → more heat → more melting
- Population decline — fewer animals → fewer births → faster decline
- Eutrophication — nutrients → algae → death → more nutrients
- Tourism multiplier — tourists → investment → better facilities → more tourists
- Economic inequality — wealth → investment → more wealth
Summary: Negative Feedback Examples
- Body temperature — too hot → sweating → cooling → back to normal
- Predator-prey — more prey → more predators → fewer prey → fewer predators
- Blood sugar — high sugar → insulin released → sugar drops → back to normal
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Causal Loop Diagrams
What is a causal loop diagram?
A causal loop diagram shows clear cause → effect relationships.
It helps us see whether a change is controlled (balanced) or amplifies.
Follow the arrows to see how changes move around the system
Interactive diagram
Explore the labelled diagram, charts and maps for this topic in full study mode.
Parts of a causal loop diagram
- Variables
- Arrows → show which variable affects another
- + (positive relationship) → both variables change in the same direction
- − (negative relationship) → variables change in opposite directions
- Feedback loop
+ and − do NOT mean good or bad. They only show how change happens.
How to answer exam questions using causal loop diagrams
- Name the variables
- Follow the arrows
- Explain the + or − relationships
- State whether the loop is balancing (B) or reinforcing (R)
Exam-ready summary (memorise)
- Causal loop diagrams show cause and effect
- + means variables change in the same direction
- − means variables change in opposite directions
- Negative feedback (B) stabilises systems
- Positive feedback (R) amplifies
- Positive feedback can cause tipping points
IB-style question — describing a feedback loop
“Describe one positive feedback loop that speeds up global warming.” [2–3]
How to answer it, step by step
- Know the difference
• Positive feedback = amplifies the change
• Negative feedback = dampens/reverses it - Write a complete loop
• warming → ice melts → lower albedo → more heat absorbed → more warming
• The last arrow MUST return to the start — that's what scores marks
Final answer
A loop must close back to its starting point. Classic error: mixing up positive (amplifies) and negative (stabilises).