9. TOURISM, TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION

Tourism :

On the basis of the things you know about Brazil, make a list of places in Brazil you would like to visit. Which factors/characteristics of Brazil make it a good tourist place? What types of tourism will be developed here? Discuss with your friends and show the classification.

Geographical explanation

Brazil :

Clean, white sand beaches, attractive seacoast, beautiful islands, orchards, deep dense forests of Amazon, various birds and animals attract lots of international tourists here. The new capital city of Brasilia is also a tourist attraction. Cities like Rio-de-Janeiro and Sao Paulo are large cities which attract lots of tourists. Tourism is an important economic activity in several regions in the country. Looking at the sensitivity of the natural resources in Brazil, ecotourism is developing at a faster rate in Brazil.

Geographical explanation

As shown in figure 9.1, the number of international tourists visiting India in 2015 is more than that of Brazil. Even though this is true, the share of tourism sector in the GDP is less than that of Brazil. Apart from this, the proportion of Indian population engaged in tourism proportion is higher than Brazil. This is primarily dependent on the size of the population of those countries and the size of the GDP. (See figure 9.2). According to this, population of India is more than Brazil and so is its GDP. As the GDP of India is higher than Brazil and so also its population, therefore, the contribution of tourism to GDP appears lesser than Brazil and population engagement seems higher.

India : It is seen in figure 9.1 that the number of international tourists in India is constantly growing. But this increase appears to be more after 2010. This increase in the number of international tourists is consistent. Foreign tourists visit India for heritage, adventure, cultural, health and business tourism. Ecotourism is also being given boost in India. Considering the heritage of India, there are plenty of opportunities for tourism in many parts of the country. Many places are being developed for this.

Brazil Transport :

Geographical explanation

The most common method of transportation is roadways. Roadways account for more than half of transportation system in the country. But the density of road network is concentrated in the eastern part of the country. The forested lands of Amazon River basin and the swampy lands have limited the development of roadways in this part. Waterways have been developed on a commercial basis in the Amazon River. Boats ply from Equitos in Peru to the mouth of the river. The longest waterways in the world can be navigated through these waterways (around 3700 kms). Another river important for waterways is the south-flowing Parana Considering the development of transport in a place, which factors do you think are responsible for the development of transport in Brazil? Also, think which means of transport could be used in Brazil given its topography and drainage? Think about it. Make friends with maps ! river. Coastal shipping is also carried out in the coastal areas.

Railways have not developed very well in Brazil. The use of trains for long distance transportation of passengers is restricted to a few urban tourist routes though it is cheaper. The contribution of airways is less in the transportation system of the country.

India Transport :

Geographical explanation

 As compared to Brazil, India has a denser network of transport. About 85 per cent of passenger and 70 per cent of freight traffic are carried by roads every year. Freight and passenger transport has been facilitated due to the development of the railways. Railways are important for the growth of the Indian economy. Railway network is relatively less dense in the hill states, north eastern states, central parts of India and Rajasthan while it is dense in the North Indian Plains.

Railways are very important for a vast country where distances are large. Waterways are a cheap means of transport. Waterways contribute about 1% to the country’s transportation. It comprises rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc. A p p r o x i m a t e l y 95 per cent of India’s foreign trade moves through ocean routes. Apart from international trade, these are also used for the purpose of transportation between the islands and the rest of the country.

As compared to Brazil, airways in India are more developed and the use of internal airways is also increasing.

Communication in Brazil :

You are already aware of the vast longitudinal extent of Brazil. Given are the westernmost and easternmost extreme points of Brazil mainland in figure 9.12. Calculate the difference in time between the two points in minutes.

Westernmost point: Nascente do Rio Moa (07°32’33” S, 70°59′ W)

Easternmost point: Ponta do Seixas, Paraíba (07°09′ 28”S, 34°47′ W)

Geographical explanation

You will find that because of the vast longitudinal extent of the country, the difference between two extreme points is around 168 minutes. (2 hours 48 minutes) There are different ‘time zones’ in the country. Brazil has four time zones .It is behind the GMT by 2, 3, 4 or 5 hours. The red line in the map shows the GMT-03 time zone which is considered to be the official Brazilian time, BRT. It is 3 hours behind GMT.

Development of Communication in Brazil : Telecommunication services in Brazil are well developed and efficient. This industry includes landlines as well as mobile services, television broadcasting, radio broadcasting, and computer / internet access. Today, more than 45% of the Brazilian population has access to the internet. The telecommunications infrastructure is fairly modern, particularly in central-south Brazil. However, the north and north-west are drastically less developed.

Over recent years, mobile telephones have led the rapid expansion of telecommunication services in Brazil. The nature of Brazilian territory, especially land mass size and the large pockets of unpopulated and densely vegetated areas create significant impediments to the expansion in coverage of telecommunication services.

Brazil is developing technology to send domestically-made satellites into space with its own rockets.

Communication in India :

 Geographical explanation

India too has a large longitudinal extent. The difference between the two extreme most points is 2 hours or 120 minutes. India has only one standard time zone. The 82.5° E longitude is the Indian Standard Time ( IST) . It passes through Allahabad. It is ahead by 5 hours 30 minutes from the Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT).

With the explosion of electronic media, telecom industry has become one of the fast growing sectors. In this era of information and communication, more digitally enhanced communication devices like mobile phones, Internet and satellites are paving way to expansion for the wider reach of communication technology.

India is one of the largest users of smartphones and internet. With development of our own satellites, India has come a long way in this field.