Sustainable Tourism
Sustainable tourism - Information
For the last 20 years or so there has been a growing understanding of the negative impacts which tourist activity has on the environment and societies in which it takes place. Although there is a variation from destination to destination, there have been a number of examples where mass tourism has ruined the culture of the society which lived in the area before tourism began to develop.
Sustainable tourism is about meeting the needs of today’s tourists without having a major long term effect on the environment of the area in which tourism takes place and on the culture of the people who live there. So, sustainable tourism is concerned with reducing the negative impacts of tourism and planning to increase the positive impacts. It also means that, in the longer term, the lifestyle and culture of the people living in the area is not altered by tourism.
Sustainable tourism is a term which has been defined in a number of ways, each of which has a slightly different interpretation. Sustainable tourism is related to sustainable development, the concept which recognises that the Earth’s resources are finite, and that, unless certain steps are taken, these resources will run out. Thus it is necessary to preserve resources as much as possible. A definition produced by the English Tourism Council (which no longer exists) in 2002 suggested that:
‘Sustainable tourism is about managing tourism’s impacts on the environment, communities and the economy to make sure that the effects are positive rather than negative, for the benefit of future generations. It is a management approach that is relevant to all types of tourism, regardless of whether it takes place in cities,, the countryside or the coast’.
A number of forms of sustainable tourism have been identified:
- Economic sustainability is about ensuring that tourism businesses are profitable and provide appropriate employment for local people. It is not the case that sustainable tourism is about stopping people visiting an area. Tourism is increasingly seen as a vital form of income for many communities which rely on the income from tourism to survive.
- Ecological sustainability relates to looking after the physical environment and maintaining the diversity plants and animals in an area.
- Cultural sustainability is about supporting people who live in an area maintain their culture. It involves ensuring that local people are consulted about tourism development plans and are not forced away from the land on which they live. Also, local people can be taught new skills to enable them to benefit from tourism.
Responsible and eco-tourism
It has been shown that sustainable tourism involves a set of policies and strategies to reduce the impacts of tourism on the environment and society and to ensure the long term future of the areas in which tourism takes place through careful management and planning.
Responsible tourism is about the actions of tourists and tourism organisations to support the principles of sustainable tourism. Responsible tourism is also often referred to as eco-tourism, alternative tourism and green tourism.
As with sustainable tourism, there are a number definitions of responsible or eco-tourism, each with a slightly different emphasis.
Eco-tourists can be described as:
‘People who travel to natural areas with a view to respecting, enjoying and being educated about the natural environment and the culture of the local community in a manner that is low-impact and sensitive to the long-term sustainability of these features.’
Eco-tourism and responsible tourism are seen as a reaction to or an alternative to mass tourism which has been shown to have very little respect for local culture and has had a significant impact on the environment of the areas in which it has developed.
Seven basic principles of eco-tourism or responsible tourism have been devised. These are:
1. Travelling to natural destinations
Eco-tourism involves travelling to natural as opposed to purpose-built resort destinations, understanding the natural history of the destination and causing as little impact on the destination as possible.
2. Developing environmental awareness
Eco-tourism involves experiencing and learning about the natural environment.
3. Minimising impact
Eco-tourism attempts to reduce the impacts of tourism and the consumption of resources through approaches such as:
-using local building materials
-using renewable energy sources
-making use of recycling wherever possible
-reducing water consumption
-monitoring or limiting the number of visitors
4. Providing financial benefits for conservation
Eco-tourism can provide opportunities for providing funds for financing projects which support environmental management. This may include making a charge for tourists to visit natural attractions or enter National Parks.
5. Providing financial benefits to the local community
Eco-tourism involves reducing the amount of leakage from the communities in which tourism takes place. The local community should benefit more and be involved in decisions relating to the planning and development of tourist facilities.
6. Respecting local culture
Eco-tourism incorporates educating eco-tourists about local customs, practices, dress-codes and appropriate behaviour. Eco-tourists are more likely to purchase gifts and souvenirs which are locally produced and provide direct employment for the local community.
7. Supporting human rights
The final aspect of eco-tourism involves respecting human rights. This may involve not travelling to countries which have a poor record of human rights or exploitation. It involves not buying products made by people working in very poor conditions or practices which involve the exploitation of animals.
Ecotourism v Responsible tourism
There is a certain amount of overlap between the terms eco-tourism and responsible tourism.
However, perhaps one important difference is that, whereas the term ‘eco-tourist’ could be used to describe someone who travels to certain destinations and takes part in eco-tourism activities, it is possible for everyone to become more responsible tourists, even if they are visiting popular purpose-built resort destinations.
Every tourist is able to make a contribution to the process of sustainable tourism by behaving in a responsible manner when visiting a destination.
These measures include:
- Learning about the country, through reading guidebooks, learning a few key terms of the language and obtaining information about local cultural attractions from tourist information centres.
- Being aware of appropriate cultural behaviour, such as respecting the dignity and privacy of others and dressing appropriately, especially in religious areas.
- Protecting plants and animals by not buying products made from endangered species and being especially careful when visiting sensitive areas by respecting all notices.
Buy local, eat local, stay local
The maxim of ‘buy local, eat local and stay local’ is a good example of how all tourists can act in a responsible manner and support sustainable tourism.
Buying local -means purchasing produce grown by local farmers, rather than from supermarket chains. This helps to reduce the number of ‘food miles’ as well as supporting businesses in the locality.
Eating local – means eating in restaurants and cafes run and managed by local people as opposed to multi-national chains. This will provide more employment and reduce the amount of ‘leakage’.
Staying local – refers to staying in locally run and owned accommodation rather than in hotels owned by multi-national companies or chains. Again, this will help keep more money in the locality and support the local community.
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