‘Sustainable Tourism Is a Myth.’ to What Extent Do You Agree with This Statement?

Waterfront is a priority economic area for local, regional and national development (NACOMA, 2007). Waterfront-based activities can provide employment but they are also likely to cause social and environmental impact. Biological hotspots, breeding areas, environmental sensitive areas may suffer from uncontrolled tourism development and activities. These impacts however can be effectively mitigated through careful planning and design of sustainable tourism activities.

When it comes to the topic of ecotourism, most of us will readily agree that it is a less harmful alternative to mass-tourism and that it promotes responsible and low-impact travel to areas where flora, fauna and cultural heritage are the primary drawing power. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what the impact of ecotourism actually is and what its long-term consequences are. Whereas some are convinced that ecotourism provides the basis for sustainable development, particularly in places that suffer from exploitation and excessive resources’ usage, and that could only improve the general conditions of the local people, others maintain that we are still far from true ecotourism, for many are those in the

Making tourism more sustainable is not just about controlling and managing the negative impacts of the industry. Tourism is in a very special position to benefit local communities, economically and socially, and to raise awareness and support for conservation of the environment.

* This work has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree or diploma by me or anyone else

As mentioned by Rimmington & Morrison (2009), the assistance from different parts of the world presents a new and diverse outlook for future research including theoretical innovations and revelations, cultural and environmental aspects, tourist destination and other ecotourism and recreational aspects of tourism and hospitality industry (Brotherton,

Human activity largely impacts the Great Barrier Reef, from tourists to wider world issues such as climate change humans are widely responsible for damaging many ecosystems. Tourism has both negative and positive effects on the Great Barrier Reef. The main positive is the revenue that the tourism creates for local communities, this money can also go towards the upkeep of the area surrounding the Great Barrier Reef, and also by helping spread the message of how delicate the Great Barrier Reef’s ecosystem is. However tourism also has many negative impacts on the Great Barrier Reef. With more people in one area, the demand for natural resources increases. This can result in the overuse of natural resources as well as producing more waste and pollution. Some tourists may also not obey the rules at the Great Barrier Reef, this can cause damage to different organisms in the Great Barrier Reef.

However, from the environmental changes in Maldives, impacts of tourism are starting to become negative influences:

From an environmental perspective, it is apparent that the world is starting to realise that increases in tourism are having a negative impact on the environment. This is due to increases in energy consumption, which in turn heightens the effects of global warming (Neto, 2002). There are many controls that governments are trying to put into place, such as flight rationing (Liverpool Business School, 2009). However, it can be argued that these have not really begun to have a significant effect on tourism, as they are still insufficient to dampen demand. It may become a problem in future years, as the number of controls is likely to increase. Perhaps the largest environmental factor would be natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina (Cashell, 2005) and the tsunami that hit Asia in December 2004 (Birkland, 2006). These will impact negatively on people’s confidence in visiting places that have been hit severely by such disasters.

Tourism is a pivotal part of human nature, it impacts humanity on a worldwide scale in our everyday lives. It has become a ritual in the modern times, as the number of international tourists increase every year. According to UNWTO, international tourists have gone up to a mind blowing 1.2 billion people worldwide(UNWTO, n.d.). People who go on holidays to foreign nations experience a variety of new encounters. They get exposed to the new cultures, different food, beautiful natural landscapes, and new people.The host country love to attract tourists, because they make loads of money off of them. Tourism helps globalise the world, it lets people see for themselves instead of just hearing about someplace. On the other hand, the tourists are at risk of instances such as terrorist attacks. When visitors come to a new nation, they love all the sightseeing there is to offer. A lot of the favourite places of tourists include; wildlife, historical monuments, and natural landscapes. The revenue made by the tourism industry in 2016 alone was more than 7.6 trillion U.S. dollars (Statista,n.d.).This essay will argue that the plus points of tourism weigh much more than all of the negatives. The essay will analyse the negative and positives of tourism Environmentally, Socioculturally, and Economically.

Therefore tourism should be discouraged as it can cause great harm to the environment of that particular tourist spot with the influx followed by the tourism industry.

The reason for this is the simple fact that, as tourism development and tourist activity expands, so too does the potential harm, social impact and potential for human induced harm and disturbance to destination residents and the environment (Jackson 2006). Kenneth (2003), also concur with Jackson that even though the cruise sector has opened up an opportunity for heavy use and instantaneous cash flow from short term but intense use, this had added pressure onto land-based facilities, resulting in congestion, scheduling and control problems, which have affected visitor satisfaction which will result in decline cruise visitors. Other experts in the field agreed with the statements mention above that as the cruise ships continue to grow larger, further investment may be required. Under these types of tourism scenarios with high infrastructure or environmental costs, rapid growth of tourism may result in a stagnation of or even a decline in GDP (Gooroochurn et al (2005); Nowak et al (2003) and Nowak et al (2007).

Tourism and travel main activity is the pleasure trips for recreation and Europe is the world 's favourite tourist destination and therefore face significant challenges in becoming more sustainable. One of the biggest beneficiaries of a more sustainable tourism industry will be the industry itself - fewer people will want to visit a region where mass tourism has destroyed the countryside and polluted the beaches.

Planning and development are both extremely important factors within the tourism industry and can have both positive and negative effects on the environment, local communities and tourist destinations. “Destination planning aims to limit the negative impacts of cultural tourism upon the history and lifestyles of the local community. An understanding of sustainable tourist development allows for the development of culture without loss of its authentic identity” (Maidment. T. 2012). This statement discusses the importance of planning to avoid having any negative impacts on environments and communities. Because the effects of tourism are so severe to destinations, many natural and cultural resources have been destroyed, therefore tourism planning is vital to preserve and maintain these places for future generations.

Humans are negatively effecting numerous ecosystems including the Rocky Shores, Sand Dunes and Mangrove communities. If human activities continue as they do now, there will be troubling future implications to nature, and to humans. Tourism, for example, is one of the major human influences that is destroying many valuable ecosystems. Tourism is commercial holidaying where people visit places of interest. (www.directtourismservices.co.uk, 2017) It requires an abundance of associated infrastructure and resources and increased populations have negative effects on the surrounding ecosystems (Brambly, 2017). For example, increased foot traffic, runoff water quality and infrastructural development are all having drastic impacts to ecosystems and are caused by tourism. While it may be greatly beneficial for economic growth, which is why humans are so interested in it, tourism is a major strain on many vital ecosystems and courses of action should be taken to monitor its impacts to the environment.

The human impact of tourism on reefs, while having its economic and social benefits, also has detrimental impacts on the surrounding environment of the reefs, globally. A study, conducted by the ARC Centre of Excellence: Coral Reef Studies has stated that more than half of Latin America’s coral reefs are potentially going to be tainted and disintegrated within the next 5-10 years and that 70% of the world’s coral reefs are likely to vanish by 2030, as a result of tourism related activities (ARC Centre of Excellence, 2011). An example of this coral loss can be seen below, in Image 1.1, which demonstrates the estimated coral loss along the North-East coast of Queensland, in the next 15 years.