Environmental Issues in Tourism - Case Study Example

Environmental Issues in Tourism Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date of submission Environmental Issues in Tourism Introduction Tourism may be viewed as an act of travel for recreation, also for the provision of services for this act. Tourism activity may put to use the local services including catering, entertainment, and accommodation for tourists. As much it is believed and felt that tourism brings about many benefits, a critical look at the activity reveals that it comes with a number of setbacks. However, tourism comes with challenges and problems; of which environmental concerns are topping the list (Stynes, 2006). Indeed tourists play a big role in today’s environmental damage; this is through practices such as forest fires, wildlife hunting, pollution, and destruction of sand dunes among others. These activities directly affect local residents. Just to mention, is that tourism commercializes culture for often tourists do not always respect traditional cultures. There has been the increase in tourism due to a number of factors such as globalization, the increased use of the internet and social media and the increased use of informational technology (Ralf & Pannell,1990). These three aspects open up the market and information about sceneries that tourist can visit and thus it has led to increased tourism. Today’s environmental damage is based to poor tourism practices that are fronted by tourist with no sense of environmental sanity. Tourism Benefits of the tourism Tourism comes with many benefits due to the nature of its practice. As tourists move into the country, they do come in with resources which are of benefit to the economy. On the positive side, tourism comes with many benefits to the countries it’s being practiced, for many countries depend to the tourists travel expenditures by as a source of taxation, as well as a source of income. This is because the tourists spend their money locally and this makes tourism development a strategy for the development of commerce; through its promotion of the export of goods and services (Michael & Romeril, 1999). Tourists pay the costs for visiting the different sceneries, they either pay to the local authorities that manage those sites or to the central Government and thus the local economy gets to earn revenue from tourism activity. Other key benefits of tourism include its creation of foreign exchange. Many tourists come from different countries that use different currencies from that which is used in the local economy. Tourists come with foreign currencies which they have to exchange at the local bureau’s or banks, and thus tourism leads to an increase in foreign exchange revenues that are used by the economy. This foreign exchange is beneficial to the economy; for the local Government uses it to import goods and services to the economy (UNCSD, 2003). Problems in Environment in Antarctica Environmental Issues The Antarctic region is a region of vast untracked wilderness; it is fascinating with its natural features, alongside its incomparable scenic beauty. Notably, despite Antarctica being remote and having a limited exposure today’s modern world; it has not been immune to the negative human impacts. (a)Habitat Destruction, pollution and Global warming As much as the Antarctic region is a region of vast untracked wilderness; environmental folly has also been part of it. There is increased use of modern technology in the tourism area, and this comes with related impacts of waste; the increase and poor dumping of waste have led to the destruction of habitat. Waste is harmful to the natural habitat. Antarctica is blessed with much marine resources, overfishing has also been part of habitat destruction in the region. (b)Pollution It is unfortunate that in Antarctica, pollutants can be traced even in snow and ice cores. Previously, the nuclear fallouts that have been witnessed have showed up in a clear manner that the ice cores are linked to the datable events of the tourism industry. The southern continent has witnessed increased air and water pollution. There has been increased tourism in Antarctica and this coupled with the fact that it is a vast kind of wilderness then pollution has been part of the problem. (c)Global warming As the impacts of global warming rises up, Antarctica was not left out. In one degree or another, global warming has also caught up with Antarctica. There has been increased ozone destruction, due to the clearing of the forest as well as dumping. In Antarctica, dumping by the tourist as well as other visitors has led to this problem. The nuclear fallout in Antactica has also affected the southern continent with this regard. Scientific research activities have raised climatic concerns. Problems in Environment in Bali Bali also faces these environmental problems that greatly are contributed by poor tourism practices. (a)Habitat Destruction, Pollution and Global warming Tourism has in Bali has significantly changed the outlook of the country. Notably, as much as Bali is still green, in areas inhabited by people, gradually these parts are turning grey. There has been concern for the loss of habitat, soil erosion and the increased pollution of watercourses. Pollution; pollution is a major issue in Bali (Hirsch & Warren, 1998). The increased tourism activity led to the biggest problem of disposal of plastics. In Bali today, there is a jungle of plastics that are clogging in waterways as well as in the land environment. This is even made worse by the Illegal loggers who cut down trees and this forms the greatest economic and environmental disasters that the country faces today. In fact, it has led to consequent problems such as flooding, because the loss of forests (Poser, 2008). Problems in Environment in United States The United States has made a lot of effort to deal with the environmental matters. The strong legal law practices have minimized the negative impacts of tourism in the U.S., however it still faces similar challenges. Habitat destruction, pollution and Global warming This in U.S. is much linked to the problem of waste and waste management. The problem of air Pollution due to the increased industrial activities is still evident. Global Warming is also a concern due to the increased industrial emission of gases that have led to Ozone Depletion (Mieczkowski,1995). Problems in Environment United Arab Emirates In the United Arab Emirates a number of environmental issues have also been raised particularly with respect to the increased tourism activity. United Arab Emirates is also faced with environmental problems such as: (a)Habitat destruction, pollution and global warming Habitat destruction is evidenced by the increased number of the endangered species in the United Arab Emirates. Tourism has significantly contributed to this negative impacts. Deforestation and habitat loss are also major concerns that the country has to deal with. The issue of emission of Carbon gases from the local industries has been alarming, particularly with regard to the increased global warming (Vine & Hellyer, 2005). The problem in pollution in U.A.E is related to the issue of waste and recycling which previously has not been well done. Tourism has partly contributed to the problem of waste through poor dumping practices by tourist who visit different sceneries in the U.A.E. Solutions environmental problems They include: (a)Eco-tourism; these countries should promote the practice of eco-tourism, a kind of tourism that promotes a green world. Eco-tourism is the practice of tourism that respects the sanity of nature and the need to conserve nature as opposed to destroying nature. (b)Investing in Education; when the locals as well as tourists are informed on the need to conserve rather than destroying the environment, it contributes to minimizing the practice of destroying the environment. (d)Provision of incentives; the local authorities that govern the practice of tourism as well as the respective Governments may provide incetives to visiting as well as local tourists who are involved in conserving the environment. Conclusion All in all, despite the environmental concerns, the tourism sector provides employment for many people who work in occupations such as bars, hotels, tour guides and other areas that indirectly employ staff. Tourism activities create jobs for many locals, there are so many locals who are employed directly to the tourism industry alongside those who work in related industries such as the hotel industry (UNCSD. (2003). There are many people who are employed and get their income from the practice of tourism. Individuals work in the hotel industry that serves tourists; they may work as hoteliers, caterers, drivers, managers and other functional jobs. A number of people are directly employed as tour guides, translators, tours and travel consultants, tour police and security agents, drivers and many other jobs that are found within and without the sector (E.U. working paper, 2002). References Developing Ecotorism. (2004). A practical guide to managing environmental and social impacts of mountain tours. Retrieved 2 June 2004, from www.conservation.org/learn/culture/ecotourism/pages/res. E.U. Working paper.(2002). Sustainable Tourism-turning the tide. Towards the Earth Summit. Retrieved 22 July, 2002, from http://www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/SF_Briefing_Papers/bp_tourism.pdf Hirsch, P. & Warren, c. (1998). The politics of environment in Southeast Asia: resources and resistance. London: Routledge, 1998 Michael Romeril, (1999). Tourism and the Environment- Accord or Discord? Tourism Managemen Journal,7 (2), 204-208. Mieczkowski, Z. (1995). Environmental issues of tourism and recreation. New York, NY: University Press of America. Poser, N. (2008). Economic, Environmental and Socio-cultural Impacts of Tourism. London: GRIN Verlag. Vine, P. & Hellyer, P. (2005). United Arab Emirates yearbook. London: Trident Press Ltd. Ralf Buckley and Pannell. (1990). Environmental Impacts of Tourism and Recreation in National Parks and Conservation Reserves. The Journal of Tourism Studies, 1(1), 24-30. Stynes, D. (2006). Economic impacts of Tourism. Retrieved 25 May, 2006, from https://www.msu.edu/course/prr/840/econimpact/pdf/ecimpvol1.pdf UNCSD. (2003). Tourism and sustainable development. Sutainable tourism. Retrieved 7 March, 2003, from http://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/ngo4.pdf Read More