Sustainability in Event Industry - Essay Example

? Sustainability in Event Industry The tourism industry is one of the largest industries in the world as well as being among the fastest growing with an increase of 40 million visitors between 2011 and 2012 across the world; it is further projected to increase to over 1.6 billion by the year 2020 (UNWTO, 2013). Tourism accounts for 11.5 percentage of the global GDP with 12.5 percentage of the world workforce being in some way employed therein. Quintessentially, if the industry is run properly with due consideration for the environment as well as cultural diversity and the wellbeing of local communities, it could be a crucial component in the fight against global challenges such as: climate warming poverty reduction and cultural integration and preservation among others. Conversely, should it be run haphazardly with the managers involved taking for granted the consequences of certain action or occurrences that may be detrimental to the aforementioned, tourism is likely to be rendered; expensive, self-destructive and counterproductive to the; tourist, environment and the host communities. This underscores the importance of sustainable tourism; which has been defined by WTO (1981) as sustainable tourism development involving meeting the desires and expectants of visitors and the host regions but also protecting the areas and the culture for posterity. Tourism is only beneficial in the long run if it is managed in a manner that enhances cultural and environmental sustainability, therefore culminating into sustainable tourism; which results from careful resource management such as to ensure the aesthetic needs are met while cultural integrity and biological diversity are preserved It is estimated that over the last decade, the Caribbean could have lost over 80 percent of it coral reef owing to environmental degradation and host of human events; not the least among them tourist related activities (Balch, 2013). A coral reef is a system made up of corals and their remains, however therein exists thousands of living organisms such as fish marine plant and sponges, coral reefs are quite fragile and require specific condition such as access to clear sunlight and consistent salinity and temperatures to survive. In addition, many of the species living within it are interdependent thus removal of some spices sets off a chain of reactions that may decimate the whole coral ecosystem. Despite the fact that the biodiversity of the coral is one of the main reasons tourists visit the Caribbean they directly and indirectly have been responsible for a lot of the damage. For example, the many ships and liners ferrying tourist to this destination cause a great deal of water pollution and this negatively affects coral life, in addition the culture of sport fishing has resulted in the dwindling of the number of aquatic organisms (Brown, 2013). Some of the fishing methods used include using cyanide and explosives, this not only directly poison the reef but cause it mechanical damage. In addition, with the growth of the industry, more ports and piers are being built and some are built on top of or at the edge of coral reefs resulting in further damage, this is not to mention a thriving trade in souvenirs made out of coral. Ultimately, from the trends observed, the tourism industry is killing the very object that has made it grow as such without proper management, the tourist and locals will soon eliminate the every reason there is tourism and the industry will collapse in the long run due to unsustainability. This is just one many examples of unsustainable tourism which if unchecked will likely jeopardize the future of tourism, however in move towards self-preservation, the tourism industry is taking mitigate action prominent amongst which is promotion of ecotourism. Ecotourism funder mentally involves visiting previously undisturbed natural environments with the intention of admiring and learning from them while causing the minimum disturbance (Ramaswamy & Kumar, 2010). Through eco-tourism tours managers can corporate with the tourist and local authorities so as to conserve the natural environment and to bring about sustainable development and sensitization of residents in the surrounding in a form of social corporate responsibility effort. The second consideration in sustainable tourism is the social cultural aspect; this covers a broad scope and is entwined with the social economic and political dimensions of the destination countries. Cultural tourism has been in existence for millennia as is evidenced by the existence of the ancients Greeks invention of the Seven Wonders of the World. The importance of cultural heritage today cannot be understated and the fact that over 157 countries have recently ratified to the worlds cultural heritage convection of 1972 to protect the global cultural and natural heritage underscores the fact. UNSECO has in the past few years noted that; that tourism is a double edged sword, evidence of this has been presented previously in line with its effect on the environment, and unfortunately the same also applies to cultural tourism. In a nutshell, cultural tourism can be defined as visiting a particular destination with the interest of observing or experiencing certain activities, events or even structures moth manmade and natural that have a social cultural significance (Andrian & Stanojlovic, 2011). For instance, many tourists visit East Africa; particularly Kenya and Tanzania so they may observe first-hand the culture of the Maasai people who are a group that has to a great extent remained “uncontaminated” by modernity and stick to their traditional ways of life in terms of dress diet, religion and other cultural characteristics. The same can be said of the millions who visit Venice the floating city in Italy to experience and see the culture as well as the architecture and a variety of other historically significant destinations therein such as museum and churches. Cultural tourism comes with many benefits such as; it encourages a revival of traditions and restoration of sights and monuments so as to attract tourists (Li, 2003); additionally, it creates employment opportunities for the locals who are sometimes called upon to showcase their talents. Nevertheless, when unbridled it can have the opposite effect and become self-destructive in the long run, an increase in the number of tourist for instance could not only erode the culture but the sheer numbers could even create and uncomfortable environment for the locals. For instance, in Venice, the tourist numbers have risen exponentially in the last decade and this has driven up the price of commodities and property making life difficult for some of the local who have had to move away since life at home had become unaffordable. In addition, cultural tourism has been blamed for a variety of negative consequences, which eventually contribute to the unsustainability of the industry, some of these include; commercialization and commodification of cultural relics due to high demand resulting in reduced authenticity. Tourists can also influence the native culture by introducing their cultural practices which may not be appropriate or viable based on social-economic and political factors. These could ultimately result in alienation of the host culture and thus negating the need to tour the place since the cultural attraction has been adulterated. The best approach towards enhancing sustainability in cultural tourism is not very different form the solution that was suggested in environmental tourism, the latter involved applying eco-tourism in which visitors just enjoy nature and try to avoid contaminating it, while at the same time contributing to conservation efforts. The same approach should apply to cultural tourism, it is often assumed, and rightly so, that tourists are seeking high quality and informed cultural experiences, notwithstanding, since many may not realize it when they get a less than authentic experience, it is the onus of the managers in the industry to try as much as possible to preserve the authenticity so that they can raise the expectation of tourists (Francis-Lindsay, 2009). It is also crucial that the authorities work towards a situation where the tourists are distribute evenly throughout the year, the seasonal nature of tourism often means those employed in the industry cannot always have full time jobs, in addition when tourists come in large numbers a few times a year, they may be end up being a liability due to the overstretching of resources. The tourists also have a duty to respect native culture and not to undermine it especially in developing countries where the locals quickly and easily take up the habits of the “civilized” westerns who give the impression of success owing to their comparably high wealth status. References Andrian, G., & Stanojlovic, A. (2011). The Role of The UNESCO Designated Sites In Fostering Sustainable Tourism In South-East Europe. Tourism in South East Europe ..., 1, 1-14. Balch, O. (2013). Sustainable tourism Gains Traction. The Guardian. Retrieved from; http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-tourism-gains-traction Brown, D. (2013). Caribbean: Tourism Stakes Salvation On Greener Policies. Global Information Network. Retrieved from http://business.highbeam.com/409433/article-1G1-331639762/caribbean-tourism-stakes-salvation-greener-policies Francis-Lindsay, J. (2009). The intrinsic value of cultural heritage and its relationship to sustainable tourism development: The contrasting experiences of Jamaica and japan. Caribbean Quarterly, 55(2), 151-167,190-191. Li, Y. (2003). Heritage tourism: The contradictions between conservation and change. Tourism and Hospitality Research,4(3), 247-261. Ramaswamy, S., & Kumar, S. G. (2010). Tourism and environment: Pave the way for sustainable eco-tourism. Retrieved from doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1565366 United Nations World Tourist Organization (UNWTO) (2013) UNWTO Worlds Tourism Barometer . Vol. 11, ISSN 1728-9886. World Tourism Organisation (WTO). (1981). Tourism Multipliers Explained. World Tourism Organisation and Horwarth and Horwarth. Retrieved from http://www.horwathhtl.co.za/includes/newsroom/Tourism%20Multipliers.pdf Read More

 

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