Sustainable Tourism Development - Essay Example

Sustainable Tourism Olympic Games, global sports competition, is being held every four years at a different places. In Olympic games, athletes from different countries contest with each other in a number of sports. There are two kinds of Olympic Games-the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics. The contemporary Olympic Games commenced in Athens, Greece, in 1896, two years following French teacher, Pierre de Coubertin announced that the Olympic Games of prehistoric Greece be awakened to build a more tranquil world (Olympic Games, n.d). Sports Tourism is a communal, financial and enriching occurrence arising from the exceptional communication of action, populace and place. Now, the question arises what is the tourism prospective of Olympic Games. It is known that a sport is an essential tourist phenomenon that offers people with thrilling and motivating sightseer experiences. Olympic is a world’s leading sporting occasion that provides tourists with diverse lively, reflexive and vividly experienced activities. Thus, Olympics provide an extensive range of greatly considerable tourism benefits (Weed, 2007). In early 1990s, tourism scholars and professionals began to contemplate the associations of sustainable development for their own enterprise. Since the Earth Summit, the idea of sustainable development has sought attention from both tourism philosophers and professionals. Its basic hypothesis has acquired worldwide approval as an adorable outcome of tourism development. This has been mirrored in the conception of sustainable tourism advancement plans, policy declarations and guidelines. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) supported the sustainable advancement to tourism, and commenced to apply sustainable advancement ethics in all of its tourism outlining and development. The United Nations and its organizations have also consigned the significance of tourism and sustainable development on several occasions. The General Assembly observed the significance of tourism and appealed for the development of a business plan particularly for tourism development in the year 1997 (Berno and Bricker, 2001). This study aims to discuss the degree of sustainability of the Beijing Olympic Games 2008. This study also examines the actions taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Chinese Government and their subsequent impacts. This research tries to establish how far Beijing have been able to achieve sustainability in tourism. Several stakeholders had a curiosity in contributing to the development and arrangement of the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games or were encapsulated in some way. These organizations covered the Chinese men, civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), contractors, sponsors, suppliers, and several other Games service suppliers in China and across the world (NGO Perspective, n.d.). The national swimming place, also being constructed for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, is an instance of sustainable architecture using biomimetic sketch. Apart from the structural benefits provided by steel, it had the extra advantage of being easily reusable, and thus united with the Beijing Olympic coordinators’ attention on sustainable architecture, and the driving guidelines of biometric architecture. Beijing’s Olympic Stadium derived directly from nature, as constituents of the bird nest were unmasked as its important creative motif, with little components wasted to hide the structure. The challenge of establishment no longer lies in overpowering the limits of components, but rather in administering the economy, efficacy, sustainability, and ecological footmark of the entire method of establishment, application, and de-establishment. Hence there is a step toward re-founding a mutual relationship with nature (Rogers, Yoon, and Malek, n.d). One of the most influential socially oriented structures developed to evaluate the effects that tourism has on local people and the environments was able to envelop the emerging sentiment that local people express as tourism extends and engages larger proportion of a provincial economy. A distinguishable effect of tourism on conventional values is the demonstration effect, where provincial patterns of consumption alter to assume those of the tourists, although provincial people get to see a portion of tourists that is often not characteristics of their traditions displayed at home (e.g. expenditure patterns) (Fennell, 2003). In order to identify the plausible social impact within tourist region, Ryan (1994:164) has recognized a number of indicators of effects. This has been cited in the book, “Ecotourism: An Introduction” by Fennel (2003). The determinants of the impacts are: - number of tourists, kinds of tourists, the phase of tourist development, the deviation in economic development between tourist-enhancing and tourist- acquiring zones, the variation in cultural values between tourist-enhancing and tourist- acquiring zones, the physical extent of area which has an impact on the densities of tourist population, the magnitude to which tourism is improved by a migrant worker population, the accessibility to the tourist place, etc. (Fennel, 2003). A number of alterations had occurred during 1990s that relate to a mutual understanding of how the tourism industry had the potency to accommodate the uprightness of the natural globe. Specifically research had attempted to stress on the particular impacts of tourism in several case studies. It had been observed that tourists were found be larger consumers than the provincial people at tourist destinations. It also provided interest in sketching better methods of quantifying and estimating such impacts. However, tourists usually felt that the producers and the local people had more influence on those impacts. The provincial people felt that they had more influence on ecological impacts compared to the other two groups (Fennel, 2003). The concept of adding sport to development is not a novel one. It was begun in 1993 for IOC. The discussion group held in Lausanne and Geneva in December 2004 was another movement in a steady emergence. The IOC founder and re-vitalizer of the today’s Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, had already advocated international cooperation and human development through sport. All the beneficiaries of the French teacher and humanist had struggled to build a strong relationship with the international organization. This commitment was also incorporated into the Olympic Charter, which clearly ensured the social responsibility of the Olympic Movement: “The goal of Olympism is to place everywhere sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view of encouraging the establishment of a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity” (Fundamental Principle) (Olympic Review, 2004). China had hosted the Olympic Games for the first time in Beijing, 2008 which had been announced by the International Olympic Committee. According to the human-rights revolutionaries, China was not entitled to honor the Olympics. They asserted that the Chinese government deprived its citizens from fundamental freedoms and often tormented those people who raised voice against them. The Chinese government had established new parks, stadiums, and public conveyance for the betterment of the nation (Olympic Review, 2004). IOC is a profit making organization. It is not concerned with the agony of the poor through higher taxes and about those who are compelled into mandatory labor groups and are deprived of an equal and decent living wage. The corporate profits of Olympics were high, however, the socialist Chinese show off in the shadow of the IOC on global stage it presented the Olympic flame as an International symbol of profit for the 2010 Olympic Games in Beijing. Hence, there was a power conflict between the board members of IOC to place its own agenda for expected action in Beijing for profit neglecting the Articles of its own IOC Charter. On the other hand, the communist government was aggressive enough to follow a different and its own agenda to what these games should symbolize. In order to put an end to this conflict, the IOC met with the Chinese government Olympic representatives to boost them to help in providing temporary peace for a profitable game in Beijing. The Chinese government asserted that human right was not a sporting event. Thus, it was of no interest to the world public. However, the IOC was not ready to lose its rights to global profit from income from Olympic remained silent about human rights because the purpose of the Olympics was profit maximization that would have been generated for the IOC (Reardon, 2008). China aspired to appeal funding for the establishment of 11 Olympic projects in Qingdao, a coastal region in east Chinas Shandong Province. Qingdao had done the honors of boating events during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. A two-day funding promotion fair was inaugurated in Shenzhen. According to the Peoples Daily, Qingdao had planned to carry out 372 projects which were computed to cost about US$8.7 billion. These projects incorporated 11 Olympic facilities, having an Olympic water sports zone, the Olympic Games Village, a dock able to handle overseas ships of 10,000 dead weight cargoes, a global boating club, a global conference centre, a global tourism and holiday hotel and an Olympic square (China Seeks Investment for Olympic 2008 Projects, 2003). China Mobile and China Network Communications had united with Beijings Olympic group. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of XXIX Olympiad chose China Mobile Communications Group Corporation and China Network Communications Group Corporation (CNC) as its mobile telecommunications service associate. As per the agreement, China Mobile had advanced a modern and advanced mobile communications network and service system to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee, the Chinese authorizations to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy and 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing (China Mobile, China Network Communications join Beijings Olympic, 2004). Beijing Praxair Inc., an associate of Praxair China, had marked an oxygen supply agreement with Beijing Drainage Group Co., Ltd (BDG). Under the agreement, Praxair China had been an exceptional supplier of oxygen to 3 waste water treatment factories in Beijing that had supplied the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. These factories were placed at Qinghe, Beixiaohe, and Jiuxianqiao sections of Beijing. The coordinators of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games had focused on environmental companionability. The Beijing municipal government had planned to establish three wastewater re-application plants in order to enhance the quality of water in Beijing and preserve water resources (Praxair China Supplies Oxygen for Water Treatment Projects Serving Beijing Olympic Games, 2008). The majority of drivers could drive smoothly in well-designated Olympic lanes and traffic ran smoothly. The speed of traffic was seemed to be faster than the usual pace. It saved the time consuming factor nearly by 50 per cent. The traffic limitations were anticipated to do more than lessen the happening of blocked roads. It also helped to enhance quality of air. Environmental experts analyzed that application of the new traffic limitations would have lessened vehicle emissions nearly by 63 percent (Day one of odd-even traffic sees fewer cars, faster commute, 2008). In an attempt to fulfill the environmental challenge, an event proposal should sketch how preserving the environment will be intended and monitored during the event. In the year 1999, IOC constructed Agenda 21, a document planned to integrate its members into a program that provides support to the environment. This agenda was promoted on the IOC website as “putting sport as the service of humanity” (Mallen and Adams, 2008). In 2006, IOC discharged a sportsperson code of conduct which documented sportspersons were environmental role models. The IOC code of conduct established six major principles that combined prevention of wasting water, prevention of wasting energy, travel as efficaciously as possible, consume in a responsible manner, dumping of waste effectively, and support environmental preservation and education. The IOC anticipated event organizers and sportspersons to preserve and advocate sustainability of the environment. As tourism plays a driving force to crucial events and games, the IOC code of conduct could also be elongated to tourists. Sports, recreation and tourism proposal submissions should imply how the event and its associates would protect and advocate sustainability of the environment. Events are a crucial constituent in looking after the environment and proposal should reflect the relevance of preserving the environment (Mallen and Adams, 2008). The projects undertaken during Beijing Olympic Games actualized by the city of Beijing to put up environmental sustainability into the 2008 Olympic Games and accomplished the environmental commitments done during the campaigning stage. Beijing had set aspiring environmental goals to show the world its commitment towards sustainable development. The core areas of project included addressing quality of air and water, waste management and incorporating environmental considerations in new foundation development (Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: An Environmental Review, 2007). After the end of Beijing Olympics, Amnesty International today blamed the Chinese administrators of preferring image over substance as it continued to harass and punish revolutionarists and journalists during the Games. The organization also disapproved the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for discoloring the human rights heritage of the Olympics by neglecting the abuses. As quoted by Roseann Rife, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Deputy Program Director in Hong Kong, “The Beijing Olympics have been a spectacular sporting event but they took place against a backdrop of human rights violations, with activists prevented from expressing their views peacefully and many in detention when they have committed no crime. The Chinese authorities and the IOC had an opportunity to demonstrate human rights improvements but in most respects they failed to deliver. Forced evictions, detention of activists and restrictions on journalists should not blight another Olympics,” (Olympics: China and IOC must learn from mistakes and uphold human rights values, 2008). During the progress of the Olympic Games, Amnesty International observed constant violations of human rights particularly on amicable revolutionarists and journalists in China, including: revolutionarists being arrested and punished. There was ongoing detention or arbitrary arrests of Chinese broadcasters and human rights revolutionarists who had tried to document on human rights violations. The appellants and activists were denied permission to engage in peaceful affirmations in government-designated protest places in parks around Beijing. On 18 August, and after recursive questioning from the press, the Chinese officials asserted that they had received 77 complaint applications of 149 people. However, 74 out of 77 applications had been withdrawn, 2 had been suspended and 1 had been vetoed. However, Amnesty International appealed to the Chinese officials to augment the ameliorating across the board and to make compulsory the temporary rules incepted for foreign journalists in China in the inaugural of the Games, guaranteeing that they were consistently and efficaciously enforced (Olympics: China and IOC must learn from mistakes and uphold human rights values, 2008). The Chinese common men also suffered from the decisions taken by the IOC and Chinese government (Olympics: China and IOC must learn from mistakes and uphold human rights values, 2008). The Olympic Games had proved to be fruitful for the development of the Olympic city. Firstly, the Olympic Games enhance the global awareness of the city where the Olympic Games is about to take place. According to Liu, Vice Mayor of Beijing, GDP of Beijing had crossed 770 billion Yuan in 2006 which was 2.1 times higher than in 2001. The number of tourists had also increased by one million in 2006. The arrangements for the Olympic Games have assisted in updating functions of the city. Moreover, Beijing had also made further improvement in terms of the conveyance, environment and infrastructure. Beijings arrangement had promoted social attentiveness among the public. It also boosted people of Beijing to learn English so that more than four million people could have participated in the campaign (Olympic Games benefits the Olympic City, 2007). Throughout the study, we have established the actions taken by IOC and Chinese government, the positive and negative traits of these actions and its relation to sustainable tourism. In reality, Olympic Games tempt billions of TV observers every two years. Foreign tourists build a crucial aspect of the economic effect of the Games. The numbers of tourists differ from games to games on the basis of hotel accommodation, accessibility and possibility of tickets. The positive economic impact depends upon arrival of more foreign tourists. It is sensible to anticipate the impact of economic tourism to be as massive as the economic effect through establishment and action of the Games (Preuss, n.d). Instead of causing a tourist expansion, the Beijing Olympic Games in fact, caused a sudden decline in the numbers of tourists to Beijing. In August, hotels in Beijing had about 708,000 visitors from other Chinese regions, which accounted for 47 per cent less than previous year. In case of foreign tourists, only 389,000 were assessed. It accounted for 7.2 per cent decline from previous year. Hong Kong and Taiwan had a cut of 16.5 per cent and 57.3 per cent in tourists to Beijing (Beijing 2008: Tourist numbers fell during Olympic Games, 2008). Thus, in this study we find that Beijing had not been able to reach up to the level of sustainable tourism. Several areas need to be addressed by the country of China in order to attain high sustainable tourism development. References: 1. Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: An Environmental Review, 2007. UNEP (Nairobi). 2. “Olympic Review”, December 2004, available at: http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_889.pdf (Accessed on July 18, 2009). 3. “Beijing 2008: Tourist numbers fell during Olympic Games”, September 12, 2008. 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