Positive Impact of Tourism on the Environment - Essay Example

? Management of the environmental and socio-cultural impacts of tourism is necessary Contents Introduction 3 Environmental impact of tourism 3 Positive impact of tourism on environment 4 Negative Impact on environment 5 Socio-cultural impact of tourism 7 Positive impact of tourism on socio-cultural aspects 7 Negative impact of tourism on socio-cultural aspects 8 Managing environmental and socio cultural impact of tourism 10 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction Tourism is the largest industry of the world and it accounts for almost 5.5% of the total Gross National Product and 6% of the global employment. It is growing rapidly and most of the national and regional governments encourage the growth of tourism in their countries so as to support the economic growth of their region. In context of the poorer countries, tourism is seen as a means of promoting rapid development. Most of the developing countries promote tourism considering the perspective of economic development. However, tourism must be seen in a broader context of development as it has the potential to impact the socio economic aspects, and environmental aspects on the destination tourist regions (Batta 2000). There is presence of cumulative relationship between the development of tourism, the environment and the socio-economic environment. For tourism to contribute to the sustainable development, it must be ecologically and environmentally sensitive, economically viable and culturally appropriate (Reisinger and Dimanche 2009). There are both positive and negative impacts of tourism on socio-cultural and environmental aspects. It is essential to manage these impacts by encouraging positive ones and doing away with negative ones through appropriate planning and strategies. Sustainable development is possible through necessary management of tourism. Environmental impact of tourism In context of tourism industry, the environment performs three vital functions. Firstly, it is the supplier of natural goods, for example, mountains, beautiful landscape, and so on. It forms the core of the tourism product. Secondly, it is the provider of natural resources that is used for creation of economic goods. Thirdly, the environment has the sink function in which the desirable by-products which are generated during the process of both the production and consumption are discarded (Terkenli et al 2007). The quality of tourism depends on the quality of the environment. There are both positive and negative impacts of tourism on the environment as environment constitutes a very essential part of the overall tourism industry. Positive impact of tourism on environment The growth and development of tourist destinations encourages the conservation of flora and fauna. For instance, savannah parks of eastern Uganda have rich flora and fauna that are preserved and protected in order to attract large number of tourists in the region. It also leads to preservation of attractive landscapes and the infrastructure of tourism utilizes the lands that has remained as waste and idle until tourist activities were started (Richards and Hall 2000). With the blooming tourism activities, there is better infrastructure with availability of resources and maintenance of the heritage characteristics of the park due to working of three factors. Firstly, tourists are attracted through projection of the tourist place as the place having some scenic beauty, historical monuments and natural parks. This projection results in an increased allocation of required resources from the government for their maintenance and related publicity activities. Secondly, visiting tourists are required to pay for seeing these monuments and natural parks, etc. which also adds to the resource pool for maintenance and further growth of the region. Thirdly, due to the combined effect of increased expenditure of government on building infrastructure facilities and publicity, and increasing number of arrivals of tourists, the private investment also starts emerging (Richards and Hall 2000). Negative Impact on environment Besides the positive impact of tourism on the natural environment, there are negative impacts as well. These effects can be seen in flora and fauna, erosion, pollution, visual effects and depletion of natural resources. Regarding flora and fauna, potential consequences of tourism includes destruction of breeding habits, killing of animals in order to supply goods to the trade of animal products, hunting and killing of animals, clearance of vegetation and plantation to accommodate facilities of tourism, etc. (Davenport 2006) In terms of impact aspect of pollution, there is occurrence of water pollution through discharges of sewage, oil, petrol, noise pollution from transportation and tourist activities, combustion of fuel for lighting purposes, etc. Creation of infrastructure of tourism requires a lot of space and this often results in disturbance to the ecosystems. European Alps is the case where large scale destruction of the ecosystem took place by removal of vegetation so as to accommodate the infrastructure for tourists (Rowat et al 2007). In the eastern Alps that cover Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Bavaria, ski resorts were constructed so as to bring the skiers closer to the nature. In this activity, the landscape was marred with vegetation being destroyed and causing the soil to erode. Mass tourism leads to construction of paved roads which has caused the problem of air pollution, dust, noise, large traffic jams, and so on. Every year, a large number of tourists travel across Alps and it is increasing every year (Davenport 2006). The Okavango Delta in Botswana is experiencing negative environmental impact of tourism due to destruction of the ecology of the area because of driving outside of the prescribed trails, poor and inefficient management of waste and high noise pollution. The noise pollution emerges from small engine aircrafts, small engine boats, and road vehicles. The hippo population, wildlife species and birds that have nest are facing problems in the delta due to noise pollution (Mbaiwa 2003). The environmental impact of tourism not only hampers and degrades the natural physical environment, but it also ultimately affects the tourism industry as well. For instance, Kenya has its tourist industry at the second position after agriculture and contributes to the economic development of the country. However, due to environmental degradation, overcrowding of national parks, such as Mount Meru, Tsavo, etc. have disturbed the wildlife and has led to disturbance in the savannah landscape. Tourists have started viewing Kenya as a less pristine experience and declining population of wild species due to the disturbance in the natural environment has also reduced the attractiveness of East Africa as a tourist destination (Mowforth and Munt 2008). Due to increase in the number of tourists in places which are difficult to access, environmental degradation and its negative impact are higher. The evidence is present in the region of Nepal where the area is mountainous and cars are not permitted in the area due to which locals of the region have developed a trekking infrastructure for supporting visitors by building hotels, lodges, etc. in even those areas that are difficult to access. There are also warm showers that are present 4000m above sea level which has resulted in instability of soil and failures across slope due to large amount of construction along these slopes (Urtasun and Gutierrez 2006). Therefore, it is necessary to manage the environmental impact of tourism to maximize the positive impact and minimize the negative impact. Socio-cultural impact of tourism Tourism can have both positive as well as negative impact on the socio-cultural structure of the tourist destination. The social impact can be thought in the terms of changes in the lives of people who live in communities of the destination place of tourism. The cultural impact can be thought in terms of changes in the traditional ceremonies, arts, customs, architecture and rituals of people which are the result of tourism activity. When there is existence of greater difference between the host community or the local people of the tourist destination and the tourists, there is greater effect of tourism on society (Urtasun and Gutierrez 2006). Positive impact of tourism on socio-cultural aspects Expansion and growth of tourism leads to rise in the standard of living of local people and also facilitates cultural exchange between tourists and the host community. It also aids in arousing the interest for art festivals, crafts and conservation of old monuments and buildings that represent the cultural or historical identity of the local community. For instance, in Cyprus, a tourist destination in Europe, the tourism industry has led to the rise in the standard of living of Cyprus people due to rise in the income of people with increase in tourism expenditure (Spanou 2007). As evidence, Petra in Jordan is considered as one of the most important cultural heritage sites in the world and the most famous attraction in the country. Tourism has created job opportunities for people in Petra and has still large potential for creation of jobs. Creation of employment opportunities is socially more beneficial as the payment in these jobs is more than the payment in the agricultural jobs. Due to building of infrastructure and more government expenditure, there is revitalization of non industrialized or poor regions. The areas that have outstanding beauty and landscape with cultural and aesthetic values are also promoted by tourism (Alhasanat 2010). Furthermore, when there is increased population of tourists in the destination place, it leads to more development of medical, hospitality and educational and other types of facilities that make the quality of life of local inhabitants better. When there is development of tourist facilities, it increases recreational facilities. For instance, in Uzbekistan, the famous regions of Buhara, Samarqand, and Horezm contribute to positive socio cultural impact of tourism for its people. Increased and extended tourism activities in these regions have led to significant contribution to the preservation of wood carving, traditional handcrafting, hammered copper work and handmade carpets and silk, and have also led to preservation and maintenance of historical monuments and architectural buildings (Mirbabayev and Shagazatova 2011). Uzbekistan opened its monuments and museums for tourists in order to promote traditions and national culture of the country. The growing interest of people which is evident from the increasing number of visiting tourists in the region makes the local inhabitants proud of their culture and their way of life. This shows that tourism leads to revival of cultural and social life of people with rebirth of traditional cultural activities as well as art and craft of the region (Mirbabayev and Shagazatova 2011). Negative impact of tourism on socio-cultural aspects Tourism activities have positive impacts on the society. But, there are always two sides of the coin. Tourism can lead to negative impact of the socio-cultural aspects. Tourism has the power to affect the change in the culture. When there is successful development of the resource, there is occurrence of its negative impacts as well. It includes over development, artificial reconstruction, conflict and assimilation. While the activity of presenting of the local culture to visitors can help in preservation of the culture, it can also lead to its dilution or destruction on the other side (Wang et al 2006). The use of culture as a tourist attraction can lead to changes in the traditional activities and forms of art so as to suit the production to needs and demands of tourists. Loss of language, crowding and congestion are other negative impacts of tourism (Herremans 2006). In Cyprus, a European nation, the old buildings that are not able to bear the pressure of overcrowding of tourists have not enough capacity to provide sufficient accommodation to the increasing number of tourists. Owing to this, they are destroyed in order to create space for new and large sized guest houses that have enough capacity and facilities for tourists. Moreover, the extreme concentration of the tourist people have resulted in the modification of social attitudes of the young people of Cyprus, in particular the sexual behaviour (Spanou 2007). In Petra, Jordan, while tourism has improved their standard of living, it has weakened the social bonds and the structure of the family. Acculturation is another negative impact of tourism in which when the cultures of the host community and the tourist interact, the host community culture, if it is weaker, tends to be sidelined by the dominant culture. People who visit places of more dominant culture, such as that of America can lead to Americanization in regards to clothes, music, food etc. The demonstration effect is another negative impact in which when tourists wear expensive and designer clothes, jewellery, etc, it creates envy among local people who then get indulge in crime. Young people are quite susceptible to demonstration effect. It also leads to social division between young and old (Alhasanat 2010). The local resident also suffers the loss of local autonomy when there is large foreign involvement in the tourism industry along-with loss in the sense of local feeling which is the outcome of transformation of the surrounding in order to accommodate the requirements of the foreign dominated industry of tourism as is evident in the tourist destination of Okavango delta in Botswana where local autonomy is lost and the feel of natural local surroundings is also lost due to huge construction and development which is tourists suited (Mbaiwa 2005). Managing environmental and socio cultural impact of tourism There is dire need to do away with the negative impact of tourism considering the aspects of environment, society and culture. The effective management of tourism is possible through sustainable tourism. There is need to develop the strategy for sustainable tourism. In order to develop the strategy, firstly there should be analysis of status quo (Hawkins and Middleton 2012). It involves developing of previous tourism management strategies for the concerned area thinking about what resources have to be used and what lessons are required to be learnt. Then, there is need of stakeholder analysis followed by collecting facts and figures for the local system of education, social and economic structure. There is also need to acquire traditional knowledge (Alshuwaikhat 2005). The second step is development of the strategy. It is based on the information collected from the previous step. It gives the definition to the priority issues, the community of the stakeholders, a set of objectives and the methodology to attain these objectives. The objectives include conservation of specific landscapes and scenic beauty of the place which make the area attractive for tourists. The habitats that are protected through nature conservation legislation should also be conserved (Theobald 2012). There should be maximization of local revenues from investments in tourism so that the local area can be developed and benefitted from tourism activities. The cultural development in the region has to be self enabled (Weaver 2012). The third step is the action plan. In this step, the local people must be involved in the process of drafting tourism policy along-with cooperation between various sectors. In the socio-cultural aspect, there must be promotion of buying of local food and building material so that the local industries can create job opportunities, and there should be set up of the networks of local producers for meeting the needs of tourists (Theobald 2012). Considering the environmental aspect, there should be improvement in control and enforcement of the environmental standards in regards to drinking water, treatment of waste water, bathing water, etc. Endangered habitats must be identified and buffer zone should be created around those natural areas that are identified as sensitive zones. Furthermore, there should be prohibition of sports that are environmentally harmful and there must be strict implementation of procedures of strategic environmental assessment on all the projects and programs related to tourism (Alshuwaikhat 2005). For increasing the awareness of local inhabitants as well as tourists, there should be training programs depicting the values of cultural heritage, effective management of environment, training of management staff for protected area so that they can effectively interpret the nature. A visitor’s information program must also be in place along-with the information on the environment and socio-cultural aspects so that tourists are also aware about the place they are visiting and their cultural norms (Weaver 2012). The Lane Cover River Park in Australia is the example of successful sustainable tourism. The enterprise works hard with the local community to maintain a high level of sustainability (Lane Cove River Tourist Park Environmental Plan 2012). There is production of weekly free newspaper column which highlights the environmental aspects and visitors are educated about the sustainability programs asking for their bit of contribution. Regarding the environmental aspects, there is reduction of carbon, and reuse and recycle of waste. For controlling air pollution, there is use of electric vehicles that are charged by solar power (Lane Cove River Tourist Park, Australia Conservation Award Finalist 2009). Several measures can be taken by enterprises and government of the tourist destination, such as use of green energy, enhancement of natural environment, transition from mass tourism to quality tourism, protection and preservation of historical as well as cultural heritage. For instance, in Croatia, there is special incentive measure to promote rural tourism so that the young generation do not leave the rural area as a consequence of the demonstration effect. There is promotion of domestic tourist trips throughout the year and there is promotion of production of authentic Croatian souvenirs for visiting people thus reviving the old artistic craftsmanship (Hawkins and Middleton 2012). There is need to promote cooperation at the national level so that cultural assets can be used and protected. Conclusion Tourism has become a prominent industry at the global level, and is increasing and developing at a fast pace. It is a means of generating large amount of revenues thus boosting the economy. The developing countries are specifically benefitted through tourism activities. However, besides economic aspects, there are environmental and socio-cultural impacts of tourism that can both be positive or negative. The positive environmental impact includes encouragement of conservation of flora and fauna, preservation of heritage sites and monuments of the place, urban regeneration, etc. The negative impacts include loss of agricultural production, soil erosion, noise and air pollution, degradation of water quality, and danger to biodiversity due to destruction of natural vegetation to pave way to construction of large buildings, hotels and lodges for tourists. The positive socio-cultural impact of tourism can be seen in terms of promotion of national culture, cultural interactions, creation of employment opportunities, promotion of art and craft of the region, preservation of monuments and other building that attract tourists to a large extent. The negative impact includes affect of culture on weaker local culture of the tourist destination, demonstration affect, acculturation, over-dependence on tourism, threat to local values and morals, overcrowding, etc. Therefore, management of tourism is necessary so that the positive impact can be maximized and the negative one minimized. Sustainable tourism is the method of effective tourism management in which action plan involving active participation of local people and spreading awareness regarding environment and socio-cultural aspects are the important constituents. References Alhasanat, S. 2010. Sociocultural Impacts of Tourism on the Local Community at Petra, Jordan. 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