Global Tourism and Sustainability - Term Paper Example

Global Tourism and Sustainability Contents Introduction 3 Discussion 3 Reviewing the concept of sustainable tourism 3 Evaluating the concept of sustainability and its issues and impacts on global tourism development 5 Appraising sustainable global tourism strategies in the forwarding of diverse case studies 6 Individual strategies for the future environmental and market sustainability of the global tourism industry 7 Provide a balance of practical and theoretical content 8 Conclusion 8 Reference 10 Introduction International Tourism has shown that no matter what type of tourism is undertaken there will always be a series of impacts on both environmental and social level. Tourism can be alternative or mass tourism. It is seen that mass tourism has the most deep and visible impact at the destination level, being mostly of negative ones. Hence alternative tourism also known as post mass or modern tourism looks to avoid the mass tourist destination. These focus on ethical behaviour and responsible attitude of the consumers who participates to form the new type of it. This form of tourism is based on the principles of sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development is an internationally contested concept. United Nations in 1993 decided to form World Commission on Environment and Development in 1992 to protect the natural environment so as to apply principles of sustainability. This report defined the concept of sustainable development as well as established the laws and the principles of sustainable development. It basically attempts to make low impact on local culture and environment so that they can generate future employment for local people. The concept of sustainable development aims to ensure that development of the local environment will result in positive experience for tourists, tourism companies and local people. Thus sustainable tourism has now become a successful ecotourism practice all around. This report takes a look at the concept of global tourism and sustainability along with strategies needed to achieve the sustainable global tourism. Discussion Reviewing the concept of sustainable tourism The concept of sustainable development in the area of tourism generated the concept of sustainable tourism. This area quickly gained importance in both the research and academia. Sustainable tourism is defined as the process through which frictions and tensions is reduced which have been created by interactions among tourist, tourism industry, local communities and natural environment. It is based on the following principles (Holden, 2005, p.87). It aims at minimizing the negative impact that tourism has on it members and local community so that social sustainability can be achieved. It deals with development of those forms of tourism which do not disturb and upset the daily life of the individuals at the tourist destination. It avoids hostile situations. It looks to minimize the impact of tourism activity on the environment so as to form ecological sustainability. It does that by enhancing and maintaining conservation by keeping a part of the revenues for the protected area. It maximizes the economic benefits of local population so as to develop tourism, thus obtaining economic sustainability. It also minimizes the negative impact of tourism on traditions, culture and customs of the local communities so that cultural sustainability can be obtain. Thus it develops a tourism which is capable of determining the individuality and authenticity of local cultures so as to avoid saturation with the external cultural influences. The sustainability of tourism in recent years has progressed from being a niche concept to an industry wide concept. Accommodation providers now expect the travels will be ethical, responsible and sustainable. It is expected that in the coming years the accommodation providers will integrate sustainability into their brand packaging. Some travellers are now looking for location which will provide them with aesthetic appeal so that they can have purest unadulterated and rawest form of experience. Luxury brands are now pushing for making a Living Hotel so as to make the whole experience on a new extreme. Evaluating the concept of sustainability and its issues and impacts on global tourism development The concept of sustainable development means the process of meeting the needs of the present so that the future generations are able to meet their own needs. Hence sustainable development is about way of making the life of all the people better in ways which can be seen as a viable option in the future. It is based on the principles of using the world’s equity and resources in ways which can benefit the world. There are three pillars of sustainable development which are known as Social sustainability, Economic sustainability and environmental sustainability. Economic Sustainability aims at making prosperity for all levels of the society and thus addressing the cost effectiveness of them (Haughton and Counsell, 2003, p. 98). Environmental sustainability implies managing and conserving those resources which are non renewable in nature and are precious for life support. Social sustainability indicates respecting the human rights for all sections of the society, which needs equitable distribution of benefits so as to alleviate poverty. Tourism holds a special position for contributing to the sustainable development. This is because of the growth and dynamism of the tourism sector and the contribution it makes to the major economies of local and country. Tourism includes a special relationship between the industry, local communities, environment and consumers (Sheller and Urry, 2004, p. 152). There are many economic benefits of tourism which is one of the main reasons for the developing countries. It is predicted that the trend of demand for international travel is estimated to grow at astonishing rates because of the travel preferences and economic stability in regions like Asia, North America and Europe. The income elasticity of demand for tourism indicates that as the incomes of the people in the developed countries increases they will have more disposable incomes which they can direct towards travel. Again developing countries are in need of foreign exchange earnings so as to support their economic development (Radcliff, 2006, p. 172). Appraising sustainable global tourism strategies in the forwarding of diverse case studies Sustainable tourism can support conservation of the resources which is needed to keep the future generations. Sustainable tourism aligns the needs of the rural population particularly those living in the protected areas, with the economic activities. Thus sustainable tourism can be used as a tool for conservation. Communities throughout the world sees protected areas as one which interferes with the activities that provide for their families. In the same way protected areas views communities as destructive and extractive, which requires constant policing and monitoring. The reality is that communities depend on the natural resources in order to survive and hence are in the centre of indirect or direct threats to conservation. It represents social, economic and political challenge and hence there is a need to address the local communities. Sustainable tourism offers economic alternatives based on the preservation of natural resources without looking for extraction. Again, sustainable tourism helps protected areas and communities to align their interests and makes it possible to coexist between them (Conrady and Buck, 2010, p. 89). There are basically three types of strategy which have relevance to sustainable tourism. These include Strategies for overall tourism which embraces sustainability principles, other government strategies which recognises and embraces sustainable tourism and strategies for sub-sectors of tourism which can play a crucial role for making the tourism more sustainable. Every country hence needs to have a strategy which will give a clear framework and direction for the management and development of the tourism. Nowadays the whole strategy needs to be on the basis of sustainable development. It should be developed in such a way that it is able to stand up to external scrutiny. Thus checking and screening of processes are now introduced as policies for sustainable development. It is important for governments to ensure that sustainable development of tourism is recognized as being government strategies. In addition to tourism strategies it is important for the governments to develop set of policies specific to tourism. These have to be defined by market type or product like sport, rural, health, cultural tourism (Theobald, 2005, p. 216). Individual strategies for the future environmental and market sustainability of the global tourism industry Environmentally Sustainable Tourism Strategic Plan should be an integral part of the Government’s strategy. It will encourage the industry so that it can perform at a world class levels like sustainable tourism. They will form a group of leading green business and be positioned to use sustainable practices in the future. The companies have to understand the consumer demand for environmental performance. The Environmentally sustainable tourism strategic plan aims at reducing the carbon footprint of the tourism industry. They should try to meet the growing consumer demand for sustainable practices and develop frameworks and partnerships. It should include ways of assisting the tourism industry so as to adapt to climate change. At the same time it should look for minimising the resources used along with the production of waste. With extensive media coverage, consumer awareness of sustainable tourism has increased (Mill, 2007, p. 172). Hence in the future consumers will increasingly seek for more environmentally friendly products so that it can have significant impact on climate change and sustainability. The future strategy will include minimisation of waste, reducing energy consumption and conserving water so as to save money and increase profits. Hence simple changes like high-efficiency light globes can reduce the cost significantly. Again using energy efficient practices will help the tourism businesses in adapting to carbon constrained future. Further it will minimise the impact of energy costs which is associated with the introduction of proposed Carbon Pollution reduction Scheme. The future strategy will include environmentally sustainable buildings which have cost more than a standard construction but delivers environmental and financial benefits which conventional buildings do not have. Provide a balance of practical and theoretical content Sustainability issues are a key driver for political and social agendas in many countries. There have been many initiatives which are considered as a primary framework for development of tourism plans. The public sector organisations have taken much role for moving towards more sustainable forms of tourism. It is very difficult to formulate and implement any approach of sustainable tourism without strong development control and local authority planning. This is because the public sector organisation usually represents the whole population and not the interests of particular stakeholders or groups. Thus it has required legislative framework for acting on, which is seen as being impartial without any commercial interest. The public sector organisations are not bound by short term financial objectives, thus it can take into consideration long term view. Hence it needs to be noted that the application of sustainability depends on government’s ideologies and values (Murphy, 2007, p. 162). Conclusion The government over the last 10 years has followed a strategic approach for planning tourism. There are agencies like World Tourism Organisation which is a specialized agency of United Nations. They look after the global forum for tourism issues and policy. Like this sustainable tourism needs to be developed and promoted across national, regional and local levels. Companies needs to support sustainable development of urban, rural and coastal destinations, protected areas and heritage sites so that it can spread to far corners of the world. Hence sustainable tourism needs to be developed by all government bodies across the world. Reference Conrady, R. and Buck, M. 2010. Trends and Issues in Global Tourism. Berlin: Springer. Haughton, G. and Counsell, D., 2003. Regions, Spatial Strategies and Sustainable Development. London: Routledge. Holden, A., 2005. Tourism Studies and the Social Sciences. London: Routledge Mill, R. C. 2007. Resorts-Management and Operation. London: Butterworth – Heinnemann Murphy, P. 2007. Business of Resort Management. London: Butterworth-Heinnemann. Radcliff, S. 2006. Culture and Development in an Globalising World. London: Routledge. Sheller, M. and Urry, J. 2004. Tourism Mobilities, London: Routledge. Theobald, W. 2005. Global Tourism. London: Butterworth- Heinemann. Read More