Effective Management for Sustainable Tourism - Literature review Example

Name: xxxxx Tutor: xxxxx Title: Sustainable Tourism Institution: xxxxx Date: xxxxx Introduction Sustainable tourism is believed to be a value orientation in which managing tourism effects need to be considered first over market economics. According to Hall and Lew (1998) development of sustainable tourism requires policies that are scale and context-specific. The development also requires local management of resources. Sustainable tourism requires calmness, caution and commitment that is long-term. It is shaped by international economic restructuring and local destination’s position. Tourism has several impacts on environment and on local community. Effective management of tourism impacts is thus very essential for sustainable tourism. This paper therefore discusses sustainable tourism, impacts of tourism, values of Market economics and mass tourism (Weaver, 2006). Sustainable tourism According to Weaver (2006), sustainable development can be defined as development of tourism that prevent damages of environment, economy and culture of the region in which the industry is taking place. The aim of sustainable development is to ensure that the development that is taking place is not a negative experience to the local individuals, to the tourists and tourism companies (Swarbrooke, 1999). With sustainable development, it is usually very difficult to go through the type of boom and bust that brought about the immediate growth and locations’ despoliation such as the Spain’s east coast in 1970s.sustainable is still complicated despite of its hopeful objective. It is very essential to know that sustainable tourism does not usually mean ecotourism (Hall & Lew 1998). Ecotourism is a responsible travel to natural sites that preserve environment and up lift the standard of living of local people. Walking through a rainforest is not eco-tourism unless the particular walk assists the environment and the people who are staying in that locality (Shaw & Williams, 2002). A rafting travel is only ecotourism if it provides awareness and cash that help in protecting the watershed. In 1980s, Ecotourism became a popular form of tourism that focused a lot on wildlife, nature or exotic cultures. The recent research however, illustrates that this kind of tourism cannot be really good for the surroundings or for the people who passes through this attention (Edgell, 2006). In Kenya for instance, Safaris tours are certainly ecotourism. Though there have been a lot of cases in Kenya whereby the lions are made to possess unpredictable behavior due to the large number of tourists, or where the inhabitants who are the Maasai speaking people have not managed to gain from the development. Essentially, ecotourism is not composed of a lot of mainstream beach or tourism that is city-based. The effects are not always greater than any other form of nature-based tourism. It can therefore be said that sustainable development involves an attempt to improve the effects of the various types of tourism. This basically entails looking for ways of enhancing partnership among the companies and the owners of the resorts or local governments (Gössling, 2009). Sustainable tourism can be achieved in many ways. For companies and destinations’ managers to achieve sustainable tourism, they need to cooperate amongst themselves. However, this does not require a marked interest from consumers. Hall and Lew (1998) argue that many organizations have suggested that they can only make steps in achieving sustainable tourism if they are capable of recognizing a clear market demand for holidays that are friendly to the environmental or clearly green. However, research has illustrated that not many tourists would desire holidays that are green within the mass tourism market. It has also been proposed that green holidays can cause the pitfalls of ecotourism to repeat. It may not be sustainable or profitable to support market demand for green tourism because this demand cannot occur and cannot lead to sustainable tourism. Mass tourism is thus an act of touring an area with many people at one time. It is also a study of the impact the large size of people can have on a given destination or on a given area that has been overexposed due to tourists being there repeatedly. Mass tourists are usually assist businesses such as telecommunication services (Gössling, 2009). Macbeth and Carson (2005) argue that development of sustainable tourism does not depend on it being advertised as environmentally or culturally sensitive industry. It has been proved that profits can be enhanced by simply adopting several common environmental principles such as waste recycling, searching for local partnerships for management of the resort and organizing a long-tern sustainability. These activities can lead to cleaner and specious holiday resorts. It is therefore important for companies and resort managers to find ways of attaining this kind of success (Horner & Swarbrooke, 2004). One of the schemes entails the development of vertical integration of the companies involved in tourism activities. The merged companies are likely to have a massive control over the transportation of tourists, marketing holidays as well as the management of the resorts. Amalgamation helps in avoiding any form of displeasure and despoliation of the resort which, in most cases, take place when tourists are interested in conventional mass tourism (Bramwell, 2004). However, this argument has met various criticisms because it implies that smaller tourism organizations do not have the ability to penetrate the market. Moreover, a reduction in the level of competition within both smaller and medium sized organizations can assist in lowering holiday prices. The British tourism industry, for example, has experienced a faster reduction in prices early 1980s. This has been due to high level competition among well established organizations such as Airtour and Thompson. It should however, be noted that due to competition from smaller as well as well controlled organizations, rapid development of resorts has been experienced. Unwillingness of large organizations to facilitate their own costs through involving in long-term sustainability has been experienced (Brebbia & Pineda, 2006). The accomplishment of sustainable tourism mainly depends on the provision of the required incentives for the stakeholders so that the negative effects of tourism can be extensively replaced by the enhancers. A variety of local practical steps, for instance minimizing the numbers of land use hence, a reduction on the impacts. In the long run, the eventual accomplishment of sustainable tourism requires both the tourists and companies to think intensely on how tourists can impact on other individuals’ homes and livelihoods. Many tourists seem admire to travel via one hundred countries a pair of eyes, even though the best tour is to travel via one country with hundred pairs of eyes. Tourists are able to help in avoiding the impacts of tourism on destinations and also assist in attaining experience that is more satisfying through searching for more diversity and depth in holiday destinations (Harris & Griffin, 2002). Impact of tourism Tourism can be a force that destructs severely. For several years, tourism has transformed some coastal areas and other locations, to focus entirely on tourism’s business. The moment tourists desire for change and decide to go to other locations, everything that is left behind is a location full of bars, hotels and over utilized parks that are basically degraded and cannot attract many tourists (Robinson & Heitmann, 2011). East Coast of Spain is a good example of costal area that was departed. The coast was very popular during 1970s, but in 1980s the coast in Spain was no longer preferred by tourists. Tourists considered coastline to be more degraded and the groups thus decided to move to turkey instead (Harris & Griffin, 2002). This pattern is not only confined to coastal regions. Tribal and minority individuals in developing nations are also aimed by tourism. Tourism has complicated impacts on how these kinds of individuals view themselves or how they are handled in the process of development. A good example of this is the Maasai in Kenya who happen to stay next to large safari parks. The impact of tourism on Maasai people in Kenya has not been positive. The Maasai people have not gained from tourism as much as they are supposed to be. They are always presented to overseas tourists as part of safari package. The villages of Maasai have large number of tourists visiting to see their lifestyle (Weaver, 2006). Anthropologists uses the term stage authenticity to imply that someone usually travel long distance to observe something that is different, exciting, remote and exotic. Several places such as Peru, India and Thailand practice this. It does not always imply that individuals who partake in the exercises are having bad impact on tribal communities. The integration of the individuals is sometimes hindered in broader society. The barriers among minority and majority groups who stay in the entire nation can also be increased. Tourism has led to breaches of human rights and displacement of local communities. Several national parks have formed by displacing people so as to create parks. For instance, to create Lake Rara national park in Nepal, four hundred local communities, that is the Chhetri, had to be resettled somewhere else (Sofield, 2003). Market economics values and mass tourism Sofield (2003) argue that Market economy is a free market system in which decisions pertaining allocation of resources, production, consumption, competition and price levels are developed by collective actions of persons or companies looking for their own advantage. In every market economy, freedom of markets is however limited and government usually intervene to encourage or discourage demand or to promote competition. Edgell (2006) notes that the control of mass tourism market via consumer pressure or otherwise is not simple. Tourism on its own has no concrete lasting product. It should therefore be based on presentation and image. In most cases the practice involves certain false or conventional visions of global destination. Package holidays possess time value, basically meaning that both operators and travel agencies have the obligation of selling/marketing holidays, way before receiving the tourists. The industry comprises of different activities such as transport, tour guide, hotel management and construction. The different activities have different aims and objectives, together with various environmental and social impacts. It therefore implies that not every sector is similarly responsible for destruction or can work together to avoid the impacts (Weaver, 2006). The argument that the pressure of the consumer can transform tourism industry practice is managed by the capability of the organization to sustain the image of environmental responsibility which can easily be demonstrated to the consumers (Page, 2009). The natural belief that consumers are generally ethical has also helped in the contribution of a smaller part of the market. Scholars and campaigners point out that consumer demand can easily result into stereotypical forms of tourism which, to some extent, do not help in development of the industry. Package/mass tourism market is mainly depicted by price reductions as well as unwillingness of the companies to change business practices if the costs are unmanageable (Smith & Duffy, 2003). A good number of companies take it that the interest of the consumer in sustainable tourism is low and only benefits a small section of the market. The companies consider the establishment of sustainable tourism practices of niche products like ecotourism or culturally-based tourism. As far as the mass market is concerned, a good number of companies in most cases repeat price reduction competition problem. This makes the companies to find no possibilities of putting into practice sustainable tourism until the short term profitability requirements are fully accomplished (Brebbia & Pineda, 2006). According to Weaver (2006), the observations indicate that UK industries still confuse sustainable tourism with ethics rather than something which can be is mass tourism market. Various companies also possess little confidence in the level of consumer interest as far as sustainable tourism is concerned in the near future. Arguments put across indicate that depending on the level of consumer interest to pressurize companies in sustainability can be optimistic but can only lead to an increased level in niche products rather than creating a change in mass tourism market. Companies also give a consideration to voluntary regulation practices to be generally ineffective (Horner & Swarbrook, 2004). Conclusion It is clear from the discussion that sustainable tourism is a value orientation in which management tourism effects is usually preferred first. It is an industry that is committed in developing negligible impact on local community and the surroundings as it helps in generating income and employment to local individuals. Attaining sustainable tourism requires co-operation among concerned companies and destinations’ managers. Sustainable tourism does not require marked interest from local consumers. Mass tourism is an act of touring an area with many people at one time. Tourism has led to breaches of human rights and displacement of local communities. Bibliography Hall C. M. & Lew A. A., 1998, Sustainable tourism: a geographical perspective, Longman, New York. Weaver, B., D., 2006, Sustainable tourism: theory and practice, Butterworth-Heinemann, New York. Edgell, L., D., 2006, Managing sustainable tourism: a legacy for the future, Routledge, London. 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