In 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit, 178
governments approved Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration. Agenda 21 offered a
blueprint for sustainable development, while the Rio Declaration articulated the
main principles for sustainable development in the 21st century. Both documents
challenged organizations, governments and industries to work towards maximum
levels of sustainability, a number of countries in Africa and the Pacific
consider tourism to be an important vehicle for economic and social
development. The tourism industry has the potential to generate foreign
exchange earnings, create employment, promote development in various parts of
the country, reduce income and employment disparities among regions, strengthen
linkages among many sectors of the national economy and help to alleviate
poverty. However, this standard view of the tourism industry does not give a
complete picture of the potential contribution that tourism can provide for
developing countries. A more complete viewpoint can be provided by the concept
of sustainable tourism development, because it can help policy-makers make more
effective policies and plans designed to realize the full social and economic
potential of the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism development is premised
on the responsibility of governments and all stakeholders in the tourism sector
to ensure that long-term prosperity and the quality of life of future
generations is not placed at risk.
In order to sustain tourism, it is necessary
for countries to address various issues arising from tourism’s contribution to
development in a comprehensive, systematic way. Issues of policy-making,
planning, management and the participation of the private sector and other
stakeholders must be addressed in terms of opportunities for action and
possible constraints that need to be overcome by concerted efforts.
Challenges
and opportunities for sustainable tourism development
In the past decade, tourism has become the
largest and most lucrative industry worldwide in terms of employment and share
of global gross domestic product. The tourism industry has been growing rapidly
as well as changing at a fast pace, as more people are interested in spending
leisure time in nature, (ecotourism) it has become one of the fastest-growing
segments of the tourism industry. This creates opportunities in areas
characterized by natural attractions, wildlife and wilderness habitats. Local
communities may benefit in economic terms as well as create a commitment to
conservation and sustainable development.
At present, increased demands for
ecotourism create pressure on carrying capacity. Greater numbers of visitors
makes it more likely that habitats will be at risk and the wilderness and
cultural heritage could be ruined. For instance, in China they will encounter
many challenges, because they are ranked sixth worldwide in terms of tourist
arrivals. In the next twenty years, China is forecast to be the top tourist
destination and the fourth largest source of tourists in the world. This
prospect for major tourism growth in China makes it important to quickly
consider the environmental and social issues that are part of sustainable
tourism development. Careful planning and assessment are important parts of
sustainable tourism development. Officials responsible for national parks and
other nature areas will have a major responsibility for handling the challenges
and deciding which opportunities for tourism development can be sustained over
the long term. Local communities will also have to participate in planning and
assessment when culture and heritage are important parts of ecotourism. It has
been noted that the principles for ecotourism have not yet been firmly
established in order to guide planning and assessment. However, two basic
principles of ecotourism that have been identified are: (1) encourage conservation and
(2) provide benefits to the local populations. However they are certain
tools that can be used to help achieve balance, such as assessment of carrying
capacity, finding the limits of acceptable change and doing cost/benefit
analysis. Tourism policy-makers, planners and managers should consider these
tools as helpful only if they take a holistic, coordinated approach, especially
since benefits and costs in terms of sustainable tourism development are not
easily defined in monetary terms. Furthermore, measuring the success of tourism
involving nature (for example, national parks) and culture (for example,
village-based tourism) should not just be based on number of visitors or amount
of income; rather measurement should include the length of stay, quality of the
experience and whether natural and cultural resources have been conserved.
Ecotourism can clearly create opportunities for spreading the economic benefits
of tourism to villages, remote areas and national parks, as long as the government
policy aims to have more tourism in these areas and the local people have
participated in the process. Along these lines, policy-makers should be aware that
smaller-scale business operators are more appropriate for activities related to
ecotourism and government policies need to support this level of tourism services.
Environmental
management of tourism development
Tourism plays important role in
economic development at any community, national, regional and global levels by
using natural resources and environments as key physical inputs. In making use
of the environment and natural resources, the negative impacts have to be minimized
to assure sustainable use, as well as generate enough tourism revenue to
reinvest a certain portion of funds. The reinvestment should aim at enhancing
the quality of the resources and build the management capacity at various
levels. There is a complex relationship between tourism and the environment,
such that tourism has inevitable and important environmental impacts,
including: resource use, consumption, waste, pollution and effects from
tourism-related transport. At the same time, beaches, mountains, rivers,
forests and diverse flora and fauna make the environment a basic resource that
the tourism industry needs in order to thrive and grow. While the viability of
tourism could be threatened by negative environmental impacts, tourism could
also contribute significantly to environmental protection. This shows that
tourism and the environment are interrelated and interdependent in complex
ways, and together they could provide a sustainable economic base for
development. In light of these observations, tourism policy-makers, managers
and planners must address the issues of environmental management of tourism
development in a sustainable manner.
The adverse
impact of tourism on the environment relates to pressure on natural resources,
harm to wildlife and habitats, creation of pollution and waste and related
social and cultural pressures. Other environmental issues that need to be
addressed are:
• Deterioration of natural
resources (fresh water, land and landscape, marine resources, atmosphere and
local resources), which may be resilient, but can deteriorate rapidly if impact
exceeds tolerable limits;
• Disruption of wildlife and
habitats, including vegetation, endangered species, use of forest resources,
intrusion into fragile areas with sensitive ecosystems;
• Creation of pollution and waste
contaminating the land, fresh water sources, marine resources, as well as
causing air and noise pollution.
The Environment Committee of the World
Tourism Organization (WTO) has taken action through its Tourism and Environment
Task Force by developing indicators of sustainability that are relevant to the
tourism industry and accepted internationally. Tourism managers and planners
can use these indicators to address concerns about sustainability.
Promotion
of cultural tourism and heritage site management
The major contribution of the tourism
industry as a vehicle for economic development in many countries around the
world has been widely acknowledged. At present, tourism should be seen as an
activity that contributes to a better understanding of places, people and their
cultures. In the process of sharing and experiencing the culture and heritage
of a country such as China, Nigeria, Kenya etc, international tourists will
also have a stronger positive image of the country at the present time. The
phenomenon of cultural tourism can be understood in terms of supply, demand,
marketing and promotion. The issues concerning heritage site management can be
considered by looking at the supply and demand sides. Many sites, artifacts and
festivals in countries worldwide have special meaning and significance for
local people and reflect the varied history of mankind. In fact, many places
have been designated as world heritage sites like the Suku Kingdom in Adamawa
state, the Osun Oshogbo festival in Osun state of Nigeria and so many others.
However, the creation of special events and arrangement of sites for the
purpose of attracting tourists is a relatively recent phenomenon. The notion of
supply with respect to cultural tourism relates to an assessment of how a
cultural manifestation would be accepted by the market. An objective, unbiased
assessment would be needed, and it is usually best obtained from knowledgeable
outsiders. Local culture may also have to be assessed in terms of suitability
for tourism, and this means that it is important for local stakeholders to be
identified, especially who will benefit more and who will benefit less.
At the same token, considering cultural
tourism from the demand side requires understanding that people become tourists
for a variety of reasons and motives. Most of the time, tourists seek a variety
of attractions at a location and cultural tourism products may be one of
several factors that create a tourist attraction. There may be sites of
cultural and historical significance that are so unique that they create their
own demand, such as the Great Wall in China, Suku kingdom in Adamawa state,
Osun Oshogbo festival in Osun state Nigeria. Of course, demand for cultural
tourism products will also depend on the adequacy of tourism infrastructure,
quality of accommodations, state of the environment, etc. The possibility of
overcrowding at a cultural site, especially during special holiday periods,
will affect demand. It is also important to be aware that most tourists travel
for leisure, so that the culture has to be explained in ways that are easy to
understand, including gestures of hospitality. For most tourists, cultural
experiences are embedded in other tourist experiences such as nature walks,
shopping, dining and relaxing at the beach.
Finally, Promotion of cultural assets and
heritage sites can help to attract certain segments of the tourist market, but
it is important to understand that most international tourists have a variety
of interests and expectations when they visit a country. Cultural attractions
and heritage sites must be well managed and properly interpreted in order to
gain the maximum tourism benefit for the local community, the tourists and the
site managers. This will enhance the image of the country, as well as create
greater international understanding of people, places and cultures. Tourism
development and marketing require continuous and consistent efforts over time.
All stakeholders, especially the government, the private sector and the
community, must work together in an integrated manner for tourism to succeed.
When considered as an industry, tourism must also have the necessary
infrastructure: accessibility, airports, seaports, roads, electricity, water
supply, hotel and restaurant facilities and service personnel.
Sustainable
Tourism Development: Principles and Practices
When policy-makers, planners and investors
decide to develop the tourism industry, they find that there are many different
forms of tourism. The forms vary according to their location, the interests of
the tourists and the tourism resources that are available. Regardless of form,
however, there are certain positive impacts of tourism that are expected to
contribute to development. For example, there is added support for the economy
of a community, new employment is created, community stability can be
maintained, amenities in the area are enhanced and the community can build a
sense of pride and local identity. At the same time, planners and stakeholders
have to take into account possible negative impacts from tourism. Sustainable
tourism is one approach to development of the tourism industry designed to
provide a context that can guide choices, bring together stakeholders so they
act in the common interest and help decision-makers see more clearly how to
balance the positive and negative impacts at present and in the future.
One definition of sustainable tourism
states that it is tourism developed and maintained in an area (community,
environment) in such a manner and at such a scale that it remains viable over
an indefinite period and does not degrade or alter the environment (human or
physical) in any way that might prohibit the successful development and well-being
of other activities and processes. This definition includes a number of
imperatives that should serve as guides for action:
(1)
Make
prudent use of the earth’s resources,
(2)
Alleviate
poverty and reduce gender inequalities,
(3)
Enhance
the quality of life,
(4)
Preserve
biodiversity and life support systems for all natural habitats,
(5)
Preserve
indigenous knowledge and ways of life based on respect for different
traditions, and
(6)
Encourage
bottom up responsibility for participation and enhanced capabilities for local
level decision-making.
In another development, it is possible to
set forth a number of principles for sustainable tourism development. The main
principles include the following:
• Residents must
maintain control over tourism development and planning requires broad-based
community input.
• Quality
employment must be provided for the community along with education and training
programmes.
• Distribution
of the benefits must be broad-based and cooperation among local stakeholders is
essential.
• Intergenerational
equity must be provided and tourism businesses and other tourism agencies must
adopt long-term planning horizons.
• Tourism
strategies and plans must be linked to broader initiatives reflected in
economic development plans of the community, region or nation and move away
from the traditional growth-oriented model.
• Harmony is
required between the needs of the visitor, the place and the community in order
to promote appropriate uses and activities.
• The scale and
type of tourism facilities must reflect limits of acceptable use, and this
means guidelines are needed for tourism operations and impact assessments must
be required.
• The community
heritage and natural resources must be maintained and enhanced using
internationally acceptable criteria and standards.
• Marketing for
sustainable tourism must provide for a high quality tourist experience.
The practice of sustainable tourism
development is based on management of capacities and sites. Simply put,
carrying capacity measures the level of use that is sustainable. However, there
are a number of issues to be addressed, which means that carrying capacity
becomes quite complex in the management of tourism development. Every
environment serves multiple purposes and sensitivity to different use levels
depends on the values of all users. A range of valued products and services
must come from the same environment and different types of use have different
impacts. Carrying capacity can be useful because it draws attention to limits
and thresholds beyond which a site should not be developed. There are a number
of ways to measure carrying capacity, including:
(1)
Tangible
resource limits,
(2)
Tolerance
by the host population,
(3)
Visitor satisfaction,
(4)
Rates of growth, and
(5)
Other quantifiable indicators.
Conclusively, the most important
challenge for sustainable tourism development concerns the perspective and
expectations that all stakeholders, particularly government policy-makers, have
about tourism’s contribution at the local, regional and national levels. Many
developing countries view tourism as a vehicle for economic development, given
its potential to earn foreign exchange, create employment, reduce income and
employment disparities, strengthen linkages among economic sectors and help to
alleviate poverty. The challenge facing policy-makers is to have a broader
perspective and better understanding that there can be both positive and
negative effects from tourism development. Moreover, a broader perspective
challenges all stakeholders involved with tourism from the community level to
the national level to find the means to work together in more proactive ways
that will increase the positive effects and minimize the possible negative
effects of tourism development. Sustainable tourism development provides the
opportunity to take proactive approaches based on broad participation by
stakeholders, which would contribute to more effective policies and plans. This
would increase the opportunities to realize the full social and economic
potential of the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism development creates the
opportunity for governments and all stakeholders in the tourism sector to aim
at ensuring long-term prosperity and quality of life for future generations.
Sustainable tourism development also creates opportunities to preserve natural
and cultural heritages for tourists and local people in ways that address
development problems and reduce risks to the environment and ways of life.
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