Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
meaningful devolution in public administration,
it may not be possible for local authorities to
respond to the needs of tourists and local people
simultaneously in a satisfactory manner. Although
the current government has recognized the need
for restructuring public administration systems
and has prepared new legislation to give them
more power, the enactment of this has been
delayed by strong political opposition.
Without empowering local governments in
an appropriate manner, it may not be possible
for local authorities to deal effectively with
environmental, social and economic impacts of
tourism. Municipalities have difficulty in serving
foreign tourists, second-home owners and their
permanent residents simultaneously because
their budgets are based on the number of
permanent residents, excluding second-home
owners and tourists (Suyolcu, 1980). When large
numbers of tourists and second-home owners
come and visit popular local tourist destinations
during peak season, the service demands on these
local municipalities goes beyond their capacities.
Consequently, undesirable environmental, social,
cultural and economic impacts result.
Increased waste residues from tourism facili-
ties coupled with the failure to install appropriate
sewage disposal systems have caused pollution
of underground and surface water (Kocasoy,
1989; Tosun, 2001). Even some World
Heritage Sites such as the Pamukkale
Travertines and the Fairy Chimneys of Goreme
have been damaged by rapid, unplanned and
mismanaged tourism growth (Tosun and Fyall,
2005). For example, it is reported that some
hotels and motels have utilized the thermal
water as their hot water source for swimming
pools and baths. Such an excessive misuse of
the thermal water that keeps the Travertines
fresh has changed their ecological balance
(Tosun, 2001; Yuksel
et al
.,1999). Moreover,
Some open fissures are being filled by domestic
waste from adjacent municipalities, hotels and
motels. Surface waters collecting in these fissures
will wash pollutants into the main thermal-water
reservoir. This will bring two major problems.
Firstly, the polluted thermal waters will precipitate
unclean travertine of unsightly appearance and,
secondly and more importantly, the polluted
thermal waters will pose a threat to human
health where they continue to be used supplying
baths, swimming pools . . .
(Altunel and Hancock, 1994, p. 129)
Need for greater environmental protection
Concentration of too many visitors in time
and space, and careless attitudes and activities
of visitors towards the fragile fairy chimneys and
rock-churches has also brought some irrever-
sible damage (Tosun, 1998).
In order to give priority to environmental
concerns in tourism development, the design
and implementation of training programmes
for environmental awareness is vital. These
should target appropriate local authority
employees, private sector representatives and
members of NGOs. Appropriate information
and interpretation should be published and
provided for tourists to inform them about
the fragile nature of the country's historic and
natural assets.
It is strongly recommended that Turkey
should draw lessons from the European experi-
ence in the area of management and protection
of heritage sites and the natural environment. In
this regard, it is believed that accession to the
EU will make it easier for Turkey to share
European experience and utilize its expertise in
the area of overall environmental protection.
Turkish Mediterranean, Aegean and Marmara
coastal tourism destinations have suffered from
the unplanned ribbon development of hotels
and second homes, and tourist pollution from
the careless discarding of packaging and food
waste (Tosun, 1998, 2001). Tourism develop-
ment has also disrupted the ecological balance
of flora and fauna - for example, hotels and sec-
ond homes being built on the sites of olive and
citrus groves and displacing the livelihoods of
many agricultural workers (Tosun and Fyall,
2005). Owing to the loss of fertile agricultural
lands, former workers in the agricultural sector
have been economically forced to work as cheap
labour for hotel construction or have low-paid
seasonal and relatively lower status jobs in the
tourism industry. Tourist developments on
beaches coupled with lighting and noise from
tourist facilities have disrupted the natural life-
cycle movements of sea turtles along a small
part of the Mediterranean Sea (Morrison and
Selman, 1991; Türkozan, 2000; Tosun, 2001).
