Tourism and the Environment - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 372

INTRODUCTION

A is tourism moves farther into the twenty- rst century, both the destination and the enterprise

will have to make the environment a priority. Because tourism is now the world's largest industry,
the environment is taking center stage in tourism development. Tourism is not only a powerful
economic force but a factor in the physical environment as well. Because more attention will be
paid to the environment in the future, projects that are economically feasible but not environmentally
desirable will remain unbuilt. The environment is the core of the tourism product. Pro tability
in tourism depends on maintaining the attractiveness of the destination people want to see and
experience.
Tourism has the power to enhance the environment, to provide funds for conservation, to preserve
culture and history, to set sustainable use limits, and to protect natural attractions. It also has the
power to destroy. If tourism is not properly planned and implemented, it can destroy vegetation,
create overcrowding, litter trekking areas, pollute beaches, result in overbuilding, eliminate open
space, create sewage problems, cause housing problems, and ignore the needs and structure of the
host community.
It is being recognized that tourism must preserve and protect the environment and natural
attractions so that people will continue to travel, and must set use limits so that sites will be truly
sustainable. The problem is how to do this. Concepts such sustainable development, sustainable
tourism, carrying capacity, climate change, nature tourism, and ecotourism have been proposed and
are examined in this chapter. Throughout the discussion, we constantly keep in mind the industry ' s

obligation to be environmentally responsible.

DOES TOURISM THREATEN THE ENVIRONMENT?
THE UNEP/UNWTO POSITION

Before addressing how tourism can best respond to the negative impacts on the environment, it is
useful to obtain a clear understanding of the fundamental goal in this regard; namely, the achievement
of a tourism system which is sustainable over the long term.

The Nature of Sustainable Development 1

The most commonly used de nition of is still that given in the report of the

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). 2 That is, sustainable development is

sustainable development

a
process to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.

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Sustainable development is, therefore, about creating a better life for all people in ways that will be
as viable in the future as they are at present. In other words, sustainable development is based on
principles of sound husbandry of the world s resources, and on equity in the way those resources are

used and in the way in which the bene ts obtained from them are distributed.
The concept has evolved since the 1987 de nition, notably through Agenda 21, the plan of action
that emerged from the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio, 1992), and the plan of
implementation from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002). Three
dimensions

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or pillars of sustainable development are now recognized and underlined. These are:

Economic sustainability, which means generating prosperity at different levels of society and
addressing the cost effectiveness of all economic activity. Crucially, it is about the viability of
enterprises and activities and their ability to be maintained in the long term.

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