Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
4.
Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as
well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving
sustainabletourismisacontinuousprocessand it requires constantmonitoringof impacts, introducing
the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary.
5.
Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful
experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting
sustainable tourism practices amongst them.
Tourism and Sustainable Development:
A Special Relationship
Tourism is in a special position in the contribution it can make to
and the
challenges it presents. First, this is because of the dynamism and growth of the sector, and the
major contribution that it makes to the economies of many countries and local destinations. Second,
it is because tourism is an activity that
involves a special relationship between
consumers (visitors),
sustainable development
the industry,
the
environment, and local communities.
This special relationship arises because,
unlike most other sectors, the consumer of
tourism (the tourist) travels to the pro-
ducer and the product. This leads to three
important and unique aspects of the rela-
tionship between tourism and sustainable
development:
An auto-free Yosemite?
Yosemite National park has
recently proposed a bold
new plan: Eliminate the
cars! The plan seeks to
restore habitat, dismantle
facilities, remove roads,
and eliminate private
vehicles from the crowded
Yosemite Valley. If the plan
is implemented, we may
see the day when the
couple shown above
walking in relative
tranquility will be much
more common. Courtesyof
TuolumneCountyVisitors
Bureau.PhotobyTerriMeltz.
Interaction: The nature of tourism, as
a service industry that is based
on delivering an experience of new
places, means that it involves a con-
siderable amount of interaction, both
direct and indirect, between visitors,
host communities, and their
&
local
environments.
Awareness: Tourism makes people (vis-
itors and hosts) become far more con-
scious of environmental issues and
differences between nations and cul-
tures. This can affect attitudes and
concerns for sustainability issues not
only while traveling but throughout
people
&
'
s lives.
Dependency: Much of tourism is based on visitors seeking to experience intact and clean environ-
ments, attractive natural areas, authentic historic and cultural traditions, and welcoming hosts with
whom they have a good relationship. The industry depends on these attributes being in place.
&
This close and direct relationship creates a sensitive situation, whereby tourism can be both very
damaging but also very positive for sustainable development.
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