Tourism, Development and the Environment - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 252

Conceptualising the Tourism Environment
By definition, each and every tourism environment, whether local,
regional or national, is unique. Not only are tourism destinations defined by
a particular combination of environmental resources, natural or man-made,
but the robustness or fragility of those resources, their significance or cen-
trality to the tourism experience, and the scale, scope, character and stage of
development of the tourism sector more generally represent parameters
within which the tourism-environment interface may be perceived and,
consequently, appropriate policies for the management and development of
tourism considered.
Moreover, even in the context of particular destinations, there may be no
single environment. Just as there is no single nature, but multiple 'natures'
(Macnaghten & Urry, 1998), so too are there multiple environments; the
destination environment is defined by the varying perceptions of different
local groups, the attitudes and expectations of visitors, regional and national
policymakers, and so on (Holden, 2000). In other words, distinctions exist
between the ways in which local communities, tourists and other stakehold-
ers perceive or value the destination environment, distinctions which may
also be influenced by the broader socio-economic and political context
within which the destination is located. Thus, local communities may view
the environment as a legitimate resource for development, particularly where
tourism plays a relatively important role in the local economy, whereas tour-
ists may value highly a pristine or undeveloped traditional environment.
Conversely, the cultural significance of a resource may, for local communi-
ties, outweigh any potential economic value arising from its exploitation as
a tourist venue or attraction, Uluru (Ayers Rock) in Australia being a notable
example (Brown, 1999). At the same time, tourists themselves vary enor-
mously in terms of their attitudes towards particular environments, their
degree of understanding of their impacts on the local environment and their
consequential behaviour (Hillery et al. , 2001).
The tourism-environment interface within particular destinational con-
texts may also be influenced by a variety of factors beyond, or external to,
the destination. For example, the broader socio-economic and political con-
text, such as the degree of regional or national economic development or the
institutional structures, ideologies and robustness of governance, may impact
directly upon the ways in which the environment is perceived, managed and
exploited. Equally, private and public sector organisations concerned with
supporting and promoting tourism development, as well as pressure or activ-
ist groups that seek to limit tourism development, influence attitudes
towards and perceptions of the environment. In short, the relationship and
interaction between tourism development and the environment, the factors
that may influence the nature of that relationship and, consequently, the