Traversing the globe one problem at a time

A GE3246 blog by Lydia and Kai Jun

Can tourism and the environment co-exist?

Hey urban nomads! As we are approaching the end of this blog, it’s time to consolidate what we have talked about so far and go back to the dilemma of the day – can we still engage in tourism activities while having a minimal impact on the environment?

Of course, even when we stay at home all day, we still have an impact on the environment – food and water consumption, electricity generation, clothes and commodities… Therefore, the key word here is how to minimise our effect on the environment.

Sustainable tourism is “tourism which leads to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems” – UNWTO

Sustainable tourism is one that meets the needs of present tourists and local communities while protecting the needs of the future (Fang, 2020). There are various forms of sustainable tourism which includes ecotourism, fair trade and ethical travel.

Principles of sustainable tourism 

Sustainable tourism aims to be low impact on the natural resources, both culturally and environmentally and it should nevertheless still fulfill the contentment of the tourist and motive of travel. According to Fang, some principles include:

  • Reuse, reduce and recycle waste materials while reducing the use of inefficient resources
  • Allow locals to gain self-esteem and self-efficacy
  • Boost not only national economic growth but regional and local and should be equally distributed across stakeholders
  • Tourism development should not compromise the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs

Dimensions of sustainable tourism 

Sustainable tourism can be broadly categorised into 3 parts

  1. Conservation of environment
  2. Cultural assets
  3. Economic well-being

Environment 

It is crucial for an environment to be well-managed so as to attract tourists and tourists are a source of income by providing job opportunities for locals. However, with increasing pressure from tourism activities, environment starts to degrade. Hence, sustainable tourism should leverage on the ecological possessions of a tourist destination to maintain and conserve the biodiversity for both the present and future generation.

Culture

The cultural features of tourist destinations is the most important factor that draws tourists since it is a chance to experience something new – but this leads to the commercialisation of culture as programs/ entertainment are forced into itineraries. This can have detrimental impacts on the local communities as social systems and values are disrupted.

Commercialisation of Ayahuasca Tourism 

Ayahuasca has been used by indigenous tribes in the Amazon for medicinal purposes but recently, as people learn about the benefits of Ayahuasca, more tourists start to flock there to sip on the medicine. Some go to seek cure for their illnesses, some to deepen their spiritual connection and others simply to see what it is about.

Tourist experiencing the local healing ceremony

However, the influx of tourism and thus tourism revenue is changing the fabric of the society. This created an economic shaft as new hierarchies of power and wealth and divide appears among the community. The higher earnings from tourists means that it is no longer financially feasible to provide services for the local community members when the ‘doctors’, otherwise known as curandero, are able to charge tourists much higher.

To make matters worse, curandero might move away from rural area and into tourists centers by hoping to gain more wealth and perhaps higher position, further increasing the divide between those who have the expertise of Ayahuasca and the locals who do not.

Also, the issue of neo-colonialism is prominent as new ayahuasca ceremonies are geared towards what Westerners are looking for and may even deviate from the authentic culture. This raises the question of whether the ceremonies are genuine or whitewashed versions (Barrett, 2019).

Hence, it is essential to keep the interest of the locals in mind and to preserve the authenticity of the culture to be passed down to future generation.

Economic

Sustainable tourism should promote long-term economic growth rather than short-term/ one-off growth. To do this, socio-economic remuneration to the various stakeholders should be moderately spread in the communities (Fang, 2020). This includes constant job opportunities, income-generating sources such as hosting of tourists which help to alleviate poverty in the community.

Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET)

The UN World Tourism Organisation encourages the adoption of GCET to maximise tourism’s economic contribution while minimising negative impact (UNWTO, 2020). GCET consists of a set of principles designed to advise the stakeholders such as government, travel industry, host communities and tourists in tourism development.

A private sector commitment was also developed to obtain signatures of private companies worldwide. When they sign the GCET, they pledge to uphold, foster and implement the values of sustainable tourism championed by the Code. The focus of the commitment is on social, cultural and economic, with attention on issues such as human rights, gender equality and protection of host communities. The list of participating organisations can be found here, with some famous ones such as Tripadvisor, ANA and many more (UNWTO, 2020).

Tourism SDGs

Tourism SDGs

The UN SDGs have also been adapted to fit the tourism industry. For instance, for SDG 1 – no poverty, in the tourism context, it means providing income and jobs at local and community levels. Sustainable tourism development means that the revenue and impact can also be linked to poverty reduction goals and empowering vulnerable groups (Tourisms for SDGs, 2020). More details for the other SDGs can be found here.

To conclude, the road to sustainable tourism development is not an easy one with so many stakeholders involved. If planned properly, the tourist destination can be sustained for many generations to come but if not done properly, tourism can destroy the environment. Hence, extra care is needed to plan tourism development.

 

References

Barrett, J. (2019). Ayahuasca Tourism: The Commercialization of Culture.   Retrieved from https://worldfootprints.com/ayahuasca-tourism-the-commercialization-of-culture/

Fang, W.-T. (2020). Tourism in Emerging Economies: The Way We Green, Sustainable, and Healthy (1st 2020. ed.). Singapore: Springer Singapore.

Tourisms for SDGs. (2020). Join us on the 2030 journey.   Retrieved from http://tourism4sdgs.org/

UNWTO. (2020). Global code of ethics for tourism.   Retrieved from https://www.unwto.org/global-code-of-ethics-for-tourism

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