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Unlock This CourseTourism can have significant effects on the natural environment. These impacts can be both positive and negative, affecting landscapes, wildlife, air quality, water resources and ecosystems. Understanding these impacts is crucial for sustainable tourism development.
Key Definitions:
Tourism can benefit the environment in several ways:
Tourism can also harm the environment:
Tourism contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through transportation. Air travel is particularly carbon-intensive, with a single long-haul flight potentially generating more carbon emissions than some people produce in a year.
Aviation accounts for about 2.5% of global CO₂ emissions. A return flight from London to New York produces approximately 1.5 tonnes of CO₂ per passenger.
Hotels use significant energy for heating, cooling, lighting and amenities like pools. A typical hotel room generates 20-30kg of CO₂ per night.
Tourist areas often experience increased traffic congestion and air pollution from vehicles, affecting local air quality and public health.
Tourism places enormous demands on water resources, particularly in water-scarce regions. This can lead to water shortages for local communities and damage to aquatic ecosystems.
Tourists typically use more water than locals. A hotel guest might use 300+ litres per day compared to 70-100 litres for residents. Facilities like swimming pools, golf courses and landscaped gardens are particularly water-intensive.
Untreated sewage from tourism facilities can contaminate marine environments. Chemicals from sunscreen can damage coral reefs. In some destinations, up to 80% of sewage enters the sea untreated.
Tourism development often transforms landscapes and can threaten biodiversity through habitat loss, fragmentation and disturbance of wildlife.
Coastal tourism development has destroyed mangroves, wetlands and dunes that provide crucial ecosystem services. For example, 70% of sand dunes in the Mediterranean have been lost partly due to tourism development.
Wildlife tourism can disrupt feeding, breeding and migration patterns. In some safari destinations, animals alter their behaviour to avoid tourist vehicles. However, tourism can also fund conservation efforts and create economic incentives to protect wildlife.
Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh Island became famous after featuring in the film "The Beach" (2000). By 2018, it was receiving up to 5,000 visitors daily, causing severe environmental damage:
In 2018, Thai authorities closed Maya Bay to tourists. During closure:
When it reopened in 2022, strict regulations were in place: limited visitor numbers, no swimming and boats must dock at a designated pier rather than on the beach. This case demonstrates both the severe impacts tourism can have and how management strategies can help environments recover.
Sustainable tourism aims to minimise negative environmental impacts while maximising benefits. Several approaches have been developed:
Carrying capacity: Limiting visitor numbers to sustainable levels
Zoning: Restricting activities in sensitive areas
Environmental Impact Assessments: Evaluating potential impacts before development
Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people. Principles include:
- Minimising impact
- Building environmental awareness
- Providing direct financial benefits for conservation
Programmes that certify tourism businesses meeting environmental standards:
- Green Key
- Blue Flag (for beaches)
- Green Tourism Business Scheme
Costa Rica has become a world leader in ecotourism, with over 25% of its land protected in national parks and reserves. The country's approach includes:
Results include forest cover increasing from 21% in 1987 to over 50% today, protection of biodiversity and economic benefits for local communities. Tourism now accounts for about 8% of GDP while supporting conservation goals.
When answering exam questions about environmental impacts of tourism, remember to:
Use these terms to demonstrate your understanding:
Tourism's environmental impacts are complex and varied. While tourism can damage environments through pollution, resource consumption and habitat destruction, it can also support conservation through awareness and funding. Sustainable tourism approaches aim to minimise negative impacts while maximising benefits.
The key to managing tourism's environmental impacts lies in careful planning, regulation, education and stakeholder collaboration. As the tourism industry continues to grow, understanding and addressing these impacts becomes increasingly important for preserving the natural environments that attract tourists in the first place.