🚶 Individuals
Tourists and local people choose how they travel, what they buy and how they behave. Small choices add up when millions of people make them.
Managing Trade, Migration and Tourism » Sustainable Tourism in a Developed Country
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: 8.3 (c)
- How individuals, organisations and governments can make tourism more sustainable
- A named developed country: the United Kingdom (UK)
- Real UK examples: the Countryside Code, the Eden Project, the National Trust and National Parks
- How to write a clear exam answer on sustainable tourism
Remember, this is part of the optional Globalisation and Migration topic. In Paper 2 Section C you answer only one of the three global issues.
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Unlock This CourseMaking tourism more sustainable
Earlier lessons showed that tourism brings benefits and costs to destination areas. Remember, sustainable tourism means tourism that meets the needs of visitors and local people today without spoiling the place for the future.
The specification asks you to know approaches from three groups, shown for a named developed country. In this lesson the country is the United Kingdom. The next lesson looks at an emerging or developing country.
Key terms:
- Countryside Code: a set of simple rules telling visitors how to behave in the countryside, such as taking litter home.
- National Park: a large area of protected countryside where building and land use are controlled to protect it, but where people still live and work.
- Honeypot site: a place that is so popular that it gets very crowded, which can cause damage.
- Visitor management: ways of controlling where visitors go and what they do, so that a place is not damaged.
Three groups who can help
🏢 Organisations
Charities, businesses and attractions manage land, run visitor sites and teach people about the environment.
🏛 Governments
Governments make laws and plans, protect land and can pay for projects that no single person could do.
Case study: the United Kingdom
The UK is a developed country with a large tourism industry. Visitors come for cities, coasts and countryside. Popular countryside areas such as the Lake District and Cornwall can have problems with crowds, litter, traffic and damaged footpaths. This is why sustainable approaches matter there.
Approaches by individuals
- Follow the Countryside Code. Visitors are asked to take their litter home, keep dogs under control, leave gates as they find them and stay on paths. This protects wildlife, farm animals and the landscape.
- Use public transport. Visitors who go by train or bus instead of by car cause fewer traffic jams and less air pollution in busy villages.
- Spend money locally. Staying in a local guest house, eating at a village cafe and buying food from local farms keeps more money in the community. This helps local jobs and shops survive.
Approaches by organisations
- The National Trust. This is a charity that looks after coasts, countryside and historic places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It repairs worn footpaths, manages car parks and tells visitors how to protect the places they visit. It uses money from members and visitors to pay for this work.
- The Eden Project, Cornwall. It was built in an old clay pit and opened in 2001. It teaches visitors about plants and the environment, and it attracts tourists to an area that needs jobs. It shows how tourism can turn a damaged site into a useful one.
- Blue Flag beaches. The Blue Flag award is given to beaches that meet standards for clean water, safety and good management. Beach managers work to keep these standards, which encourages them to look after the coast.
Approaches by government
- National Parks. The UK government passed a law in 1949 that allowed National Parks to be set up. The Lake District, Peak District and Snowdonia are examples. Each park has an authority that controls new building and looks after paths and wildlife. This stops the most beautiful areas being covered by hotels and car parks.
- Planning rules. Councils decide whether new hotels, holiday parks and car parks can be built. They can refuse buildings that would harm the landscape or add too much traffic.
- Paying for rail and bus links. Government and local councils support train and bus services to tourist areas, so that fewer visitors need to drive.
Why these approaches are sustainable
Each approach protects one of three things. Environment: less litter, damage and pollution. Economy: money and jobs stay in the area. People: locals can keep living there and enjoy their own area. In the exam, say which of the three your example protects.
Strengths and weaknesses
✅ Strengths
Rules in National Parks protect the landscape for the long term. Charities can focus on caring for places. Individual choices cost very little and spread quickly.
❌ Weaknesses
The Countryside Code is only advice, so some visitors ignore it. Many people still prefer cars. Visitor numbers at honeypot sites can still be high, and planning rules can make it harder to build homes and jobs for local people.
Common mistakes
- Writing about a country without naming it. The specification says named, so always say "in the UK" and give a real example.
- Listing ideas such as "recycle" with no link to tourism. Say who does it and what it protects.
- Only describing the approach. Add how it helps the place stay good for the future.
- Mixing this lesson up with the one on impacts. Impacts are what tourism causes. Approaches are what people do to reduce harm.
Exam-style question
(a) Describe one way that individuals can make tourism more sustainable in a named developed country. [2 marks]
(b) Explain how a government or an organisation has made tourism more sustainable in the same country. [4 marks]
Model answer
(a) In the UK, visitors to the countryside can follow the Countryside Code (1) and take their litter home, which stops litter harming wildlife and farm animals (1).
(b) In the UK, the government allowed National Parks to be set up, such as the Lake District (1). Each park has an authority that controls new building (1). This means hotels and car parks cannot spoil the landscape (1), so the area stays attractive for future visitors and local people (1).
Exam tip
For a "named" case study, put the country and a real example in your first sentence. Then add a "so" or "because" to show how it makes tourism more sustainable.