Lecture 7 Tourism and Sustainable development Tourism is the worlds largest industry (WTtC et al., 1995) It employs approximately one in nine workers worldwide, comprising 6% of global gross national product (GNP)and, it has been seen as a panacea for solving many social problems and for driving economic growth McMinn, 1997) Tourism Industry: This is a very big industry and it is still growing O Planets biggest industry OAnnual turnover HKS31 trillion O An economy second in the world OGlobe's biggest employer, 10%of the workforce Indeed, tourism contribute to the following: 1. Generate financial support for protection and management of natural areas 2. Generate economic benefits for residents living near natural areas; 3. Generate support for conservation among these residents. Tourism Industry in Hong Kong: the Tourists spent Hks53 billion in 1999 (HkTA1999) Highest tourism receipts and arrivals in East Asia Pacific region in 1997(excluding China) However, the potential environmental and social impacts of tourism are significant and, although in the past tourism was almost always considered to be beneficial for both host and home countries, more recently the negative aspects have been recognized and more closely analysed (Briassoulis and van der straaten, 1992). ce of Tourism The importance of tourism is underscored by referring to it as'one of the top three industries.. Hotels, restaurants, transportation and amusements are examples of the types of firms that comprise the tourism From the viewpoint of economic development and or economic impact, a visitor /tourist-is someone who comes to an area, spends money and leaves. The reason for the visit, length of stay, length of trip, or distances from home are immaterial Definition of visitor/ Tourist This definition of visitor/tourist includes: People who stay in hotels, motels, resorts or campgrounds People who visit friends or relatives People who visit while just passing through going somewhere else People who are on a day trip( do not stay overnight) An'all other category of people on boats, who sleep in a vehicle of some sort, or who otherwise do not fit the above Visitor/Tourist Note that visitors/tourists Be attending a meeting or convention; o Be business travelers outside of their home office are
1 Lecture 7 Tourism and Sustainable Development Tourism is the world’s largest industry (WTTC et al., 1995). It employs approximately one in nine workers worldwide, comprising 6% of global gross national product (GNP) and, it has been seen as a panacea for solving many social problems and for driving economic growth (McMinn, 1997). Tourism Industry: Thisis a very big industry and it is still growing ⚫Planet’s biggest industry ⚫Annual turnover HK$31 trillion ⚫An economy second in the world ⚫Globe’s biggest employer, 10% of the workforce Indeed, tourism contribute to the following: – 1. Generate financial support for protection and management of natural areas; – 2. Generate economic benefits for residents living near natural areas; – 3. Generate support for conservation among these residents. Tourism Industry in Hong Kong: the gains ⚫ Tourists spent HK$53 billion in 1999 (HKTA 1999) ⚫ Highest tourism receipts and arrivals in East Asia / Pacific region in 1997 (excluding China) However, the potential environmental and social impacts of tourism are significant and, although in the past tourism was almost always considered to be beneficial for both host and home countries, more recently the negative aspects have been recognized and more closely analysed (Briassoulis and van der Straaten, 1992). Importance of Tourism The importance of tourism is underscored by referring to it as ‘one of the top three industries .….. Hotels, restaurants, transportation and amusements are examples of the types of firms that comprise the tourism industry. From the viewpoint of economic development and / or economic impact, a visitor / tourist - is someone who comes to an area, spends money and leaves. The reason for the visit, length of stay, length of trip, or distances from home are immaterial. Definition of Visitor / Tourist This definition of visitor/tourist includes: ⚫ People who stay in hotels, motels, resorts or campgrounds; ⚫ People who visit friends or relatives; ⚫ People who visit while just passing through going somewhere else; ⚫ People who are on a day trip (do not stay overnight); ⚫ An ‘all other’ category of people on boats, who sleep in a vehicle of some sort, or who otherwise do not fit the above. Visitor / Tourist Note that visitors/tourists can: ⚫ Be attending a meeting or convention; ⚫ Be business travelers outside of their home office area;
Be on a group tour; Be on an individual leisure/vacation trip- including recreational shopping; o Be traveling for personal or family - related reasons. Therefore, tourism then can be viewed as A social phenomenon, not a production activity; The sum of expenditures of all travelers or visitors for all purposes, not the receipt of a select group of similar establishments; An experience or process, not a product- an extremely varied experience at that. So it is the experience, the money spent, the number of visits that will concern us with SD To underscore this view, let us focus on the economic impact of tourism on the economic health of It is as a result of these activities that tourism is becoming a negative phenomenon. Destruction by Tourism Unplanned and uncontrolled tourism can have three distinct consequences. These are 1. Physical deterioration of destination facilities; 2. Destruction of the environment; 3. Destruction of local cultures; After we define SD, then this: To protect the world for tourism, and protect the world from tourism, a common set of goals, evolving into pecific plans for different regions, is desperately needed. Otherwise, some of the most scenic, natural and unique areas in the world will lose all of the qualities that set them apart from the common and the ordinary. This fact applies to current leisure destinations and ones that are in the process of developing. Sustainable Development and Tourism Thus when the notion of sustainable development was raised in the 1980s it was not long before the concept ofsustainable tourism'followed, with its many derivatives such as eco-tourism, alternative tourism green tourism and responsible tourism(McMinn, 1997). Clarke(1997)noted that earlier, mass tourism and sustainable tourism were conceived as polar opposites. But sustainable tourism was understood to be pulling away from mass tourism, which served as a point of repulsion The negative social and environmental impacts experienced at destinations were usually attributed solely to mass tourism Sustainable tourism was held up as some sort of solution (o The idea of sustainable tourism was therefore a' micro solution'struggling with a 'macro problem' arke, 1997), which had very little hope of success in countries with increasingly wealthier populations. According to McMinn(1997), sustainable tourism suggests that proposed tourism developments should have economic advantages, create social benefits for the local community and not harm the natural environment. In addition, these goals should apply not only to the present generation, but to future generations as well The world Tourism Organisation(WTTC et al., 1995)suggests that "sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future. It is envisaged as leading 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"(p 30). Perhaps more usefully we can simply see sustainable development as having three important elements: economics, environmental issues and social and
2 ⚫ Be on a group tour; ⚫ Be on an individual leisure/vacation trip – including recreational shopping; ⚫ Be traveling for personal or family – related reasons. Therefore, tourism then can be viewed as: ⚫ A social phenomenon, not a production activity; ⚫ The sum of expenditures of all travelers or visitors for all purposes, not the receipt of a select group of similar establishments; ⚫ An experience or process, not a product – an extremely varied experience at that. So it is the experience, the money spent, the number of visits that will concern us with SD. To underscore this view, let us focus on the economic impact of tourism on the economic health of a community…….. It is as a result of these activities that tourism is becoming a negative phenomenon. Destruction by Tourism Unplanned and uncontrolled tourism can have three distinct consequences. These are: 1. Physical deterioration of destination facilities; 2. Destruction of the environment; 3. Destruction of local cultures; After we define SD, then this: To protect the world for tourism, and protect the world from tourism, a common set of goals, evolving into specific plans for different regions, is desperately needed. Otherwise, some of the most scenic, natural and unique areas in the world will lose all of the qualities that set them apart from the common and the ordinary. This fact applies to current leisure destinations and ones that are in the process of developing. Sustainable Development and Tourism Thus when the notion of sustainable development was raised in the 1980s it was not long before the concept of ‘sustainable tourism’ followed, with its many derivatives such as eco-tourism, alternative tourism, green tourism and responsible tourism (McMinn, 1997). Clarke (1997) noted that earlier, mass tourism and sustainable tourism were conceived as polar opposites. But sustainable tourism was understood to be pulling away from mass tourism, which served as a point of repulsion. The negative social and environmental impacts experienced at destinations were usually attributed solely to mass tourism. Sustainable tourism was held up as some sort of solution. The idea of sustainable tourism was therefore a ‘micro solution’ struggling with a ‘macro problem’ (Clarke, 1997), which had very little hope of success in countries with increasingly wealthier populations. According to McMinn (1997), sustainable tourism suggests that proposed tourism developments should have economic advantages, create social benefits for the local community and not harm the natural environment. In addition, these goals should apply not only to the present generation, but to future generations as well. The World Tourism Organisation (WTTC et al., 1995) suggests that: “sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future. It is envisaged as leading 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” (p 30).Perhaps more usefully we can simply see sustainable development as having three important elements: economics, environmental issues and social and
cultural issues While environmental and socio-cultural sustainability seek to ensure that non-renewable physical and cultural resources are not consumed in the process of the tourism activity, economic sustainability represents a degree of self reliance at the local level: community structures, employment and human resources are maintained(Henry and Jackson, 1996) The product that the travel and tourism industry packages and sells ultimately relies on clean seas, pristine mountain slopes, unpolluted water, litter-free streets, well preserved buildings and archaeological sites and diverse cultural traditions(WTtC et al., 1995). As such, tourism is an industrial activity that exerts a series of impacts that are similar to most other industrial activities, It co rce resources, produces waste by-products and requires specifi infrastructure and superstructure needs to support it The very activity of tourism often degrades what tourists came to experience and results in the common assertion that tourists destroy tourism. When discussing the possibility of sustainable tourism, there are two different dimensions that should be taken into consideration The complexity of the environmental impact caused by tourism requires an integrative approach that focuse on the totality of tourism and leisure-related activities within an area Sustainable tourism can be generalized as thus: 1. Sustainable tourism represents a value orientation in which the management of tourism impacts takes precedence over market economics; 2. Implementing sustainable tourism development requires measures that are both scale- and context-specific; 3. Sustainable tourism issues are shaped by global economic restructuring and are fundamentally different in developing and developed economies; 4. At the community scale, sustainable tourism requires local control of resources; and 5. sustainable tourism development requires patience, diligence, and a long-term commitment. Finally, There are three basic attributes of sustainable tourism as follows: O For the host area: it should provide carefully planned economic growth with satisfying jobs, without dominating the economy. It must not abuse the natural environment and should be architecturally respectable, etc O For the holiday makers: it should provide a good value, harmonious and satisfying holiday experience. The experience must respect the intelligence of both the visitor and the host population O For the operator: responsibility will be a key to success. Responsibility entails accepting and building up the role of the go-between- explaining the need for the long term ecological care of the tourism resource-scenery, place, people, fauna and flora- to both the host people and the visitors. Sustainable tourism is an approach rather than a series of laws. There are, however, four interlocking strands, which are central in helping the evolution of sustainable touri 1. Education is important. The philosophy of sustainable tourism must reach a wide audience including politicians, planners, tourism operators, developers and tourists themselves; 2. Local tourism management strategies. These strategies must be designed in consultation with local people businesses, planning, planning authorities, ecologists and tourist boards; 3. Rural tourism forums: 4. Information exchange
3 cultural issues. While environmental and socio-cultural sustainability seek to ensure that non-renewable physical and cultural resources are not consumed in the process of the tourism activity, economic sustainability represents a degree of self reliance at the local level: community structures, employment and human resources are maintained (Henry and Jackson, 1996). The product that the travel and tourism industry packages and sells ultimately relies on clean seas, pristine mountain slopes, unpolluted water, litter-free streets, well preserved buildings and archaeological sites and diverse cultural traditions (WTTC et al., 1995). As such, tourism is an industrial activity that exerts a series of impacts that are similar to most other industrial activities. It consumes often scarce resources, produces waste by-products and requires specific infrastructure and superstructure needs to support it. The very activity of tourism often degrades what tourists came to experience and results in the common assertion that tourists destroy tourism. When discussing the possibility of sustainable tourism, there are two different dimensions that should be taken into consideration. The complexity of the environmental impact caused by tourism requires an integrative approach that focuses on the totality of tourism and leisure-related activities within an area.Sustainable tourism can be generalized as thus: 1. Sustainable tourism represents a value orientation in which the management of tourism impacts takes precedence over market economics; 2. Implementing sustainable tourism development requires measures that are both scale- and context-specific; 3. Sustainable tourism issues are shaped by global economic restructuring and are fundamentally different in developing and developed economies; 4. At the community scale, sustainable tourism requires local control of resources; and 5. sustainable tourism development requires patience, diligence, and a long-term commitment. Finally, There are three basic attributes of sustainable tourism as follows: ⚫For the host area: it should provide carefully planned economic growth with satisfying jobs, without dominating the economy. It must not abuse the natural environment and should be architecturally respectable, etc.. ⚫For the holiday makers: it should provide a good value, harmonious and satisfying holiday experience. The experience must respect the intelligence of both the visitor and the host population. ⚫For the operator: responsibility will be a key to success. Responsibility entails accepting and building up the role of the go-between – explaining the need for the long term ecological care of the tourism resource-scenery, place, people, fauna and flora – to both the host people and the visitors. Sustainable tourism is an approach rather than a series of laws. There are, however, four interlocking strands, which are central in helping the evolution of sustainable tourism. 1. Education is important. The philosophy of sustainable tourism must reach a wide audience including politicians, planners, tourism operators, developers and tourists themselves; 2. Local tourism management strategies. These strategies must be designed in consultation with local people, businesses, planning, planning authorities, ecologists and tourist boards; 3. Rural tourism forums; 4.Information exchange
