Sustainable tourism is about meeting the needs of today's tourists without having a major long term impact on the environment of the area in which tourism takes place and the people who live there. A simple explanation is that if people visited a particular location in 100 years time, they would have the same experience; they would see the same views and the landscape would be as it is today.
So, building a boardwalk through a rainforest in British Columbia, Canada to help protect plants is sustainable but building hundreds of new apartments and a golf course near the coast in Spain is not sustainable.
- Visitors do not actually walk on the forest floor and damage plants or small animals
- The number of visitors can be monitored (counted) and access controlled if necessary
- The boardwalk can be easily maintained using local labour and materials
- Erosion will not be caused by people trampling undergrowth.
- Visitors can be kept away from the most sensitive areas of the forest
- Animals and plants will be looked after and not damaged.
- Visitors can be informed about the plants and animals living in the forest and why there is a need to preserve them (as photograph below)
Using the information above, think about how you would finish each of these sentences. Record your final decisions on the Evidence Log.
The forest floor is not damaged because...
Local labour and materials can be used to...
The boardwalk will keep people away from...
Information boards can be used to...
Why building apartments and a golf course in Spain may not be sustainable
- Land will have been purchased from local people by developers
- The building styles and materials do not match local architecture
- Local farmland will be lost to development
- A great deal of water will be needed to maintain the golf course
- The new developments will put additional pressure on transport and local infrastructure.
- Jobs for local people will be mainly low skill jobs such as cleaners and security.
Using the information above, think about how you would finish each of these sentences. Record your final decisions on the Evidence Log.
Extra pressure is put on transport by...
Cleaning and security jobs only will...
Land will have been sold by...
The golf course will need...
In other words...
- Sustainable tourism is about reducing the negative impacts of tourism and planning to increase the positive impacts of tourism.
- Sustainable tourism is about making sure that the area in which tourism is taking place does not suffer from the effects of tourism.
- Sustainable tourism means that in the longer term the lifestyle and culture of people living in tourist areas is not changed for the worse by tourism.
- Sustainable tourism means planning tourism developments to blend in with the natural environment and using local resources where possible.
- Sustainable tourism also involves looking after historic buildings to preserve them for future generations.
EVIDENCE LOG 3 - Sustainable tourism 'in 30 words'
Think about how you would explain the term sustainable tourism in fewer than 30 words. Make notes and write your final definition on the Evidence Log.