Begin by opening your learning journal for this activity.
Tourism is one of the world's fastest growing industries. For example, there were around 25.3 million international tourist arrivals in 1960. By 1990, this figure had risen to 425 million, 17 times the earlier figure. By 1997, it had risen to 613 million. The World Tourism Organisation forecasts that this figure will more than double to 1.6 billion people by 2020.
The importance of this rapid growth in tourism can be seen by the fact that travel and tourism generated 11% of global GDP in 1999; spending on international tourism reaching US$453 billion. In addition, the tourism industry employed 200 million people - 8% of total world employment. Thus, tourism is a major source of income and employment for many countries, particularly in the South where it can assist in addressing problems caused by poverty.
Key factors in this growth include:
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Rising living standards and, especially, increased leisure time, has allowed many people in the North to take longer holidays and to travel to distant parts of the world. Many in the industrialising countries of Asia and Latin America are also becoming international tourists. |
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Advances in transport technology following the introduction of the first passenger jet services in the 1950s and the development of the jumbo jet allow for relatively inexpensive long-distance travel. |
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Long periods of relative political stability have made people feel safe venturing to new and unknown places. |
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Television, movies and other media have stimulated interest in other parts of the world by showing attractive and exciting images of distant places. |
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Increased leisure time and regular holidays are encouraging the growth of in-country or domestic tourism industries. |
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The tourism industry has become highly professional and has promoted travel and holidays through well-financed advertising campaigns. |
However, the benefits of holidays for tourists are not always shared by the communities they visit.
As long ago as 1981, a report on tourism to one Caribbean island noted:
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| We recognise that the attraction of this Island is reduced by overcrowding. As traffic multiplies, attraction lessens (tourists add to traffic); as noise increases, attraction decreases (tourists contribute to noise); as social and cultural instability rise, attraction falls (tourism shakes our cultural stability). As we have greater numbers of tourists, we may be repelling the very tourists that would be our ideal: the long-staying, high-spending, committed to quality visitors. | ||
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Source: Quoted in Butler, R. (1991) Tourism, Environment and Sustainable Development, Environmental Conservation, 18(3), pp. 201-209.
However, not all tourists cause such problems. Therefore, it is important to recognise different categories of tourists.
Four common categories include:
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Mass tourists |
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Elite tourists |
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Explorers |
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Alternative tourists |
Identify the characteristics of these four categories of tourists.
Q1: Name (i) one place in your country, and (ii) one in another country which each of these four categories of tourists might visit.
Q2: Which category has the least harmful impact on the cultures and environments they visit? Why?
Q3: Which category would you like to visit your community for a holiday? Why?
You probably chose the 'alternative tourist' as the one likely to cause least problems. However, this group represents the smallest segment of the tourism market and tends to spend little money in the places they visit. Perhaps, this is why the report quoted above said the 'elite tourist' was 'the ideal'.
The majority of tourists fall into the mass tourism category, the one most often seen as the cause of tourism-related problems. For tourism to contribute to sustainable human development, all tourists need to consider ways of reducing the negative impacts of their holidays.
The Tourism Industry Response
The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) is the world's largest tourism organisation with a 1999 membership of 138 countries and over 350 affiliates from local government, tourism associations and private companies such as airlines, hotel groups and tour operators. It was established as a UN affiliate in 1970 with responsibilities for:
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| The promotion and development of tourism with a view to contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity and universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language and religion. | ||
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In the three decades since 1970, the WTO charter has expanded to include social and environmental responsibilities. As WTO Secretary-General, Francesco Frangialli, said at a 1998 conference:
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Through tourism, WTO aims to stimulate economic growth and job creation; provide incentives for protecting the environment and heritage destinations, and promote peace and understanding among all nations of the world. . . Tourism is a labour intensive sector that can alleviate poverty through its capacity to create jobs, especially in rural areas and among women and indigenous people. The tremendous growth which we expect in the next decades cannot happen without consequences. There will be a huge need for infrastructure and for systems that protect the environment. |
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In summary: A sustainable approach to tourism means that neither the natural environment nor the socio-cultural fabric of the host communities will be impaired by the arrival of tourists. On the contrary, the natural environment and the local communities should benefit from tourism, both economically and culturally. Sustainability implies that tourism resources and attractions should be utilised in such a way that their subsequent use by future generations is not compromised.
Source: World Tourism Organisation (2000) Report of Multistakeholder Working Group on Tourism.
Find out more about the World Tourism Organisation.
