Unit 12 Responsible Tourism - Notes

Unit 12 - Responsible Tourism

What is responsible tourism?
All about developing tourism that does the least harm and provides the greatest benefit for destinations, tourists and the travel and tourism sector in the long term.

• Sustainable tourism
• Alternative tourism
• Green tourism
• Ethical tourism
• Eco -tourism
• Fair- trade tourism

Tourism takes place in many different destinations such as the followed worlds:

MEDW - Dubai, USA, China

LEDW - India, Bolivia, Philipines 

• Tourism can add significantly to the economic and Social tourism well-being of countries around the world.
• But can also have negative impacts on the people, culture and environment in destination areas 

Impacts - could be positive or negative

• Economic: Creates jobs, helps the governments, increases GDP, good cost of living
• Environmental: green areas, keep beaches clean and safe. 
• Socio-cultural 

Positive economic impacts 

• Increased domestic income and foreign currency earnings
• Economic multiplier effect
• Increased employment 
• Improved infrastructure

Negative economic impacts

• Leakage - Money spent does not stay in the country
• Decline of traditional employment - more people want tourism industry 
• Increased living costs - Shops put prices for tourists to pay but effects the locals. 

A leakage occurs in tourism when money is lost from a destination area.

Outcomes:

1-Describe the positive and negative impacts on environment and socio-cultural
2-Evaluate effectively how LEDC’s and MEDC’s are managing this on the environment socio-cultural 

Positive environmental impacts

• Tourism in remote areas of the world such as South America and Papua New Guinea can get tourists to help explore damaging environmental activities to view the lost of habitats, destroyed coral reefs. 
• Growing acceptance in many developing countries to conserve the wildlife and nature areas that visitors pay to see

Negative environmental impacts

• Erosion of resources-wearing away for soil and vegetation by walkers, horse riders, cyclists, cars, 4x4’s and motorcycles
• Litter - both an eyesore and threat to the safety of people and animals
• Congestion and overcrowding-too many people and cars
• Pollution-of water and air, not forgetting noise pollution
• Loss of habitats for flora and fauna, e.g, sand dunes and coral reefs
• Spoiling of the landscape-that people have come to see and enjoy

Positive socio-cultural impacts

• Provision of community facilities and public services, local people benefit from new facilities that are provided for tourists. e.g.: new attractions, transport services and events
• Improved standards of living-in developed and developing countries, the income from tourism can help people to improve their livelihoods and gain greater social status.
• Preservation of customs and crafts-tourists often buy locally made handicrafts that are an extra source of income for host communities 
• Revival of festivals and ceremonies-such as dance, music and theatre
• Cultural education-tourism can be a force for good by encouraging  visitors to meet new people and learn about different cultures

Negative socio-cultural impacts

• Crime
• Sex tourism 
• Conflict with the host community 
• Displacement 
• Loss of cultural identity
• Staged authenticity

Outcomes:

1. Compare the roles and objectives of at least one agent of tourism
2. Explain the differing  roles and objectives of a tourism development 

Who is an agent of tourism development?
Any individual, company or organisation that develops tourism themselves or makes it happen in some way.
Roles of  agents - agents of tourism operate in the private, public or voluntary sector.

Private sector agents (Can be single-person operations or large, global companies):

• Landowners
• Property developers
• Tour operators
• Hotel chains 
• Airlines
• Entertainment companies 
• Consultants
• Travel publishers 

Public sector agents(operate at national, regional, international and local levels):

• National tourist boards
• Tourist boards 
• Regional development agencies 
• Local authorities 
• Conservation organisations

Voluntary sector agents (NGO’s):

• Charitable foundations 
• Conservation organisations 
• Community groups 

outcomes:

1. Describe the roles and objectives of the agents of tourism 

Objective of tourism development:

Political	Environmental	Economic	Socio-Cultural
Revenue	Improvements	Employment	Community facilities
Identity	Habitat & heritage preservation	Multiplier effect	Cultural understanding
Profile	Environmental education	Foreign currency	Cultural traditions
		Economic regeneration	Quality of life

1-Political objectives

• National and local governments make decisions about whether or not tourism should be enlarged and what tourism facilities should be provided for visitors 
• They can control the number of visitors to a country or region and use money earned from tourism to invest in other sectors of the economy, for example education, health and welfare services
• Many of the former Soviet stats that have joined the EU see tourism as a way of revitalising their economies and projecting a positive image of their countries - The Baltic states of Lativa, Lithuania and Estonia 

Enhancing the image of an area

• The global nature of travel and tourism means it can be used to raise the profile of a country or are on a world scale 
• Sport and tourism often combine to protect positive images of destinations to a global audience and stimulate further tourism development
• Brazil is hoping that its success in hosting the football world cup in 2014 will have a similar effect

Creating an identity

• The promotion of tourism in overseas markers and with domestic tourists can help to create or maintain a national or regional identity
• Many of the popular Mediterranean tourist destinations used images of their way of life and landscapes to encourage tourism from the 1970’s and onwards

2-Economic Objectives

It is usually for economic reasons that individuals, organisations and governments first decide to get involved in the tourism development process. Tourism can:

• Create employment
• Attract revenue to an area and recirculate it in the local economy via the multiplier effect
• Increases foreign currency earnings
• Contribute to economic regeneration   

• Economic Regeneration
• Examples in Britain include the Salford Quays area of Manchester, Albert Dock in Liverpool and developments in Cardiff Bay 
• The Eden Project in Cornwall, one of the UK’s most successful tourist attraction of recent years, it is built on former China Clay works near St Austell

3-Environmental objectives

• Habitat and heritage preservation-coral reefs, sand dunes and mountain areas
• Environmental education-guided walks, visitor centres, self-guided trails and explanatory leaflets
• Environmental regeneration-beach cleaning, new walking and cycling routes, restoration of derelict sites and buildings, more floral displays 

4 - Socio-Cultural objectives 

• Tourism development must work in harmony with local people ad their traditional way of life, i.e meet social and cultural needs
• Promoting cultural understanding and maintaining cultural traditions 
• Communities can benefit from well planned tourism through the development of new community facilities that may be financed from the tourism revenues

Maximising tourism’s positive aspects:

1. Retention of visitor spending 
2. Widening access to facilities 
3. Community projects
4. Employment and training of local people 
5. Education 

Minimising tourism’s negative impacts:

1. Visitor and traffic management 
2. Planning controls 
3. Environmental impact assessments 
4. Sustainable tourism polices

How can tourism have a positive impact on a country?

1. Regeneration and developments of infrastructure 
2. Brings in foreign currency - national statistics 
3. Sympathetic of local people and environment 
4. Education to tourists about tourist destination culture