Can Tourism Be Sustainable in the Twenty First Century - Coursework Example

TOURISM SUSTAINABILITYIN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY By Executive summary The question asked iftourism can be sustained in the twenty first century is quite possible. Tourism can be sustained in the twenty first century in very many ways that this paper will discuss in every detail. Tourism and leisure first came into being as lifestyle in the 19th and 20th centuries. The deliberation of the process of jobs more so in the industrial production sectors, on the other hand, restricted daily and weekly hours, conversely, led to the social right to holidays and time for people to recreate. The time set aside for leisure ceased to be one of the luxuries for a few wealthy classes of people and instead became an integral part of the industrial work processes. The most obvious case that stands as the most needed necessity is that work and leisure belong together. The friends of nature have had a major role to play or speak of in enforcing the right to leisure time and specifically in the organization of leisure time. They advocate meaningful leisure time and tourism development as a critical part of the social life in the 21st century (Lorey 2003, p 67). The expansion of urban development which encroaches on the natural environment, as well as rising standards of the living in the countries known to be industrialized are major driving forces that are behind global tourism. The trend towards travel more exotic and distant worlds is usually sparked off through the quest for pristine beauty and communion with nature, the two things that are rarely found in modern industrialized societies. Therefore, tourism has to be sustained in every possible way so that the growth of the world is maintained as it is supposed to since every other person needs a break from the tiresome industries that they work in time after time (World Bank 1996, p56). The sustainability is possible and can be achieved if the necessary steps are followed as they are supposed to be without ignoring any of the measures in place to ensure tourism survives even in the most developed world. Everything from the sustainability, ecotourism, the three legged stool, and biodiversity will be discussed in the paper on how they help to sustain tourism in the 21st century. Introduction Tourism is always a movement of people from where they work or where they reside to destinations that are far away. This is always the distinguishing feature that describes tourism. This implies the use of transport and the use of land on which other people work and live. This shows that tourists engage in their leisure time pursuits that are in other people’s working and living environments. There have been excessive traffic volumes on the routes that lead to the tourism destinations, and this has become a serious issue in regard to the environment, with those living in the areas that are known as holiday destinations (Jayawardena & Nettleford 2002, 56). The growing tourism activity that occur in the world in the twenty first century has some few disadvantages, and these are the things that need to change so that tourism can be sustained in the 21st century with a little bit of ease. Some of the issues of concern in making the sustainability of tourism in the twenty first century a reality are the following. There are always excessive traffic volumes on the routes leading to the tourism destinations, and this has become a serious issue both in regards to the natural environment and the people that live or reside in these areas. According to estimates that have been calculated, more than 50% of the total emission volume is as a result of tourism (Thakur & Pandey 2000, 12). Tourism activities are known to require land and are thus the rapid cause of land consumption and the shrinking areas of the unspoiled nature at destinations. As is possible in Europe where there are signs of the remaining natural environments being overstrained. Hence this makes tourism jeopardize that which depends on the intact and unspoiled areas in which it wishes to utilize (Hooper 2005, p85). The growing strains are compounded by the fact that the benefits that occur through tourism in the areas toured by the local population in deteriorating or dwindling. A big share of the income that is as a result of tourism always remain with the tour operators or the transport undertakings whose operations are not based in the destination country but the source countries. The other incomes are also channelled into the imports of goods and merchandise that are specified for tourism only. The working conditions around the tourism sector is deteriorating (Faulkner, Moscardo, & Laws 2000, p89). Another issue is that tourism in the developing countries is inexpensively making it hard for them to maintain their tourist activities. One of the reasons for this is possible is that there are currency and productivity differentials. This moreover makes it impossible to improve the prevailing circumstances through tourism because of the low prices. Then there are threatened sell-offs that make benefit from tourism in the developing countries. “Ecotourism” is the motto under which entire regions are structured again for tourism with the help from foreign investors, which are first and foremost in the interest of affluent tourists (Maclaren 2002, p53). This case makes the locals deprived of the means of production that they can rely on, and as a result frequently driven from their areas of residence and home regions. The jobs created from ecotourism cannot be able to replace the livelihoods of an entire village, since, as a law, only a few people are required. Furthermore, a little number turn out to have the required skill to carry out the jobs (Edgell 2006, p56). For tourism to survive in the twenty first century sustainably, these propositions and demands are to be met to make it a reality. Tourism needs nature to be intact, a vibrant cultural life, healthy environment and products and fair partnership between the visitor and the visited parties which respect the requirements of the visited, makes their lives better and bring about economic benefits. The resulting demands about tourism and sustainability in the twenty first century are these; tourism must help in eliminating poverty, inter alia, by endorsing local business flow in a circular motion, through improving the quality of life in tourism regions and also making quality training opportunities available (McCool & Moisey 2008). Second is that the tourism must contribute pro-actively to preserving the main-stays available for it, these being nature and culture. Thirdly the strain of tourism traffic has to be reduced. The fourth solution is that tourism must curb the way it consumes the natural resources. Fifth is that tourism depends on partnerships between the visited and the visitor. Then tourism must also emancipate them from the pure marketing and go for skilful sustainable destination and transport management in the interest of the population together with the environment. The other thing is that the quality of tourism jobs must be improved, making holidays available to all, looking after our natural and cultural heritage, and the minimization of resource use and waste. Conclusion The conclusion is that the sustainability of tourism in the twenty first century can be achieved, and it can be possible if the above challenges are overcome. There is much evidence that tourism is an activity that requires delicate handling and is very essential in the modern society for many things to move as required. Therefore, all these factors are to be put into consideration for the sustainability of tourism to be a smooth activity without any hiccups. When these challenges are met, then tourism would be very sustainable in the 21st century. This paper, therefore, has shown if tourism can be sustainable in the twenty first century. Reference list CONFERENCE ON REFOCUSING TRANSPORTATION PLANNING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY, UNITED STATES, & CONFERENCE ON REFOCUSING TRANSPORTATION PLANNING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY. (2000). Refocusing transportation planning for the 21st century: proceedings of two conferences, Washington, D.C., February 7 - 10, 1999, Irvine, California, April 25 - 28, 1999. Washington, DC, National Academy Press. EDGELL, D. L. (2006). Managing sustainable tourism: a legacy for the future. New York, Haworth Press. FAULKNER, H. W., MOSCARDO, G., & LAWS, E. (2000). Tourism in the twenty-first century: reflections on experience. New York, Continuum. HOOPER, A. (2005). Culture and sustainable development in the Pacific. Canberra, ANU E Press. http://epress.anu.edu.au/?p=99101. JAYAWARDENA, C., & NETTLEFORD, R. (2002). Tourism and hospitality education and training in the Caribbean. Kingston, Univ. of the West Indies Press. LOREY, D. E. (2003). Global environmental challenges of the twenty-first century: resources, consumption, and sustainable solutions. Wilmington, Del, SR Books. MCLAREN, D. (2002). Rethinking tourism and ecotravel. Bloomfield, CT, Kumarian Press. MCCOOL, S. F., & MOISEY, R. N. (2008). Tourism, recreation, and sustainability linking culture and the environment. Wallingford [England], CABI. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=369405. THAKUR, A. P., & PANDEY, S. (2000). 21st century India: view and vision. New Delhi, Global Vision Pub. WORLD BANK (WASHINGTON, DC). (1996). Pacific island economies building a resilient economic base for the twenty-first century. Washington, DC, World bank. Read More