The Development of Sustainability in the Sector of Tourism - Essay Example

TOURISM Introduction Most of the tourism industries should always be determined in promoting tourism that should provide maximum benefits to the nation, coastal communities, local people and the marine environment. This should be attained by having minimal adverse effect on the above factors (D’Amore et al, 1988). The introduction of tourism in an area usually alters the way the local people and the country uses and value marine ecosystem. Before the introduction of tourism in the coastal community, it was found that most of the locals in the area practiced farming and fishing for their survival. However, on the introduction of tourism in the area, the locals increasingly depend on it. Previously the coral reefs were fundamentally related to the provision of sufficient marine but nowadays they are a source of revenue for the tourists. For the community to continue enjoy the benefits from the coral reefs, the preservation of such sites is critical. Preferably, tourism should result in economic, social and environmental benefits to the host community (EUHOFA International et al, 2001). Tourism may also contribute to the economic impact and social culture to structural community; this may include population increase from immigration, shifting livelihoods and change in moral and tradition. Tourism should be in a position to increase job opportunity, improve the living standards and community development. Because of this, it is majorly considered as a tool for poverty reduction in the developing countries and the locals by the international aid and the development agency (Weaver, 2000). Apart from the benefits that tourism can provide to the hosting community or a nation, it also has some negative effect on them. When tourism development reaches a point where it cannot be controlled, it may have some positive impact but also the adverse effects are observed. When a country is determined in tourism development, it is majorly concerned with the economic benefit which overshadows the negative impact that it will impose on the community and the nation. However in the country, community development and economic benefits are not always equally distributed and. As a result, it has been linked to environmental and social cost to the host community. For example, some countries are poor, and the local communities do not have the capital to keep up with the high growth rate of tourism in their area. Because of this the foreigners take the advantage and takes over the roles of providing the services and accommodation for the tourists (UNCTAD, 2007). This draws the revenue obtained from tourism away from the local community who should be the first to benefit from it and out of the country. The negative effect of tourism is also observed as it can create resettlement and conflict with the locals who feel they are losing control of the natural resources which they know is rightfully theirs to use as they please (Unesco, 1965). However, this can be solved through consultation with the host community and sound management practices. Tourism can also promote host community awareness and support for the conservation measures as the locals also appreciate the benefits associated with preserving health and attractive natural resources. Development of a sustainable tourism is a factor that is crucial. The development of sustainability in the sector of tourism entails the management of the natural resources in a way that social, economic and aesthetic wants can be attained, while maintaining, essential ecological processes, cultural integrity, and biological diversity and life support systems (Castellani et al 2009). Sustainable tourism gives chance to host community economist to sustain themselves by being dedicated to the management of the social- culture, economic and environmental components. Tourism is just like other economic sectors that generate wastes, uses resources and creates cultural, environmental and social hence in the process creates benefits and costs. It is necessary for policies and sustainable practices to be developed because of the high rate of tourism growth. For the success of sustainable tourism, there has to be an active public policy. This policy has to be developed and determined by the consideration of the natural environment, improving the physical resource planning and the inclusion of the host community and education of all parties (Sharma, 2004). The two components that have contributed to the success of the cruise industry are the land destinations that are used as ports and the marine eco-system. However, this industry has been creating drastic destruction in these areas for the past years. The industry has been charged with creating harm to the environmental, the seas and having a negative cultural impact and not having a significant economic investment on the locals. Cruise industries most popular destination is majorly, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean which have been identified by Conversation International as the primary biodiversity hotspots. These locations are composed of endemic species that are divers and have been distorted by human impact and because of being in danger of permanent changes (Beckman, 2013). It should be noted that the level of environmental impact imposed by the cruise industry is dangerous to both the local region as well as the industry itself. A large number of tourists in the region can contribute to increased pollution in the area, soil erosion, sea discharges, increase pressure on the rare species, loss of natural habitat and high possibility of the forest fire. Cruise industry significant effects are felt on the coastal eco-system which at long run forces the host community to preserve their natural habitat by imposing drastic measures (Raj & Musgrave, 2009). According to Ceballos-Lascuráin, H., & World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas (4, 1992, Caracas), (1996), for the cruise industry to be sustainable, it is essential that they minimize the effect they are imposing on the environment. For sustainability to be attained there is need for the local government, industries and agencies to join hand in creating awareness in the need and impotence of protecting all the potential and current tourists sites and the environment in general. It is worth noting that the local communities have tried in maintaining healthy environments in areas that are heavily visited by the tourists. However, there are still some areas that the tourism is actually affecting and has an adverse impact on the habitat of these fields. The negative impacts are mainly experienced when a great number of tourists visit the region. These numbers sometimes become more significant that the environment cannot cope with. Areas of high tourist concentration, especially waste that are disposed of by the cruise industry are a serious problem. If the waste is not properly disposed of it has some significant effect in the natural environment. For example, cruise ships pass throughout the Caribbean. This ship carries approximately 3,000 passengers per trip and each year it produces more than 70,000 tons of waste. 3.5 kilograms are daily produced by average passengers on a cruise ship and the less wealthy persons on the shore produces 0.8 kilograms each day. The wastewater and solid waste are the only types of waste that create a significant problem in the coastal ecosystem. There are two forms of wastewaters which are the gray water that comes from showers, sinks and daily cleaning activity. Black water comes from the sewage system. This waste water introduces excessive nutrients to the soil which intern stimulates a vigorous growth of aquatic plants and algae. Furthermore, most wastewater is composed of bacteria that are harmful to plants and animals that are under the water (Thomas & Copeland, 2008). Solid waste is mostly in the form of paper, glass, cardboard, steel cane, aluminum, plastics and incinerator ash. These solid wastes do not quickly decompose and endangers the life of marine animals yearly. In addition to endangering the marine life, Solid waste also pollutes the coast. This often occurred when they are carried by a strong current and deposited or dumped in local harbors. Consequently, they contaminate the beaches and impose threat to the health of the people who use the coast and those that live at the coast. Even though the cruise industry is the significant contribution of this solid waste and water waste, they have implemented shipboard recycling programs to regulate the amount of solid waste that gets into the ocean. Although some cruise lines are determined by reducing the rate of the pollution in the environment, there are a few cruise lines that are breaching the laws and regulation that were implemented to protect the environment (Dowling, 2006). Cruise industry has majorly contributed to the change or loss of the indigenous values and identity. This threat is majorly felt when the tourists influence the change in the value system and behavior because it destroys the identity of the community. These effects are evidence when the locals’ tradition and rituals are reinterpreted to satisfy tourist expectations and tastes hence becoming labeled as “staged authenticity” and “reconstructed ethnicity”. The next effect is standardization of environment and landscape as the family venues of the tourist is to be located. Finally, distraction of cultural practices and values is evidenced when the demand for craft and traditional art by the tourist increases, this contributes to the tradition or cultural erosion that has been passed from one generation to another (Singh & Ebooks Corporation, 2002). Cruise industry has also contributed to prostitution in the community. Local sex exploitation is majorly experienced when the tourists obtain sex from the local dwellers for money. Approximating the number of people working as prostitutes is not easy to determine as the women working as hotel maids, salesclerks, waitress and bar girls are sometimes forced into prostitution as part of their duties (Vietnam, 2005). Although the cruise industry has negatively affected the host community, it has also contributed to the well being of those communities in terms of economy. Tourism activities are mainly created in areas that are less developed and that have not been exploited in the host countries. Inequality within the country is a problem facing most of the developing countries. Tourism plays a vital role in responding to the inequality problem encountered by the state. It brings the development to the locals and reduces the migration of the locals to cities in such for jobs (Mee, 2014). Crime in the tourism sector is always common among the tourist than among the locals. This is because of the nature or the lifestyle of most tourists. Most of the tourists like walking while carrying valuables with them such as the cameras. These are properties that the criminals find easy to sell. Some tourists become victims of crime because of the love for night clubs some may go to places that the locals have categorized as dangerous (Pizam & Mansfeld, 1995). Conclusion There is a need for change for the Cruise industries in order to develop sustainability. This is the only way of moving forward in the tourism industries. First they need to ask themselves,” what if the natural resources, which are the primary source of tourist attraction are all destroyed, will there be a need for the existence of the company?” This question shows that for a company to exist, they need the tourist. On the other hand, for the tourist to exist there is a need for attraction sites which are majorly the natural resources. The need for environmental protection is a paramount factor in the world today because the whole life depends on it. The company is having hard a bad reputation in the sector of environment management need to change and focus on the preservation of the environment. It should be the first company to be in the forefront to implement all the policies that will help in the protecting the coastal eco-system. Apart from the preservation of the natural resources, the company should also be determined in building back their good reputation with the local community and try not to destroy their natural resources. The company should also focus on creating awareness of the local community in the need and importance of the conservation of the marine life. Reference Beckman, D. W. (2013). Marine environmental biology and conservation. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Page 184. Castellani, V., Sala, S., & Università degli studi,. (2009). Sustainable tourism as a factor of local development: Organized by GRISS Research Unit on Sustainable Development, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, November 2008. 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