Travel, Tourism and Environmental Change: An Introduction

Greetings my curious reader! 

I trust you are well, and ready to begin on a journey of self-realisation, enlightenment and deep questioning of your life choices...

The environmental impact of tourism is an issue that has played on my mind for a long time. Every year on visiting my family’s “homeland” of Goa - a small state on the West Coast of India – I can’t help but notice the huge piles of dumped plastic rubbish and debris sitting on the backshores of the beach. It makes me wonder – what were these beaches like before the tourist industry hit it? Are these environmental problems really worth the economic gains? Like so many other tourist hotspots, the environmental impacts of a sudden increase in tourism in Goa have changed the face of its most precious natural sites almost beyond recognition - and it is concerns like this which motivate me to write this blog.

The more often than not typical view on a beach in Goa these days. Charming.

So why is this a topic requiring attention? Well there are many reasons, but to me the most important is that the places most appealing to tourists often happen to be those most ecologically vulnerable – and incredibly beautiful – places on this planet. These ecologically fragile areas are often characterised by species-rich ecosystems, such as coral reefs, which have been damaged globally from reef-based tourist development and associated activities such as trampling. The result of this is a self-destructive industry, degrading the very environment that drew in the tourist development to begin with.

Damaged coral reefs - a pretty morbid site.

So there we have it – with the importance of tourism to the economy of these places, if the physical environment and ecology of the place is destroyed in the process, how will the industry survive into the future? And what will come of these ecologically important natural sites and their flora and fauna?

The environmental impacts: problems and solutions

Uncontrolled tourism can negatively impact the environment when the visitor usage levels exceed the environment's acceptable limits of change. For example, inadequate waste disposal from tourist development can lead to increased  and wastewater entering open water and lakes nearby, threatening human health, flora and fauna. Throughout the blog I shall explore tourism's role in environmental problems such as these in further detail.

These environmental issues began to be addressed in the 70s and 80s, and in response emerging concepts such as ‘sustainable tourism’ and ‘ecotourism’ have arisen. I shall assess the effectiveness of these critically; although widely appraised for their potential positive impacts on environmental conservation, ecotourism can have its own detrimental environmental impacts, such as increased pressure on the conservation areas to which tourism is directed. It’s also important to remember that not all environmental impacts of tourism are negative. For example, income from national park entrance fees can be allocated towards protection of threatened natural areas.

To keep it short and sweet - I will critically explore these topics further with plenty of case studies along the way and an open mind! Stay tuned folks, and drop me a comment telling me what you think! :)