The Beginning of the End...

To all the fellow students, friends and welcome strangers out there that have stuck with me throughout the course of this blog, I would like to say a huge thank you! With the new year starting, I'll have less time for blogging although I do hope to continue posting in the future. As I reflect on the last few months, I can say that maintaining this blog has been challenging but extremely rewarding, as I was able to focus on a topic that captures a lot of my interests as a keen traveller and geographer! 

As the blog has developed so has my knowledge of the subject and my opinions on the matter. Before starting, I had no idea of the huge contribution of tourism to global environmental problems such as carbon emissions, invasive species transfer and coral reef destruction. I have particularly enjoyed exploring the relationship between the local and the global when discussing these issues, as many environmental problems associated with the tourist industry take place locally but add up to create global issues. Although I have been pretty negative in my posts about tourism's impact on the environment and possibilities for sustainable tourism, I do have hope for 2017 as the Year of Sustainable Tourism! Furthermore, I believe that with increasing notice of tourism in global negotiations such as COP-21, the global tourism sector will be able to move towards an effective emissions reduction strategy. 

Lastly, this blog has given me a unique opportunity explore the relationship between science and popular media - something I have often found quite frustrating as facts and figures often get blown so out of proportion and context! Yet I believe popular media can be a force for good, as it can raise public awareness of important issues, such as the contribution of sunscreen to coral reef destruction, as can thus really make a change in people's actions.

All in all, I hope you've enjoyed reading my posts as much I've enjoyed writing them!