Alternative Tourism

Alternative Tourism
Introduction
Due to advances in transportation and communication technology, an increase in disposable incomes and leisure times in Western Europe, North America (Choi & Sirakaya, 2006; Hall & Muller, 2005; Momsen, 2005; Mowfort & Munt, 2003; Smith, 2005), North-East and South-East Asia, and the globalization of capitalism (Mowfort & Munt, 2003), the tourism industry has grown to become the fourth largest economic sector globally, with 806 million tourist arrivals and international tourism receipts estimated at US$ 680 billion in 2005 - representing an annual growth rate of 5.5% (WTO, 2006). Hence, tourism constitutes the most important sector of the host countries’ economy in terms of employment and Gross Domestic Product (Weaver, 2006).
Despite some economic benefits from tourism, the tourism industry has had significant impacts on host communities in terms of economic, social, and cultural effects (Weaver, 2006). Furthermore, as numerous studies indicate, tourism activities have also had significant environmental impacts leading to destruction of sensitive ecosystems (Baldwin, 2000; Buchan, 2000), wetland degradation (Baldwin, 2000; Buchan, 2000), depletion of freshwater resources (Buchan, 2000; Conway, 2004), beach erosion (Baldwin, 2000; Buchan, 2000), and coral reef damage (Buchan, 2000). At the same time, tourism is dependent on preserving and maintaining natural and cultural resources, since these constitute the main reason for travelling to exotic destinations (Gunn, 2002).
Alternatives forms of tourism, such as ecotourism, is the most rapidly growing segment of tourism industry. In contrast to mass tourism, alternative tourism is commonly viewed as more sustainable since it operation on a smaller scale and often engages in minimizing, or even confronting social and/or environmental impacts (Weaver, 2006).

Alternative Tourism
Whether for business or for pleasure, international travel has been steadily growing in volume and value

References: Baldwin, J. (2000). Tourism development, wetland degradation and beach erosion in Antigua, West Indies. Tourism Geographies, 2(2), 193-218. Burr, S.W. (1995, September); What research says about sustainable tourism development. Canadian Parks & Recreation Magazine, 12-26. Butler, R. W. (1990, Winter). Alternative tourism: Pious hope or Trojan horse? Journal of Travel Research, 28(3), 40-45. Carrier, J., & Macleod, D. (2005). Bursting the bubble: The socio-cultural context of ecotourisni. Royal Anthropological Institute, 11, 315-334. Choi, H.-S. C; & Sirakaya, E. (2006). Sustainability indicators for managing community tourism. Tourism Management, 27, 1274-1289. Clarke, J. (1997). A framework of approaches to sustainable tourism. Journal 0/ Sustainable Tourism, 5(3), 224-233. Cottrell, S.P. (2001, September). A Dutch international development approach: Sustainable tourism development. Parks and Recreation Magazine, 36(9), 86-93. Donohoe, H., & Needham, R. (2006). Ecotourism: The evolving contemporary definition. Journal ofEcotourism, 5(3), 192-210. Fennell, D. (2001). A content analysis of ecotourism definitions. Current Issues in _ Tourism, 4(5),403-421. Goldemberg, Jose. (2007). Ethanol for a Sustainable Energy Future. Goldemberg, 315 (5813): 808-810 Honey, M Krippendorf, J. (1982). Towards new tourism policies. Tourism Management, 3, 135-148. Lundmark, C. (2002, May). Conservation and ecotourism. Bioscience, 52(5),456. Pizam, A., Fleisher, A. & Mansfeld, Y. (2002, November). Tourism and social change: The case of Israeli ecotourists visiting Jordan. Journal of Travel Research, 41(2), 177-185. Ross, S., & Wall, G. (1999). Ecotourism: Towards congruence between theory and practice. Tourism Management, 20, 123-132. Stone, M., & Wall, G. (2004). Ecotourism and community development; Case studies from Hainan, China. Environmental Management, 33(1), 12-24. Weaver, D. (2005). Comprehensive and minimalist dimensions of ecotourism. Journal of Tourism Research, 32(2),439-455. Weaver, D., & Lawton, L. (2002). Overnight ecotourist market segmentation in the Gold Coast Hinterland of Australia. Journal of Travel Research, 40, 270-280. Weaver, D.B. (1993). Ecotourism in the small island Caribbean. Geo Journal, 31, 457465. Weaver, D.B. (2002). The evolving concept of ecotourism and its potential impacts. International Journal of Sustainable Development, 5(3), 251. Weinberg, A., Bellows, S., & Ekster, D. (2002). Sustaining ecotourism: Insights and implications from two successful case studies. Society & Natural Resources, 15(4),371-380. West, P., & Carrier, J. (2004). Ecotourism and authenticity. Current anthropology, 45(4),483-496. Wight.P. (1993). Ecotourism and ethics. Journal of Tourism Studies, 4(2),56-64. Buchan, C. K. (2000). The Bahamas. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 41(1-6),94-111. Butler, R. W. (1992). Alternative tourism: The thin end of the wedge. In W. R.. Eadington, & V. L. Smith (Eds.), Tourism alternatives: Potentials and problems in the development of tourism. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. Conway, D. (2004). Tourism, environmental conservation and management and local agriculture in the eastern Caribbean. In D. T. Duval (Ed.), Tourism in the Caribbean: Trends, Development, Prospects (pp. 187-204). New York: Routledge. Edwards, J., Fernandes, C., Fox, J., & Vaughan, R. (2000), ―Tourism Brand Attributes of the Alto Minho, in Richards, G., and Hall, D., (eds.) Tourism and Sustainable Community Development, Routledge, London. Fennell, D. (1999). Ecotourism: An introduction. London: Routeledge. Gunn, C. A. (2002). Tourism Planning: Basics, Concepts, Cases (Fourth ed.). New York: Taylor & Francis Books, Inc. Hall, C. M., & Muller, D. K. (2005). Introduction: Second Homes, Curse or Blessing? Revisited. In C. M. Hall & D. K. Muller (Eds.), Tourism, Mobility and Second Homes: Between Elite Landscape and Common Ground. Mastny, L. (2001, December). Traveling light: New paths for international tourism. World Watch Paper 159. World Watch Institute. Momsen, J. H. (2005). Uncertain images: Tourism development and seascapes of the Caribbean. In C. Cartier & A. A. Lew (Eds.), Seductions of Place: geographical perspectives on globalization and touristed landscapes (pp. 209-221). New York. Mowforth, M., & Munt, I. (2003). Tourism and sustainability: Development and new tourism in the third world (Second edition). London: Routledge. Smith, G. (2005). Tourism Economy. In C. Cartier & A. A. Lew (Eds.), Seductions of Place: Geographical Perspectives on Globalization and Touristed Landscapes. New York: Routledge. The World Ecotourism Summit. (2002, May 19 - 22). Conference papers. Quebec, Canada. Weaver, D. (2006). Sustainable tourism: Theory and practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann. World Tourism Organization (WTO). (2003). Sustainable Development of Tourism: A compilation of good practices. Retrieved from http://www. world-tourism.org World Tourism Organization