Sustainable toursim
Introduction
Sustainable Tourism can be best described as tourism that considers its economic (future and current), environmental and social impacts, coveting to the needs of the host communities, environment and visitors, that are defined as sustainable tourism (UNWTO, 2005) and the protection, enhancement of the natural, social and cultural resources in which tourism depend on, is one of the fundamental principle of all sustainable tourism development polices (Sharpley,R 2000, pp.12).
To provide us with a better understanding on the factors that contribute to sustainable tourism, the impacts and requirements of the three principles of sustainability (Environmental, Economy and Social-cultural) will be briefly discussed below.
Tourism do assist in regeneration and development of economies, but it could also cause several impacts such as, economic over-dependence; Inflationary costs; growing dependence on imported goods, labour and services, limited returns on investment due to seasonality in the consumption and production of tourism infrastructure and services; providing additional costs for authorities; and the local economy facing a leakage of tourism expenditure (Page cited in Page,SJ 2003 pp. 315-316). According to Pearce (citied in Page,SJ 2003, pp.321), tourism could result in social-cultural impacts such as the modification of population structure in destinations due to internal migration from rural to urban; change of social values due to community turnover; changes in occupational structure; a decline of native language; negative effects such as prostitution and gambling and increase in crime; and impact of gentrification in inner city district. Impacts of environmental are ecosystem and architectural pollution; segregation between tourists and local; overloading and breakdown of infrastructure; traffic congestion; and the possibility of losing good quality agricultural land to tourist development (Mathieson & Wall cited in Page,SJ 2003, pp.
Sustainable Tourism can be best described as tourism that considers its economic (future and current), environmental and social impacts, coveting to the needs of the host communities, environment and visitors, that are defined as sustainable tourism (UNWTO, 2005) and the protection, enhancement of the natural, social and cultural resources in which tourism depend on, is one of the fundamental principle of all sustainable tourism development polices (Sharpley,R 2000, pp.12).
To provide us with a better understanding on the factors that contribute to sustainable tourism, the impacts and requirements of the three principles of sustainability (Environmental, Economy and Social-cultural) will be briefly discussed below.
Tourism do assist in regeneration and development of economies, but it could also cause several impacts such as, economic over-dependence; Inflationary costs; growing dependence on imported goods, labour and services, limited returns on investment due to seasonality in the consumption and production of tourism infrastructure and services; providing additional costs for authorities; and the local economy facing a leakage of tourism expenditure (Page cited in Page,SJ 2003 pp. 315-316). According to Pearce (citied in Page,SJ 2003, pp.321), tourism could result in social-cultural impacts such as the modification of population structure in destinations due to internal migration from rural to urban; change of social values due to community turnover; changes in occupational structure; a decline of native language; negative effects such as prostitution and gambling and increase in crime; and impact of gentrification in inner city district. Impacts of environmental are ecosystem and architectural pollution; segregation between tourists and local; overloading and breakdown of infrastructure; traffic congestion; and the possibility of losing good quality agricultural land to tourist development (Mathieson & Wall cited in Page,SJ 2003, pp.