Impact Tourism On Environment

Tourism plays an essential role in any country’s economy as it creates employment and contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP). According to Eyuboglu and Eyuboglu (2019), the tourism sector is an important factor for economic growth in many developed and emerging countries in the twenty-first century, as it helps improve the living standards. However, tourism activities have some negative impacts on different aspects, especially on the environment. Tourism exerts detrimental effects on the environment in that it puts immense stress on land use, can cause increased pollution, soil erosion, and loss of natural habitat, thereby gradually destroying the very same environmental resources on which it depends. Although many countries in the world depend on tourism as a key source of revenue, tourism can also be a source of problems (for the environment and natural resources, for example, as seen above) if it is not managed well. This paper outlines the impacts of tourism on the environment and associated issues such as pollution and overconsumption of environmental sources. It then offers some possible solutions such as government restrictions to avoid the negative impacts of tourism, using alternative renewable energy, and increasing awareness among tourists.

One major environmental issue associated with tourism is air pollution resulting from various means of transport and other tourist activities. Over 60% of air travel involves those travelling for tourism purposes, making tourism a significant contributor to air pollution (Larsson et al. (2018). They further approximated that the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by a single transatlantic flight accounted for nearly half the total annual emissions by other sources. Hotels and restaurants, among other tourist activities, contribute to global warming, photochemical pollution, and acid rain (Lee and Jan, 2018), sewage pollution, water sources pollution, and many other negative impacts.

Tourism also leads to overconsumption of energy as high energy amounts are required to provide heating, air conditioning, and lighting in tourism facilities. Patel (2019) asserts that about 40 percent of the total global energy consumption happens in buildings, which leads to a high rate of depletion of energy sources and reserves, forcing energy generating companies to explore new sources. That results in the quality of the environment being negatively affected in significant ways.

Various steps could be taken to mitigate these negative tourism impacts. Governments should enact regulatory measures that help control and avoid the harmful effects of tourism on the environment. One of the feasible regulatory measures for preventing air pollution and pollution from wastes is by regulating the number of tourist activities and restricting visitor movements within protected areas such as animal habitats, coral reefs, and beaches (Spenceley et al., 2018). The number of cruise ships in susceptible marine environments should also be limited and only allowed in designated islands. Similarly, hotels and restaurants should not be built on protected environments or near water bodies; this could help reduce air pollution and wastewater disposal problems. However, these measures should only be taken once an environmental impact assessment has been undertaken, and the environment’s resilience limits well-established.

The other approach to preventing pollution is by raising environmental awareness. Tourism has the potential to raise public appreciation of the environment and increase awareness of environmental issues. For instance, the tourism sector can foster sustainable consumption by encouraging products and services manufactured using clean techniques to minimize adverse environmental impacts (Peter and Mbohwa, 2019). Rocha-Lona et al. (2019) uphold this approach, adding that the tourism industry can play an important part in offering environmental information and increasing awareness among tourists regarding the environmental consequences of their activities and actions.

Energy consumption should also be regulated, or better yet, cleaner and renewable energy sources used. Jani, Mishra, and Sahoo (2018) suggest that the use of hybrid or natural ventilation rather than air conditioning in buildings can significantly reduce energy consumption. For instance, downward longwave (LW) radiators, which reduce energy demand and consumption, can be used to design cooling systems in tourist buildings or residences. Additionally, the use of alternative renewable energy in buildings can also help to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. For instance, energy sources such as ethanol, second-generation biofuel sources- residuals and waste, biodiesel from biomass- can offer sustainable alternatives to non-renewable fossil fuels. Therefore, reinforcing the use of renewable energy and promoting innovative applications can drastically lower energy consumption and hence reduced pressure on energy generating resources.

In conclusion, although tourism is a critical sector in any country’s economy, it could also potentially bring about some adverse environmental impacts. Increased tourist influx and high demand for tourist activities can put enormous pressures on resources, particularly land, water, and energy resources. And an effort to generate more energy to meet these needs results in environmental degradation and reduction of environmental quality. Tourism activities also pollute the environment through the emission of greenhouse gases and poor waste disposal methods. However, regulatory measures such as restricting the number of visitors to sensitive and protected areas can prevent environmental damage. The use of alternative renewable sources of energy can reduce pressure on energy resources.

References

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