Environmental baggage
Judie Cukier. Alternatives Journal Fall 2002. Vol. 28, Iss. 4, p. 3
Abstract (Document Summary)
Your bags are packed and waiting at the door. Months of planning, preparation and
anticipation and you're finally embarking on "the big trip." We have all been tourists,
whether we travel to far corners of the earth or just a few kilometres to the cottage,
whether we visit an all-inclusive resort or a small ecotourism lodge in the rainforest. And
while we may be "just visiting", our impact as tourists - the lingering legacy of tourism persists in the destinations we visit, "destinations" made up of communities, natural and
built attractions, and exotic cultures.
Increasingly, voluntary standards are being applied to the tourism sector. "Green Hotel"
associations adhere to an industry-defined set of sustainable practices, including
recycling, reducing waste, composting, using energy-efficient devices, etc. Ross Klein
questions the effectiveness of this approach given on-going environmental infractions by
cruise lines in the Caribbean and Alaska. Consumers can also effect change by modifying
their travel patterns, as Jennifer Lynes and Susanne Becken explain in the context of the
airline industry. However, they doubt air travel can ever be truly called "sustainable".
Full Text (644 words)
Copyright Alternatives, Incorporated Fall 2002
Your bags are packed and waiting at the door. Months of planning, preparation and
anticipation and you're finally embarking on "the big trip." We have all been tourists,
whether we travel to far corners of the earth or just a few kilometres to the cottage,
whether we visit an all-inclusive resort or a small ecotourism lodge in the rainforest. And
while we may be "just visiting", our impact as tourists - the lingering legacy of tourism persists in the destinations we visit, "destinations" made up of communities, natural and
built attractions, and exotic cultures.
Tourism is big business. Some say it is one of the fastest growing and most economically
valuable industries in the world today. In Canada, for example, the economic contribution
of tourism is greater than mining, fisheries, forestry or agriculture. In 1999 tourism
receipts totaled an estimated $50.1 billion.
Despite these figures, modern mass tourism is a "baby" industry, and we have only just
begun to understand its effects. Until recently, tourism wasn't even considered a subject
worthy of academic study. After all, tourism is all about play and fantasy, not work and
business. And we wouldn't want academic critique to ruin all the fun.
Most people see tourism as a benign industry - clean, non-extractive of resources,
bringing foreign currency and investment to poorer world regions. But we know this is
not always the case. Tourism requires large amounts of (often scarce) water for
swimming pools and golf courses, threatens natural areas through overuse and
infrastructure development, leaks large sums of local currency to import foreign goods
for tourists, and diverts local control of resources to international developers and
investors.
Despite these concerns, many countries, particularly those in the poorer regions of the
world, continue to embrace tourism as a panacea for their economic woes. But tourism
can have a positive legacy as well. Greg Ringer's article on national parks in Uganda
explores how tourism has helped preserve threatened landscapes, species and cultures.
Tourism researchers have stated that small-scale, community-based tourism is best at
protecting the environment and maintaining the natural and traditional characteristics of a
place. Ecotourism is the term used to describe such environmentally and culturally
friendly tourism. But how can a tourist know whether the advertised venue is as
sustainable as it purports to be?
Peter Johnson addresses the problem of "greenwashing" in his article on certification of
ecotourism ventures - an effort designed to separate the "true" ecotourism product from
questionable ventures trying to cash in on a hot marketing trend.
Despite these problems, there are plenty of examples worldwide of successful ecotourism
ventures. But what about mass tourism? How can we attempt sustain-ability on a larger
scale? Many industrial sectors today must comply with voluntary or governmentregulated environmental standards. The mass tourism sector has no such standards, in
part because it has not traditionally been considered a polluting industry.
Increasingly, voluntary standards are being applied to the tourism sector. "Green Hotel"
associations adhere to an industry-defined set of sustainable practices, including
recycling, reducing waste, composting, using energy-efficient devices, etc. Ross Klein
questions the effectiveness of this approach given on-going environmental infractions by
cruise lines in the Caribbean and Alaska. Consumers can also effect change by modifying
their travel patterns, as Jennifer Lynes and Susanne Becken explain in the context of the
airline industry. However, they doubt air travel can ever be truly called "sustainable".
So, your bags are packed. And you've put months of preparation into planning an
ecologically benign, socially responsible trip. Can you relax and enjoy that vacation you
so desperately need? Well, tourism is not going to save the world. Sustainable tourism
still eludes us and may be overstated as an alternative to mass tourism. But we do know
that careful planning of tourism can make a difference, especially when government,
industry, local communities and tourists all have something to gain.