Sustainability in TOURISM OR DESIGN!!!

Tourism will never be completely sustainable as every industry has impacts, but it can work towards becoming more sustainable.

ISSUE:

As more regions and countries develop their tourism industry, it produces significant impacts on natural resources, consumption patterns, pollution and social systems. The need for sustainable/responsible planning and management is imperative for the industry to survive as a whole.

FACTS:

TOURISM IMPACTS:

• International tourist arrivals have increased from 25 million globally in 1950, to 278 million in 1980, 527 million in 1995, and 1.1 billion in 2015. They are expected to reach 1.8 billion by 2030.

• Travel and tourism represents approximately 10% of total global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015 (if it include tourism related business (e.g. catering, cleaning) (US $7 trillion).

• The global travel and tourism industry creates approximately 11% of the world’s employment (direct & indirect) in 2015.

• At least 25 million people spread over 52 countries are displaced by violence, persecution and/or disasters – tourism receipts in every country are affected by this.

• Leakage in tourism is as high as 80% in the Caribbean (of every dollar earned in tourism-80 cents leaves the country).

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:

• Although the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas recycles its water – it still uses 12 million litres of water per year in a water scarce region

• The average Canadian household used 326 liters of water per day….a village of 700 in a developing country uses an average of 500 litres of water per month AND a luxury hotel room guest uses 1800 litres of water per person per night.

• Since 1970 a third of the natural world has been destroyed by human activity. Almost 2/3 are degraded by human activity.

• A European uses 14x more energy than someone living in India

• For every 1 degree rise in temperature above 34 degrees Celsius, yields of rice, maize and wheat in tropical areas could drop by 10%

• Every year we dump 40 million tons of carbon pollution into our atmosphere

• Although 70% of the earth’s surface is water, only 3% is potable.

SOLUTION:

Sustainable tourism is about re-focusing and adapting. A balance must be found between limits and usage so that continuous changing, monitoring and planning ensure that tourism can be managed. This requires thinking long-term (10, 20+ years) and realizing that change is often cumulative, gradual and irreversible. Economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable development must include the interests of all stakeholders including indigenous people, local communities, visitors, industry and government.

This in not to just make a paper on this topic but I want to know about the impacts to carry on with my project. I want and I need to know what is the thing where this industry is lacking or where it needs to be progressed.After this I got some blurry ideas about what I can contribute to this field. Although they are still not very clear but hope will be very soon as moving forward.

#research