Sustainable tourism aims at visiting different places while making a positive impact on the environment. When a tourist travels to a destination, he or she has a specific impact on the environment. Most of this impact is associated with the traveling. As many tourists travel by air, the CO2 emission of the air travel has a great impact on the environment. As the tourist travels more by other means of transportation, these CO2 emissions add up and make the most of the environmental impact.
The tourism industry is expected to increase both in number of travelers and the distance they travel. Thus, the environmental impact of the tourism is expected to increase. Environmental agencies, tourism organizations, and governments are working together to lessen the environmental deterioration caused by tourism.
Responsible tourism is more concerned with the attitude and behavior of the tourists. The objectives of responsible tourism include the following.
Respect the local culture, heritage, and traditions
Protect the local environment
Conserve natural resources wherever you travel
Benefit the local communities socially as well as economically
Avoid polluting the local environment
Tourism is an integral part of many economies of the world and provides jobs to a large number of people. So, countries promote tourism to earn valuable foreign exchange. However, a great responsibility lies on all stakeholders to make sure that the tourism activities are sustainable and responsible.
As far as the sustainable tourism is concerned, you have fewer choices. If you can avoid air travel, avoid it by all means. Air travel the biggest contributor towards pollution caused by tourism. Furthermore, consider choosing environment-friendly transportation when visiting places.
On the other hand, you can do a lot as far as responsible tourism is concerned. When visiting a place, try to minimize your environmental impact and respect the local culture.
Alice is a travel blogger from the US. She loves to meet new people and explore new cultures, as well as try delicious foods. Alice’s blog is full of her adventures around the world! In her spare time, she likes reading books about other cultures and how they might be different from what she knows in the United States.
