Sustainable Tourism

Abstract
With todays complex tourism systems, the planning and management of these systems
pose as a challenge to many. Tourist destinations, stakeholders and the tourists themselves
play a part in working toward the sustainability of tourism. This article covers how the
complexity of tourism has complicated the tourism industry and what new strategies can be
implemented toward building a more sustainable tourism.

Introduction

The world today is a fast paced, ever growing economy and development. What one sees
today, may be totally different 20, 10 or even 5 years down the road. The question that many
are worried about is that would there be any adverse effect from developing too quickly, and
if so, what the solutions are. Most researchers believe that sustainable development is the
answer to that question. Brundtlands report: Our Common Future (WCED 1987), defines
sustainable development as meeting the needs of the current generation without restricting
the capability of future generations to meet theirs. It also involves the incorporation of social,
economic and environmental aims, which result in development that is socially desirable,
economically viable and ecologically sustainable (Hens, 1996). The purpose of this paper is
to critically analyse the ways and strategies that the tourism industry should undertake to
achieve sustainable tourism. It discusses if mass tourism or alternative tourism should be the
key to sustainable tourism. The paper is structured in the following way: firstly, the theories
of sustainable tourism are discussed as well as the difficulties faced. Next the current
disputes on mass tourism or alternative tourism are analysed, on whether one or the other is
the way to sustainability. In the following, the concept of aligning both mass tourism and
alternative tourism toward sustainable tourism is proposed using research examples from
the related study. Sustainable Tourism: A Subset of Sustainable Development

The tourism industry is no different from the world at present. Tourism today has developed
drastically as compared to before, and people are beginning to worry about the problems
that the development of tourism is causing to environment, the people and the social
construct of destinations. Tourism is one of the worlds fastest growing industries, and for
certain countries, the bulk of their economy comes from tourism. According to the World
Tourism Organisation (UNTWO) world tourism barometer 2012, the number of international
tourists had an increase in growth of 5% in 2012 as compared to the same period of that in
2011. With tourism growing this rapidly, and the tourism industry having to accommodate
this growth (Kassam & Choufany, 2009), is there a way for tourism to be sustainable? An
ideal example why tourism should be sustainable is in the case of Bukit Lawang in North
Sumatra, where overcrowding of tourists led to an orang-utan rehabilitation centre to closure,
due to noise, rubbish and the increase risk of pandemic diseases. In addition, the orang-
utans became overly dependent on humans and were not able to support themselves in the
wild (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, World Tourism Organisation and
the United Nations Environment Programme, 2009). Sustainable tourism, as defined by the
UNWTO, is:

Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental
impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host
communities Cronin (1990) mentioned that the concept of sustainable tourism is a subset of
sustainable development, such that the principles which govern development of tourism
should be similar to that of sustainable development. Cronin meant that sustainable tourism
should be viewed and applied as a link or action toward sustainable development.
Complexity of tourism systems

One of the biggest challenges that tourism faces is the holistic nature of sustainability, with
emphasis on its unpredictable and spatial scales (Saarinen, 2006). The industry, being a
complex one consists of many different components, from accommodations to attractions,
accessibility to ancillary services. To monitor and manage different sectors such as airlines,
hotels, food and beverage, destinations, tour and governmental agencies etc. is one thing,
but to drive these components of tourism toward sustainability is a whole different matter.
Gssling (2000) mentioned that even though sustainability has been talked about for long, its
focus has mainly been on destinations and the practices of those areas, working only on the
smaller picture and not the whole picture. A tourism destination encompasses a variety of
companies and organisations, and the relationship between them showcases a wide
diversity and have been explained in many differring ways. Often, these companies and
organisations do not have any linear characteristic nor any fixed traits (Michael, 2003).
Baggio (2008) mentions, however, that the response of the tourism stakeholders toward
inputs that may derive from the external world or from what happens within the destination,
are mostly unpredicatable as the result of their behaviors. Baggio continues by stating that
the tourism system, nevertheless, as a whole looks to follow some general laws. These
laws however does not necessarily ensure sustainable tourism. Who is responsible for
sustainable tourism? Is it the tourists, the destinations or the stakeholders? Archer and
Cooper (1994) commented that (mass) tourism has evolved to imposing a neo-colonist type
development, where power is taken from the local and regional levels and passed on to big
multinational companies. They liaise and expect the local government to resolve any setback
to guarantee their investments. Mowforth & Munt (1998) counters that by stating that even
though power held by the different sectors of the industry differs with size and scale, and that
it would stand to reason that multinational companies exercise greater influence over less
developed destinations, while smaller scale companies have lesser influence, however, at
the local level this may not always be the case. That being the fact, mass tourism, more
often than not, is linked directly with these multinational companies e.g.: Hilton, Holiday
inn, Four Seasons etc., as compared to alternative tourism where tourists go for a more
exotic experience e.g.: backpackers, hostels, home stays etc. Thus, should the focus of
sustainability fall on mass or alternative tourism? And if so, because the complexity of
tourism systems makes it difficult to manage, new ways or strategies have to be
implemented to drive the industry toward sustainability. What then are the methods, activities
or ways that the tourism industry should engage in or implement toward sustainability? Mass
Tourism

There is no specific definition for mass tourism. However, most researchers tend to have
similar characteristics when defining mass tourism. Mass tourism typically consists of a
participation of large numbers of people in a standardized, packaged and inflexible, that the
product is mass marketed to no specific clientele (Wahab & Pigram, 1997; Poon, 1993; Fink,
1970). Some of the negative impacts that mass tourism brings that calls for the need for
sustainability includes socio-cultural impacts such as upsetting the local community, as in
the case of Trask (2007), locals in her native land oppose the image that the locals have to
put up in Hawaii, that the image the portrayed of Hawaii is not the image the locals enjoy.
The locals in Hawaii were so upset, that they feel that americans have stolen not only their
country, but their citizenship. Using the case of Hawaii as well, according to Darowski,
Strilchuk, Sorochuk, & Provost (2006), negative environmental impacts are brought about by
tourism as well. The increase in hotels in Hawaii has caused not only energy consumption to
double, but environmental degradation due to the building of more hotels. The challenges
that mass tourism faces toward sustainability are that instead of improving tourism, rather, it
is becoming more unsustainable. According to Dodds & Butler (2010), during the sustainable
tourism policy implementation process, political power struggles and value diferrences often
occurs, thus hindering the implementation. This difficulties also include political parties
clashing on a national level or even a lack of stakeholder participation and answerability at
the local level. The barrier however, that was most frequently found was economic priority
over social and environmental concerns. This means that the lesser the motive of earning
profits, the greater the willingness of the operators of the company are willing to change
(Mowforth & Munt, 1998). Alternative tourism

Alternative tourism was created due to the negativity of mass tourism and its harmful
impacts on destinations. It includes products and services that are supposedly less
negatively impactful when compared to mass tourism. Alternative tourism therefore has been
associated as one of the early strategies to sustainability (Weaver, 2006). Alternative tourism
as many have defined is basically anything other than mass tourism (De Kadt, 1990).
Examples of alternative tourism include: Ecotourism, Backpackers, Volunteer Tourism,
Homestay. However, even though alternative tourism is supposed to be sustainable, it too
has its negative impacts. Take volunteer tourism as an example. According to Wearing
(2001), volunteers may become egoistic, producing participants who are more keen on
enjoyment and rsum enhancement rather than the long-term improvement of
disadvantaged communities and spoilt environment. Similarly, alternative tourism does have
its challenges facing sustainability. For one, alternative tourism with its small-scale dynamics
speaks to much a much smaller audience as compared to mass tourism (Weaver, 2006).
Alternative tourism, due to its increasing popularity also faces a threat of turning into mass
tourism. An example could be an attraction promoting protection of flora may become so
popular, that it results in alternative mass tourism. Perhaps one of the more serious
possible threat that alternative tourism faces, that could result in greater and more serious
long-term impacts is - Contact (Butler, 1990). Butler (1990) mentioned that because
alternative tourists tend to get off the beaten track, they engage in activities that the mass
tourists would not. This includes using the same transportation means that the locals use, or
staying in a locals home rather than a hotel. Butler (1990) worries that this sort of activities
may intrude the privacy of the locals, involving them to a much greater degree of socio-
cultural impact that could result in far greater implications. Therefore, is sustainable tourism
ever attainable?

Tools and Strategies toward Sustainable Tourism

New tools and strategies have to be implemented for tourism to be more sustainable then at
present. These tools help destinations assess or measure their level of sustainability.
According to Mowforth & Munt (1998), tools that may be implemented include: Area
protection, Industry regulation, Visitor management techniques and Code of Conducts. Area
Protection

Certain destinations with wide land fill are able to utilize this as a tool toward sustainability.
The main aim of area protection is to limit the areas where tourists are allowed access to.
This restricts the impact of tourists to only accessible areas of that destination. Examples of
such destinations include National Parks, Wildlife Reserves or Areas of Outstanding Natural
Beauty. Visitor Management Techniques

The tool of visitor management tends to work hand in hand with area protection. Visitor
management techniques refer to the management of visitors to the destination. This tool
focuses on the visitor specifically. Examples of such tools include: prohibiting motorized
vehicles at destination, channeled visitor flows, visitor dispersion. Industry Regulation

This tool aims to regulate the practices and norms of organization operations. These
regulations are laid out by the government making it binding and lawful for organizations to
adhere. An example of such a regulation could be the protection of environment during
construction of destination (Maldives Tourism Act), Code of Conducts

This tool refers to a code of conduct for tourist or visitors to a destination. It aims to prevent
tourists from offending the locals of the destination by informing tourists on how to behave
appropriately. These code of conducts are mostly voluntary, however, tourists are
encouraged to adhere to it. Examples of such code of conducts include: females wearing
less revealing clothes and covering up more in Muslim countries, same sex making out in
public in more conservative countries. Joint Efforts of Sustainable Mass & Alternative
Tourism

The impact should either mass or alternative tourism bring if one of which works toward
sustainability cannot be compared to the joint effort of both working toward sustainability.
Weaver (2012) mentioned that mass tourism and alternative tourism, under the right
circumstance will lead to sustainability in tourism. Both mass and alternative tourism can
leverage on both parties benefits toward sustainability. Alternative tourism for example is
able to utilize the economies of scale that mass tourism has to promote sustainability, and
mass tourism will be able to provide sustainable alternative mass tourism to educate
tourists on sustainability. This in turn will lead to a more sustainable tourism whilst limiting or
restricting the negative impacts that both mass and alternative tourism brings. Conclusion

Sustainability of the tourism industry has to improve in order to avoid undesirable

consequences. However, due to the holistic nature of sustainability, and the complexity of
the tourism industry, it is extremely difficult for the industry to work toward sustainability.
Management of tourism as a whole toward sustainability cannot be achieved and individual
sectors of tourism have to play a part. Mass tourism as the main bulk of tourism contributes
to the main cause of negative impacts. Because mass tourism is hugely dominated by large
organisations, and organisations tend to be more profit driven, sustainability tends to be
brushed aside. This having said, even though mass tourism may bring positive impacts to a
destination, the negative impacts seem to be far greater in the long run. Alternative tourism
on the other hand was created as a solution to the negative impacts of mass tourism.
However, it too brings about a fair bit of negative implications to destinations. Some of these
negative implications as mentioned in the essay might even cause greater damage than
mass tourism itself. Due to the complexities of the tourism system as well as the impacts
brought about by both mass and alternative tourism, new tools and strategies has to be
implemented in order for tourism to be sustainable. Tools such as area protection and code
of conducts aim to help destination assess and measure their level of sustainability, so they
may improve. However, a joint effort of both mass and alternative tourism with the
implementation of new tools and strategies seems to be the ideal way to sustainable
tourism. Both mass and alternative tourism would then be able to leverage on each others
benefits and reduce their negative impacts. This in turn would lead to a far greater and more
sustainable tourism then what it is today.