Tourism 224 Environmental Impacts Lecture 1 2024 PDF

TOURISM 224 SECTION: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Lecture 1 - Introduction and Context  Tourism & the state of the world Influence of global challenges on tourism: (recent) Covid-19 pandemic on people, the environment and other species, biophysical world, the economic world,...

TOURISM 224 SECTION: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Lecture 1 - Introduction and Context  Tourism & the state of the world Influence of global challenges on tourism: (recent) Covid-19 pandemic on people, the environment and other species, biophysical world, the economic world, the socio-cultural world; climate change; developmental challenges; conflict & warfare; etc. Impacts on tourism as an almost borderless industry across different geographical scales Tourism and travel arguably the hardest hit by recent (Covid-19) global challenges…  Context & Global Environmental Footprint of Tourism “If the global tourism industry is represented as a country, it would consume resources at the scale of a northern developed country. International and national tourists use 80 percent of Japan’s yearly primary energy supply (5000 million kWh per/year), produce the same amount of solid waste as France (35 million tons per year), and consume three times the amount of fresh water contained in Lake Superior, between Canada and the United States, in a year (10 million cubic meters)”. [Christ, C., Hilel, O., Matus, S. and Sweeting, J. (2003) Tourism and Biodiversity: Mapping Tourism’s Global Footprint, Washington, DC: Conservation International, page 7]  Definitions & Terminology Environment – Natural – Built/Cultural – Hybrid ? Impacts – Tangible...’quantifiable’ – Intangible...more subjective & unknown Tourism as discipline, industry, practice Spatial-time contexts of/for tourism  HUMAN–ENVIRONMENT RELATIONS  People as victims  People as conquerors  People as custodians https://unsplash.com/photos/AOElKdErHUM Tourism models & environment Travelling/route & linkages models Origin-destination models Structural-power relationship models ‘Evolutionary’ models (Source: Pearce, D., 1995: Tourism Today - A Geographical Analysis. Longman, Essex )  Functions of environment in tourism Attractor…examples of popular natural and cultural attractions… Provider of natural resources… use of energy, water, amenities Pollution sink and recipient of tourism- generated waste Tourism-environment relationships Isolation … ‘preservation’ Symbiosis – Positive – Regenerative – Transformation, e.g. restoration & renovation of buildings and sites (V&A Waterfront) – Conservation of natural resources, cultural-historical heritage, biodiversity  Tourism-environment relationships…cont. Conflict – Permanent damage and/or change to environment – Pollution generation – Physical impact of tourist activities – Physical impact of tourist amenities – Population dynamics…congestion  Human-environment interactions Environment as setting …not directly relevant to tourist activity, but quality can influence activity, e.g. CTICC with Table Mountain in background …Human-environment interactions Environment as positive context and pleasant backdrop…quality of environment influences enjoyment of activity, e.g. sport, dining, shopping Environment as focus…physical environment is focus of activity, e.g. wildlife viewing, sightseeing, visiting a heritage site, etc. Revisiting the concept environment (Source: Michael Hall & Lew, 2009) …… Need for a more holistic understanding Managing environmental impacts Factors determining impacts – Type of environment – Type of tourist activity – Extent and volume of tourism – Concentration of tourist use – Time–space variables Managing Strategies – Precautionary – Planning & pro-active management – Measuring & monitoring impact & performance Tourism-environment relationships