Sustainable  Tourism 

Global tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world today. As increasing numbers of people can afford global travel, the tourism industry is expected to grow even bigger in the years to come. However, although the growth in tourism is bringing in a lot of money and is providing many jobs in different parts of the world, many environmentalists are alarmed at the rate of destruction that the industry has on the environment. Many of the famous natural attractions receive thousands of visitors every day and this contributes to the pollution and degradation of the environment. Studies show that more than half of the famous scenic spots in the world do not meet sustainable tourism criteria.

Tour operators generally understand the need for sustainable tourism but sometimes they simply can not control the amount of human traffic that comes their way. During peak seasons,many destinations are filled beyond their capacity and destruction to the environment is inevitable. More often than not, the environmental losses are so great that it would take years of careful management for the area to recover. In some cases, loss of flora and fauna is so complete that recovery is impossible and species are lost to the world forever.

 Although there are many tour operators who are not interested in practicing sustainable tourism, there are also a lot of operators who are rising to the challenge of protecting their natural beauty spots and the local culture of their area. Most of these ecotourism operators work closely with the local residents in the area to promote sustainable tourism through education and information campaigns. They understand that the community plays a vital role in sustainable tourism and involving them in protection and preservation of the environment is essential. The local residents, on the other hand, learn the importance of keeping their environment healthy in order to be able to continue to attract business to their locality. With the understanding that sustainable tourism will mean more jobs and more income for local people, it is hoped that people will be enthusiastic about working closely with ecotourism operators.

Aside from involving the local communities, many ecotourism operators also enlist the help of the visitors to preserve and protect the environment. Visitors are given lectures about the principles of sustainable tourism and environmental protection as soon as they arrive. By educating the visitors, eco-tourism operators can reduce thenegative impact that these visitors have in their area.