Sustainable Tourism; Myth or Reality?
Eco-tourism destinations such as the Palau Conservation Society encourages sustainable development to protect the islands fragile ecosystem in the nearly two dozen conservation areas that the society manages. Similarly, the revenue generated from tourism-related businesses such as the Eco-theme park and dive shops, hotels and restaurants accounts for 50% of Palaus GDP. Despite $1.8 million being generated in 2012 from departure fees to popular Rock Islands and Jellyfish lake, with most of the GDP being re-invested into conservation of the natural habitat as well as maintaining new ones, it is possible for Eco-tourism to be classed as unsustainable. This is due to the increased fresh water and energy use as well as increased sewage output from tourists; showing a potential detrimental impact on the local environment due to the carrying
capacity of Palau surpassing its maximum.
In contrast to Palaus efficient and sustainable use of money, the Eco-tourism destination of the Olsa Peninsula in Costa Rica has left inhabitants of the area even poorer than before whilst the area is transformed into the “ultimate eco attraction” as money is not being reinvested into the local economy, but to large TNCs that have swamped the coastline of the area. These TNCs have in turn created light pollution along the coastline of Tamarindo; disorienting turtle hatchlings, sending them inland instead of out to sea where they are safer from predators. This coupled with the loss of half the monkey population in 12 years due to developers building hotels/tourism related infrastructure within their habitats shows that the 2.5% of the entire worlds biodiversity that inhabits this area are at risk of being destroyed, highlighting the area as an unsustainable tourist destination.
Mass tourism depicts an act of thousands visiting one destination for the facilities available there. Mass tourism destinations including Ibiza seem to be increasing in popularity with a 13% tourist arrival increase between 2013 and 2014; highlighting a need for “visitor management and monitoring of key threats” to take place as these factors have been labelled as “clearly insufficient” by the International Union for Conservation
Report in 2014.
Whilst there is a huge scepticisms around the apparent lack of sustainability within a mass tourist destination; in Kenya, the multiplier effect has spread throughout, enabling them to improve their infrastructure as well as giving the local people a wider variety of jobs due to tourism being directly and indirectly responsible for half a million jobs in the country, showing how improvements in the economy has created social advantages for the locals. Also, there are plans in place for Ibiza to improve its level of sustainability. For example, the current aim is to focus on attracting