{"id":1481,"date":"2014-12-14T19:37:12","date_gmt":"2014-12-14T18:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.traveltelling.net\/?p=1481"},"modified":"2015-11-28T21:57:34","modified_gmt":"2015-11-28T20:57:34","slug":"sustainable-tourism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.traveltelling.net\/en\/sustainable-tourism\/","title":{"rendered":"What is sustainable tourism & why is it important?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is sustainable tourism?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ok, step by step. Let\u2019s slow it down and start from the beginning. You probably have an idea of what sustainable tourism\u00a0could be or have heard about it somewhere. Maybe you already have done it or contributed to it before through participating in related projects.\u00a0However, if people hear the word\u00a0\u201ctourism\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0either in a documentary or in the news they typically think about these mass-tourism destinations or nature and people who are suffering due to over-consumption through tourism activities in their countries. Means, you probably don`t have positive associations with the word \u201ctourism\u201d. So far, so true.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, what if I tell you that in most cases people who are involved in tourism planning are aiming to achieve sustainable goals. \u00a0I studied Tourism and Destination Management and the main topic during my Bachelor and Master studies were\u00a0\u201cSustainable Tourism Development Strategies in Destinations\u201d<\/strong>. Especially nowadays it is more important than ever \u2013 as tourism is seen as a key driver in solving destination-specific problems such as poverty, employment, well-being and most importantly the protection of nature and local cultures. On the other hand, if planned wrongly, commodification<\/code>, (the art of selling the unsaleable<\/code>) of a place and exceeding capacities through tourism, will destroy all of the above. It is not profitable in the long-term and will harm nature in particular.<\/p>\n

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) defines sustainable tourism as:\u00a0\u201cTourism 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\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why is it important?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

So, if international hotel chains are building their hotels, for example in Thailand, they should agree to the policy of employing\u00a0at least 60% local Thai people in middle and upper management. Moreover, it is important that\u00a0food, beverage and other needs are purchased from local suppliers to make sure money stays within the local or national economy. In this way Thai people really benefit from tourism in their country.<\/p>\n

As well as that, sustainable tourism can also take place in the form of nature protection programmes.\u00a0The main advantage\u00a0is that it can be started anywhere. Especially\u00a0in local community projects,\u00a0\u201cdoing good\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0can be quickly achieved though tourism on a small-scale. If this way of thinking were applied to tourist destinations, development strategies and it were sustainable, then the tourism projects would be planned according to the specific needs of a place, locals and tourists and have the chance of helping to preserve this world and\u00a0its stunning nature, landscapes, its peoples and their cultures. Let\u2019s call it a typical win-win situation. I`ve chosen the Dominican Republic as an example to show you what I`m talking about:<\/p>\n