Sustainable Tourism

Introduction
Figure 1:
‘Tourism depends for its very existence on quality natural environments. But the world over, tourism itself plays a considerable part in damaging those natural resources on which it depends’ #.

The contradiction displayed in the above quotation lies at the core of the modern tourism industry. Now the largest industry in the world with over 12% of the world’s GDP (WTO 2000) it is only now it is starting to change the way it goes about its business.
There are those who say that tourism as it stands, is an impossible dream that can never be sustainable because the price we all pay is too high in terms of environmental and socio-cultural impacts. Others argue that ‘greening’ the industry is worth doing despite these reservations. Managing and developing tourism involves working and changing relationships between visitors, the visited and the place. Such relationships touch on economic, environmental, social and cultural issues, wh...