Page 35 - edt_tour_digest

Importance of Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable tourism refers to a

Importance of tourism which takes into

Sustainable consideration it is cultural,

social, and environmental

Tourism effects current and potential,

meeting the needs of its

tourists, business, climate,
By Zulaikha binti Ab Rahman

and host community.

According to UNWTO, sustainable tourism refers to a tourism which takes into consideration it is cultural, social,

and environmental effects current and potential, meeting the needs of its tourists, business, climate, and host

community. It can be s imply defined sustainable tourism as a type of travel and explore destinations while

respecting their culture, their environment, and their people.

Many people love to travel either domestic or internationally and exploring the world around them. However, the

average tourist participates in what is called mass tourism. These include cruises, hotel tour packages, and beach

parties. Unlike sustainable tourism, which focuses on interacting authentically with local culture, mass tourism is a

multi-billion-dollar industry focused primarily on revenue generation.

Therefore, it does not focus on local traditions, natural resources, and population. In fact, most of the money

generate from mass tourism goes to big transnational companies instead of living in the countries you visit. We

have an easy choice to make. With the number of travelers expected to increase to 1. 8 billion by 2030, we can

choose either to destroy the journey and the world through it, or we can make our journey sustainable - so we can

continue to travel.

image courtesy: Crello.com