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occurs with minimal planning and can become

an aesthetic problem as well as an ecological

problem for both the community and the

protected area.

5. Balancing the Benefits and Costs

Sustainable tourism has the potential to reduce

the threats posed by conventional tourism to

natural areas and to the people who live in and

around them. However, successful sustainable

tourism requires rigorous planning and

management to realize its potential. Balancing

the costs and benefits is not easy. In some

cases, minor negative impacts need to be

accepted in order to gain greater benefits. For

example, tourism may result in trampled

shoreline areas along trails but also allow for

hiring of more MPA staff. Hiring the

additional staff may be more important to the

overall conservation of the MPA, and worth

the sacrifice of intact vegetation by trails.

Deciding whether or not to pursue

development of a sustainable tourism program

is not an easy task.

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