1.4 billion tourists arrive at their destination every year.

45 tourists arrive every second.

(https://www.dw.com/en/thailand-saving-a-beach-paradise-from-mass-tourism/a-57230396)

When we think of tourism it is the lavish, promoted, and loved idea of being able to take a vacation in this different place from what we are use to in our every day lives. But what is not our everyday lives, is in someone else’s and their homes are being highly impacted by what tourism is and how tourism is operating in the world at the moment. One of the first environmental impacts on minorities I want to take a look at is the affect of tourism on islands and how the way different factors like economics play a role in what is currently happening with it and what is being done to aide this growing issue. I also want to take a look at the past and how we can observe the beginning affects of tourism and what to might have looked like before how we see it now to better understand what to do about the problem.

(https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/island-vacations/best-secret-islands-on-earth)

Tourism is an issue that could quickly be forgotten if you are the ‘specialized’ person that does not need to take a closer look at how bigger issues are impacting the few. When examining it further there is a huge problem that is entangled in many different webs, one of those being; the economics. The Island Innovation network can give us insight, “In fact, tourism accounts for more than one-quarter of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in a number of SIDS, and makes up 9% of the overall exports (US$61 billion).” ( Island Innovation, 2022) Tourism is a huge product for any business so it wont be easily dismantled or changed. The money that tourism brings in to the island is funding some of the islands infrastructure and keeping the people that are indigenous to the island afloat. It provides jobs within the hotels and small businesses that are built. From staff on the cruises that come through to staff cleaning up after the tourists that leave tourism brings money in and out that right now nobody can afford to let go off.

(https://www.mackinacisland.org/lodging/)

This Economic situation within the tourism builds more divide between the tourists themselves and the indigenous people of the islands. The difference in economic situations between the people coming in and the people living there along with the negative impact that becomes crystal clear as time progresses produces rising levels of resentment and anger on the islands. We can see this negative impacts in many ways with the most obvious one being the desecration of the lands with the building of hotels and new business on top of sacred lands. People are coming in and disrespecting these places where the indigenous people of Hawaii or Bali have used for centuries to express there culture in their land. Leaving in their wake a new way for more tourists to come in and change more things without giving them the choice to say no. With tourists climbing sacred mountains or disregarding the rules of a religious area it is hard to see a way for the conflict between tourists and the people of the islands ending without first trying to solve the issues tourism has been creating since its beginning.

(https://apnews.com/article/travel-health-greece-covid-6c67c691251e0bd45d942b078e2f8f5c)

Tourism first started out in a different form in ancient Greece and Rome with ideas of a cultural ride to certain religious areas to embrace your culture often being done. The term tourist was coined in the early 18th century by English writer and novelist Graham Greene who probably didn’t know what would become of the word as he wrote he book on tourism at the time. By the early 19th century Europeans were taking more and more journeys around the world for health and relaxation. As more people started to travel the need for expansion of the industry was required and with businesses hoping onto this idea of a different income of money cruises/hotels there was it was only a matter of time. Even though it produces a lot of money tourism has grown since then especially with the production of global greenhouse emissions as a direct consequence of the constant travel and equipment being used by the tourist companies and tourists themselves. With tourism contributing, “to more than 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with transportation accounting for 90 percent of this.” (The World Counts, n.d.). Tourism is impacting not just the environment on and around the islands, but also the environment for the whole world and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.

(https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2017-12-06/can-voluntourism-offset-the-environmental-impacts-of-hawai-is-growing-visitor-industry)

So what is being done to aide this growing issue? Ecotourism or sustainable tourism has been newly looked into to be one of the best ways to change the way people travel and maybe even change the reason why people travel in the first place. The UN World Tourism Organization describes ecotourism as, “tourism 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.” (Island Innovation, 2022) ” Limiting the amount of transportation that is used for tourism can help reduce the gas emissions. Also how often transportation is used will be impactful. The coastline of Penghu archipelago primary source of income is tourism but it is also a center for ecotourism and has greatly limited the amount of times transportation is used to travel there. In ecotourism what was lacking and is still lacking in tourism today is this idea of individual responsibility. We as people have to be very conscious of the choices we are making while traveling and consider if there is a more sustainable way to be doing what we are doing. Whether its something small like recycling everything on your trip or finding alternate ways to travel that limits green house gases, anything will help. Tourism is an issue that impacts minorities at its heart and though people are trying to combat this issue, more awareness needs to be brought to it to really start change.

Works Cited

Tourism | Definition, History, Types, Importance, & Industry. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/tourism

Hsiao, C. Y., Kuo, C. M., & Tuan, C. L. (2021, September 7). Island Ecological Tourism: Constructing Indicators of the Tourist Service System in the Penghu National Scenic Area. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.708344

The History of Indigenous Peoples and Tourism. (2021, June 24). The History of Indigenous Peoples and Tourism | Cultural Survival. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/history-indigenous-peoples-and-tourism

The World Counts. (n.d.). The World Counts. https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/consumption/transport-and-tourism/negative-environmental-impacts-of-tourism

https://islandinnovation.co/articles/island-tourism-balancing-protection-and-profitability-to-ensure-a-sustainable-future/