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RELEVANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN TOURISM

Harnessing tourism's benefits will be critical to achieving the sustainable development goals and
implementing the post-2015 development agenda - UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon on World
Tourism Day 2014 [Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals UNWTO, 2015]
On 4th December 2015, United Nations General Assembly selected 2017 as the International Year of
Sustainable Tourism for Development [UN General Assembly, 70th session]
Sustainable tourism has been recognized by the UN in its list of Sustainable Development Goals (SDP)
and is a part of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [Exhibit 1]
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM:
Tourism is one of the largest industries of the world and is growing at a greater rate as compared to most
of the other industries. Tourism is an important source of income for a lot of countries. In fact for some
island countries, tourism is the overwhelming contributor to GDP. For example, tourism accounts for
more than 75% of Maldives and Palaus GDP [UN ESCAP, 2014]. Going by the numbers, according to
World Travel & Tourism Council, total contribution from tourism was 2.15 trillion USD in 2013.
Tourism supports every 1 job out of 11 in the world. Tourism is important to the world because it
contributes to changes in society, culture, environment and economy of nations and also impacts
relations between different nations.
Sustainable tourism is defined as tourism carried out in such a way that it effects the environment,
economy, society and culture of tourist places in a positive manner and ensures tourist places are kept in
the natural state for future generations. [UNWTO website, definition]
One of sustainable tourisms key feature is the fact that the tourists should have respect for the local
culture and exchange knowledge about different cultures with the natives [UNWTO]. Even though the
terms ecotourism and sustainable tourism are used interchangeably, there is a difference between these
two terms. Ecotourism is a part of the larger concept of Sustainable tourism. Ecotourism focuses on
ensuring that there is as little detrimental effect of tourism on environment while at the same time
ensuring that the local people (natives) get benefitted from this interaction so that future generations can
have access to unspoiled locations; a luxury that is getting scarcer with passage of time.
NEED FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
For most of us tourism is going on a planned/unplanned trip to an exotic locale which is pretty far away
from our places of residence and hence tourism involves a lot of travelling. For example we consider
making a trip to Ladakh on motorcycles from Delhi as tourism while going for a trek to Dalma is not
considered as tourism. To take the trip we will take a flight to Delhi/Chandigarh (GHG emissions!!!) and
then travel via road. In exhibit 2 we can see the comparative analysis of taking a long distance flight
with other routine activities. Well the point that is being made here is that tourism is highly dependent on
non-renewable energy sources and this leads to significant contribution to global warming and
consequently climate change. Transportation accounts for 72% of the total CO2 emissions from tourism,
accommodation for 24% and rest 4% is from local activities. Even in the transportation modes, air
transport contributes to more than 60% of the total tourism related global warming. Other modes of
transport are eco-efficient to some extent as trips by road and rail are 80% of the total travel and
contribute to only 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions from tourism industry [Gssling, Hall, Peeters
and Scott, 2009]. In the case of air transport the negative effect on global warming gets amplified
because the greenhouse gas emissions by airplanes is at really high altitude. When compared

proportionally, the negative effect of tourism industry on global warming is more than its positive
impact on global economy. The future seems to be rather bleak with relatively less chances of mitigating
innovations considering the fact that long distance tourism is forecasted to grow at twice the rate of short
distance tourism. Also the tourism industry has shifted its focus towards custom-created, personalized
luxurious offerings which are even more detrimental to the environment. An example being space trips
offered by a gamut of travel companies which are readily lapped up by the super-rich. In terms of
mitigating the effects of air travel, it has been forecasted that fuel efficiency is expected to increase by
2% annually through 2050. But on the other side, aircraft manufacturers have forecasted that passengerkm will increase by 5% annually at least in the near future. Also with the focus on cutting down on
carbon footprint in the other industries, it is expected that by 2050 tourism will contribute to 40% of
carbon emissions [Peeters, 2007] [Gssling, 2009] [UNEP, Climate Change].
Apart from global warming, environmental and socio-cultural changes brought about tourism by are
easily quantifiable and could well be major negative aspects of tourism. Amongst loss of natural
resources and loss of natural habitat (for flora and fauna as well as tribes), another major loss is that of
native culture which happens when behaviour of the local community is influenced by their interaction
with tourists.
INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO ENCOURAGE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
As mentioned earlier, nations where tourism is a major contributor to GDP have gradually become
concerned with the ecological harm as well as the cultural issues brought about by the practice of
unsustainable tourism. Hence, there has been a growing agreement across the world to encourage a
sustainable solution to the problems caused by rapid growth of tourism.
In the view of World Tourist Organization, a tourism model needs to fulfil the following conditions to be
sustainable:
1. Ensure that environmental resources are optimally used while conserving biodiversity and
heritage and essential ecological systems
2. Respect for local communities and their culture and values and take part in exchange of cultural
understanding
3. Feasible, long-term economic activities that ensure socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders
[UNEP & WTO, 2005] [Exhibit 6]
One of the first steps taken to encourage coordination and cooperation between government agencies
and tourism industry was an action plan started by World Tourism Organization in 1996 for sustainable
tourism development. In 1997, UN General Assembly considered the need to formulate an international
body of work on sustainable tourism [Frederick Neto, 2003]. This was taken up in the annual session of
UN Commission on Sustainable Development in 1999 and an international program of work was created
after recognizing tourism as an economic sector. As a result of these activities, in 1999 World Tourism
Organization introduced a Global Code of Ethics for Tourism as a reference for responsible
development of international tourism. The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism was adopted formally by
UN General Assembly in 2001 [Neto, 2003]. In 2007, UNWTO began a climate change response
framework Davos Process on Tourism and Climate Change. Also close to 100 ST-EP (Sustainable
Tourism Eliminating Poverty) focused on reducing poverty through sustainable tourism have been
successfully carried out in 30 odd nations [WTO - Tourism and Sustainability, 2011]
EFFORTS TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN INDIA
Implementing sustainable tourism is a big challenge in India. A very prominent case is that of hill
stations in India have suffered from poor capacity planning and lack of control over urbanization. An

example of this is Shimla which once used to be a pristine place for retired personnel has now turned
into an aggregation of concrete buildings. [Exhibit 5] India is slowly being made aware of the
opportunities that are generated by sustainable tourism. According to Indias former tourism secretary
Sujit Banerjee, Indian psyche is the biggest roadblock for sustainable tourism in India [Sustainable
tourism - The Way Forward, India & You, 2009]. Indians have the habit of following sustainable and
eco-friendly practices when they are in foreign locales but when in India not many follow the same
practices. One issue is that enforcement and policing in India is not as strong as some other countries.
The only viable way to implement sustainable tourism in India is through social awareness. To check the
negative impacts of rapid explosion of tourism, the local population must take effort to support
regulations and projects for long term sustainability. There have been informative campaigns starring
celebrities which focus on raising awareness across Indian public on not destroying our cultural and
environmental heritage by not littering in monuments, wildlife areas, and behaving in a courteous and
acceptable manner with tourists. There have been efforts to promote sustainable rural tourism as
majority of Indias tradition and culture is located in culture due to the fact that more than 65% of Indian
population lives in villages. There have been 139 different sites set up for promoting rural tourism in
more than 20 states. One of the steps that has made a lot of difference is that women have been involved
in these projects and empowered.
ACHIEVING THE VISION THROUGH TEAM EFFORT
Sustainability in tourism cannot be achieved without cooperation between all the stakeholders. The
stakeholders can be different for different locations. The stakeholders are government agencies, local
communities, tourism agencies and agents, environmentalists and tourism related non-government
organizations. The most critical stakeholder is the government as they have to take the lead of coming
up with well-thought out policies which are balanced in nature and do not infringe upon the rights of the
local communities while at the same time ensuring that the tourism industry does not suffer. The key
target is to identify all the stakeholders and then chalk out an actionable plan which has to be sustainable
in the long run. One key point that the government should ensure is that it gets all the stakeholders on
board before charting an action plan. Until and unless the government takes the lead, the players in the
tourism market are rarely to take measures on their own. Even more important is the fact that most of the
tourism sites are places of national importance and the first right to these sites is that of the local
communities. Invariably these sites and consequently the local communities get exploited. Even though
the plans will be country/location specific, there is a general framework of steps that each government
can follow to ensure sustainable development.
While formulating national strategies for tourism growth, the local governments should also pay
attention to the sustainability part of tourism and not just growth figures. Ignoring sustainability would
lead to more harm than good in the long run. Also, the government should not ignore the budget
travelers/backpackers. Its a recent trend but more and more people are moving towards this route and
shunning the established travel package deals. There is a good chance that backpackers will be
sustainable tourists as compared to the traditional tourists. A major thing necessary for successfully
planning and implementing sustainable tourism policies is clear inter-departmental communication in
the government. As stated before, the government should actively involve not just tourism ministry but
all its other relevant functions such as energy ministry, environment ministry, rural development
ministry and external affairs ministry in the planning process. The steps taken should be transparent and
consultation with other ministries is a must.

Infrastructure development is important as the rate of growth of tourism is going to further increase in
the future. If the infrastructure is not able to support the tourist demand then it might lead to dissatisfied
tourists which in turn can lead to loss of revenue for locals. When it comes to infrastructure development
in the context of tourism, governments generally stay limited to transportation but should also consider
residential facilities, communication capabilities, and basic amenities such as power and water. A major
issue is that most of the countries dont have a basic waste management infrastructure in place. In India
itself, steps such as running public campaigns to boost awareness about waste management, installing
waste treatment plants, making local bodies accountable for waste management have been taken but the
success has only been limited. With the increase in tourism, waste production will also go up. Lack of
waste management will not only lead to decrease in the number of tourists but will also impact the
tourist locations in a negative manner. A sustainable way to combat waste production is to adopt the 3R
policy of waste management pioneered by Japan and spread awareness amongst both locals and tourists.
Governments have generally followed the course of regulation when it comes to environmental
preservation and socio-cultural conservation. Cases have been filed in courts and fines have been levied
on private players engaging activities detrimental to cultural heritage and environmental resources. But
some governments have been going in for providing incentives for initiatives taken up by private
organizations and citizens. Incentivizing the adoption of sustainable tourism activities is a smart way to
kick start the culture of sustainability. Once these activities get ingrained in the daily workings of the
people and the private players, then the goal of achieving results through sustainable tourism will
become much easier.
COMMUNITY-BASED SUSTAINABLE TOURISM (CBST) AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
There has been an observation that welfare of local communities is ignored by the government even
though they are the ones severely affected by tourism.
The basic aims of CBST are the same as sustainable tourism. The only different part is that local
community will own and responsibly manage tourism and educate tourists about local culture, customs
and heritage. Everything will be done for satisfying the needs of the local community. The major focus
is on socio-cultural issues rather than economic issues. Some key areas CBST focuses on are raising the
standard of living of the community, enabling cross-cultural learning, holistic development of the
community, fair division of gains, and promoting community pride [APEC, 2010] [Melker Anstrand
2006]. A shining example of CBST is the town of Kaikoura in New Zealand which has a population of
3500 just 12 members on its council [Exhibit 10] which was getting pummeled in the face of influx of a
million tourists every year. The local community has taken steps such as a waste management program,
tree planting activities, energy conservation and projects to conserve biodiversity [UNEP & WTO,
2005].
CONCLUSION
Tourisms contribution to worlds total GDP is 6% and as mentioned earlier, it generates more than 10%
of all the jobs across the world. For a lot of countries, tourism is a very effective and relatively easy way
to development especially countries which lack natural resources. But the negative impact of tourism is
far outstripping its positive contribution. This has mandated the adoption of sustainable development
practices in the tourism industry. The developed countries have taken the lead in imbibing these
practices but the developing economies should also awaken to the current scenario. As the huge industry
that tourism has become of late, its own interest lies in embracing sustainable development. Sustainable
tourism should not be differentiated from traditional tourism. On the contrary, tourism as a whole should
become a sustainability driven industry.

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Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation - Effective Community Based Tourism. June 2010 [13-17]
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Growth and Climate Policy be Reconciled? A Mitigation Perspective, 2009
Hunter, Colin. Sustainable Tourism as an adaptive paradigm, 2003
India & You: Sustainable tourism - The Way Forward, September & October Edition, 2009
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Protection. March 2003
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and Transport, NHV University for Applied Sciences, Breda, Netherlands 2009
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Asia and the Pacific 2014, p. 32
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UNWTO Sustainable development of tourism. Web. (http://sdt.unwto.org/content/about-us-5)

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EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3 Aspects of Sustainability

Exhibit 4

Exhibit 5 - Shimla

Exhibit 6

Exhibit 7

Exhibit 8

Exhibit 9 - 12 Pillars of Sustainability

Exhibit 10 Kaikoura, New Zealand