Sustainability in Tourism Destinations

Running Head : SUSTAINABILITY IN TOURISM DESTINATION
SUSTAINABILITY IN TOURISM DESTINATIONS
Name of the Student
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Abstract
The paper aims to structure and prepare the research proposal on one of the debatable issues
of sustainability in tourism in special consideration to the tourist destination. The aim of the
paper has been to target the gap in the existing literature of sustainability and protection of
the environment required for developing sustainable tourism. There has also been lack of
understanding on the ways of maintaining sustainable tourism which makes it crucial to
construct further studies. Moreover, it has been crucial to understand the role of the tourists in
preserving the natural resources which remains one of the less discussed issues of the
sustainable tourism. This study will be undertaking the mixed method as the research
methodology in order to undertake the strengths of both of the research methodologies. The
proposed method of data collection will be based on the qualitative method of face-to-face
interview in addition to the quantitative method of survey data collection. The overall aim of
this study will understand the negative impacts lack of awareness of the tourists and the
growth of unsustainable tourism.

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1.0 Introduction
Background of the study
According to the previous discussions, the issue of sustainability and green
communications comprises greater debates in the academic field. The correlation between the
economic benefit of the tourism industry and their environmental cost continues to be on the
negative side. The previous study had been pondering onto the issue of the definitive
understanding of the term “ sustainable tourist destinations”, however where it lacks the
detailed understanding is the impact unsustainable behaviours could have on the aspects of
tourism since sustainability can contribute in an integrated manner to the development of
sustainable tourism. The aim here is to understand the new buzzword of the century
“sustainable tourism” in order to develop the idea of eco-friendly tourism for the future
generation(Boley et al., 2017).
Irrespective of number of attempts to reduce the negative impact of the unsustainable
practices of the tourists resulting in environmental degradation, the outcome has remained
same. The impact of carbon footprint has been one of the most discussed aspects in the
discourses on the tourism literature. It has drawn number of scholarly attention in the recent
past towards the growing misuses of the resources in the tourists destinations(Mihalic, 2016).
It is crucial to note at this juncture that sustainability is defined as the process of enduring the
present resources in order to fulfil the current demand without harming the needs of the
future generation(Boley et al., 2017). The understanding of sustainability is attached to the
notion of responsibility when it comes to the use of the natural resources. The demand of
eco-friendly tourism is the demand of the community as well as the individual tourists. There
is a large scale confusion regarding the sustainable and eco-friendly behaviours which
reflects in the development of the complicate set of conservation efforts, however what is

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crucial here to note is that the idea of sustainability is embedded in being environmentally
conscious of the meaningful use of the natural resources in the process of amusement. It is
not to deny the fact that tourists destination can be termed as “ green” without being “
sustainable”. To understand the meaning of sustainability, it is crucial to reflect to the main
pillars of sustainability namely, socio-cultural, economic and environmental sustainability.
The tourism industry thrives on the protection of the environment. Without the preservation
of the environment, attempt to promote tourism goes in vain. The protection of the natural
and artificial beaches, waterways, forests and historic buildings are crucial since they are
considered to be environmentally sustainable. It is based on the understanding of means and
ways of ensuring protection and preservation of the resources for the use of the future
generation (Edgell Sr, 2016). Due to the overwhelming pressure of the tourists, the impacts
on the natural resources tend to be higher. This is important to understand that use of the
resources in case of utmost requirement is the key to develop sustainable tourism. The drain
of the natural resources reflects negatively on the earth’s life. In case of the socio-cultural
aspects of sustainability, it is important to develop the understanding that with the higher
influx of the tourists in such destinations, the protection and preservation of the indigenous
culture has been one of the most crucial aspects of sustainable tourism. The socio-cultural
impacts on the indigenous population have been largely negative which is reflected in higher
development of hybrid culture.
Hence the aim of developing socio-cultural sustainability hinges on the reducing the
negative and adverse impact while focusing on the positive aspects of it. To talk about the
economic sustainability, it comprises of the economic aspects of the tourists destination in
order to make it a successful venture. The economic costs due to the developing
unsustainable practices are one of the key issues to be discussed in the study. Lastly, the
environmental aspects of the sustainable tourism are to be discussed since it is considered to

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be important to discuss the protection and preservation of the natural resources. From
example, the protection of the forests, beaches and waterways are one of the key pillars of
developing sustainable tourism(Weaver et al., 2015). In addition to this, it is crucial to
remember that economic, cultural and environmental protection are significant in
developing sustainable tourism.
The aim of this study is to highlight the existing gap in the understanding of sustainable
tourism since the means of developing sustainable tourism has not been clearly defined. This
has also been identified that role of sustainability and protection of the environment are
correlated factors of the sustainable tourism. As mentioned in the previous studies, the
understanding of preserving the natural resources and their minimal use has been one of the
lacking aspects among the tourists(Edgell Sr, 2016). The problem also lies in the lack of
development of infrastructure for sustainability in tourism around the world noted for
prominent tourist destinations. For the purpose of the above mentioned issues, this study is
important the discussion meaningless without the understanding the word “ sustainability” in
tourism and the ways it is impacting the tourism industry.
Research questions and methodology
RQ1. Is it advantageous to develop sustainable tourism or are there any possible
disadvantages to it?
RQ2. What are the ways in which sustainability promotes tourism around the world?
For the development of a holistic understanding on the issue of sustainability in tourism, the
proposed method of the study is mixed method. This will be including the mixed method of
data collection form the interview ad survey method in order to have complete

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understanding on the issue of sustainability in tourism by undertaking the strengths of both
types of methodologies in the body of the research.
Literature review
Sustainability and tourism
Tourism being one of the most growing industries around the world has number of issues to
be taken into consideration. Along with the development of the industry, there are certain
factors that are negatively contributing to the growth of the same. For example, one such
issue has been the overcrowding of the tourists in the most prominent destinations around the
world is one such issue. One of the negative aspects of such overcrowding has been long
term and short term changes in the lives of the people who are in a way dependent on the
nature and its resources. Hence it has been argued that sustainable tourism is one such
aspects that requires stakeholders approach under which the tourist will have equal and
more role to play in developing sustainable tourism(Weaver et al., 2015). The growing
sense of environment consciousness is one factors that will bring the multiple stakeholders
under its rubric whereby tourists and the political leadership, community will be having equal
responsibility to share(Edgell Sr, 2016). This effort will be based on the effort of minimising
the overall impact of environmental, socio-cultural and economic impacts of tourism(Weaver
et al., 2015). On the other hand, it should be based on the aim of generating higher
economic benefit without harming the sustainability of the environment. The natural and
national resources of the place is to be given highest priority in terms of their protection since
to acquire enjoyable experiences, it is important to acknowledge the preservation of the
tourists destinations,. This idea of sustainable tourism is the balance of the indigenous culture
of the people by remaining culturally sensitive. What is crucial to understand is that the
demand for sustainable tourism is increasing at a higher pace due to the growing demand of