The Unsustainability of Tourism in Developing Countries: Environmental Concerns

This report explains in details why tourism is unsustainable in the developing countries given the environmental concerns that come with it. It seeks to agree that, tourism is unsustainable in the developing world through the following view points; developing countries usually have issues with water quality, infrastructure and there is already pressure on scarce resources such as energy, food etc.

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Introduction
Tourism is the activities of providing services like travel, hotels, accommodation,and
entertainment for people who want to enjoy themselves more especially those on holiday. People
on holiday are known as tourists(Bramwell and Lane, 2011). There are more disadvantages than
advantages that accrue from tourism within developing worlds. Since the 1950s, tourism
international traveling has risen from 25 million to over one billion around the world as per 2012
data. This report explains in details why tourism is unsustainable in the developing countries
given the environmental concerns that come with it(Lakoff, 2010). It seeks to agree that, tourism
is unsustainable in thedeveloping world through the following view points;
1. Developing countries usually have issues with water quality, infrastructure and there is
already pressure on scarce resources such as energy, food etc.
This is true in that, several countries living in tropics have been focusing on tourism with an
aim of generating extra income sources and diversify the economy. Tourism infrastructure
development has been greatly experienced in coastlines(Gössling et al. 2012). The presence of
tourist in those particular regions has brought negative consequences in sustaining the available
resources which in turn has led to the destruction of the integrity of the ecosystem(Feng, and
Miao, 2009). The good example is fresh water usage in the easterncoastal regions of Zanzibar,
Tanzania(Shiva, 2016). East coast of Zanzibar has very water poor and relies on freshwater
trapped in rainy seasons and store in insufficient aquifers consisting of fresh water lenses which
float on the underlying seawater(Darcy, Cameron,and Pegg, 2010). In recent times the area has
experienced growth in tourism and expects to grow further in near future putting additional
pressure on the east coast freshwater resources which have already shown signs of over-

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use(Bramwell and Lane, 2011). The exploitation of fresh waters negative consequences will be
the saltwater intrusion, lower groundwater table, deteriorating groundwater quality, and land
subsidence(Gössling et al. 2012). This means living conditions in the areas will be negative and
will be felt by both the tourism industry and the local community(Darcy, Cameron,and Pegg,
2010). Studies show that in the future, an increase of tourism in these areas will be fatal as water
deficit will rise to dangerous levels as today some locals have started experiencing the deficit.In
the future, these regions will not be able to sustain tourism in general with the destruction
reaching unsustainable levels leading to negative consequences on the environment,
population,and the country’s economy. I therefore, agree that developing countries has scarce
resources to sustain tourism.
2. Tourism will put increased pressure on already struggling communities. Locals compete
for critical resources.
With communities like those on the east coast of Zanzibar already struggling to get enough
water due to exploitation by tourism activities, developing countries are in danger of putting their
populace resources at a critical situation. The above statement is true because, developing world
increases struggle of their communities even further through tourism activities. Instead,
precautionary measures for resource sustainability must be considered and put in place(Choi and
Turk, 2011). Tourism leads to violation of cultural heritage rights of the receiving communities.
Some communities with rich culture may be exploited through reproducing of their cultural
heritage for commercial purposes. Some people do a recording of cultural events and festivals
and put them on sale once in demand denying her people the right of ownership and financial
benefits(Choi and Turk, 2011). Tourism activities in the developing world impact people’s lives
negatively mostly through environmental pollution. Tourism activities destroy places and species

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as a result of poor management of tourism activities(Mowforth and Munt, 2015). This happens
through tourists travel by use of flights, cars, boats, and small planes in big numbers and in
different places. All these motors increase emissions from of pollutants into the atmosphere
which has bad consequences for the local people(Bramwell and Lane, 2011). When the
ecosystem and environmental pollution take place the struggling communities adds to their
problem. In the developing world where many people are struggling with life, tourism may even
increase their burden due to season sex with the locals. Underage children would drop out of
school due to pregnancy(Choi and Turk, 2011). Children are used as commodities of trade in
families with extreme poverty to sustain their basic needs. The cost of tourist occupancy is too
high which results in overexploitation of already scarce resources to erect standard
accommodation and implementing new projects. Theseresources are left too little to sustain the
receiving communities in the developing world. In fact the communities will continue struggling
even more with increased tourism activities for the little resources they have.
3. Consider for example the amount of waste created with no proper means to treat it
resulting in untreated sewerage ending up in waterways
I agree that, tourism generate a lot of waste and waste is a mojar threats to the environment
for the developing world. Human waste is a major contributor to aquatic pollution and this affect
marine lives in three ways; they deplete oxygen, they cause diseases and nutrient
enrichment(Gössling, Hall and Scott, 2015). Oxygen depletion occurs when the sewage
decomposes and use oxygen in the surrounding water environment(Pezzullo, 2009). If the
concentration of discharge is too high then, the amount of oxygen is reduced for plants, fish, and
other aquatic lives which may cause their death. Developing world do not have good waste
management and this means it is not good for these countries to encourage tourism

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activities.Sewage may contain diseases causing bacteria and viruses posing a risk to public health
for people who swim and eat contaminated fish foods(Gössling, Hall and Scott, 2015).
In sewages exist also nutrients which when elevated even slightly would increase alga and
growth of plants certain background conditions. When sewage discharge is present in high
concentration nutrients can cause algal blooms formation responsible for reducing lights
penetration through the water column(Pezzullo, 2009). This accelerates production of toxins or
causes oxygen depletion when decomposed(Gössling et al. 2012).
There is the usage of thehuge amount of products by hotels, restaurant,and other facilities,
many times delivered and packed in plastics for every single person plastic packaging. For
instance, hotels use small plastic shampoo and bottles of soaps in their rooms(Sharpley, 2009).
Butter, honey etc. are also packaged in plastics for breakfast. This problem is increased
considering the number of hotels and beds multiplied by overnights stays which even worsen the
situation.These are resources developing nations would use to maximize their growth. This
means tourism only brings more burden to them.
The issues of waste are given very little attention and very little literature exists on waste
management in the industry. Appropriate measures should be taken and proper attention given to
the waste management by the tourism policymakers as well(Sharpley, 2009). If this continues in
the developing worlds, and this waste is released to the waterways from the sewage, there is the
likelihood of more infections and pollution in the water resources(Gössling, Hall and Scott,
2015). Unless developing countries have proper solid waste management policies they can’t
sustain tourism and it is a disadvantage to them.

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4. Consider the vast quantity of food consumed by tourists reducing an already scarce
supply for local communities
Developing world has little food to sustain tourism activities. Encouraging tourism in theses
countries means even more harm. Tourism has always been perceived as all the time positive
contributing to better services, better employment, and better social stability, but, this is not the
reality of it all(Mowforth and Munt, 2015). There is a major impact of tourism on the
environment and it is even expected to worsen in the near future. Tourism industry continues to
grow over time as seen from 1950 where only 25 million international travelers were taking
place as opposed to today where international travelers have risen to 1.035 billion as of
2012(Gunn, C.A., 2014). This means domestic travel is not counted in this case meaning in
future the tourism industry will even have the worse impact on the environment(Mowforth and
Munt, 2015). As tourists travel to different areas of the world, they eat food in those receiving
communities with their large numbers. The larger the tourists travel, the more the food will be
consumed(Thapa, 2017). This means local community's food resource is put under pressure. To
talk about these effects of tourism on the environment in broad light, Stefan Gössling and Paul
Peeters collected historical evidence from 1900 to 2014 to determine its impact up to 2050. They
looked at energy, food, land, and water resources. As tourism is an important factor to climate
change the two also considered information on its contribution to CO2 levels. In their research,
Stefan Gössling and Paul Peeters saw that tourism industry increases food and water
usage(Sharpley, 2009). They found that travelers are more likely to consume extra 0.5kgs of
food per day compared to what people used at home. As tourist travel, many tend to splurge
while on the roads as well. Their foodincludesmore meats and high proteins which are

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environmental hazards(Feng, and Miao, 2009). In this case, tourism is very dangerous to the
developing worlds and it would not be very beneficial to them as much.
5. Lack of regulation to protect the local environment
Developing countries lack laws and enforcement to protect the local environment.
Regulations to protect the local environment refer to laws that are that addresses the effects of
human activity on the environment (Ringquist, 2016). These laws mostly address the
environment pollution(Percival Schroeder, Millerand Leape, 2017). Developing countries do not
value the environment conservation and their governments are denied certain benefit so as to
address the environmental issues easily(Lakoff, 2010). For instance, the development banks
promote the use of economic intensives and other market-based strategies through control of
resources desperately needed by developing nations to promote environmental
protection(Percival Schroeder, Millerand Leape, 2017). Developing countries have, however, too
little resources and experience on market-based policies and remain a question of whether they
can be as effective has been in Europe and the United States(Lakoff, 2010). The developing
countries would be wasting a lot of resources due to the lack of enforced regulations on
protection to their local environment through tourism activities.
6. Impact on the ecosystem:
Tourist surprises animals and birds taking photos as they chase them along Safari and this
stresses them. Collection of plants and insect also poses threats to the ecosystem as they may
become extinct(Gretzel et al. 2015). These reasons make many animals migrate to different
places, forests, or parks causing depopulation(Gretzel et al. 2015).There is also the likelihood of

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soil erosion as people walk and stomp on the same places(Simmons, 2014). Vegetation is likely
to change as seeds from tourist clothing spilling, shedding buds(Gretzel et al. 2015).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the above argument shows strong agreement with the statement that given
environmental concerns, Tourism in the developing world is unsustainable. It is evident that
developing countries have a lot more to do to ensure they reap the required benefits from the
tourism industry. Failure to observe the solutions found in the arguments above, they will have
more negative consequences which include such like, water pollution, inadequate food resources,
destruction of their ecosystem, more waste from sewage, diseases, and more competition for the
already scarce resources. Developing countries must be willing to compromise economic growth
supported by tourism and come with well-drafted policies to govern tourism activities within
their local communities.
Recommendations
I recommend that, tourism policymakers should carry education to the developing nations on the
importance of enforcing environment sustainability policies to the tourism destinations and
engage governments in dialogue at different levels of international, national, regional and local.
Development banks should also continue promoting the use of economic intensives and other
market-based strategies to the developing world so as to enforce them to practice better
environmental sustainability programs.

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