zero impact tourism
sustainable vacation - oscar langley
Background
The Australian tourism industry has been growing steadily over the past few years despite an increasing frequency of horrific natural disasters that have threatened much of Australia’s wildlife and natural habitat. 2010 saw an increase of 5% for the number of tourists visiting the country for a total of over 5.7million people. Almost half of this number (46%) were purely here on holiday.
The impact of tourism has a web of direct and indirect implications that are both negative and positive. These implications often relate to factors regarding the environment, economy and politics in the area, surrounding regions, and a country as a whole.Various aspects of a vacation can be altered to benefit certain stakeholders individually, or with careful planning, awareness and education benefit everyone as a whole. The challenge of creating holiday with as little environmental and social damage is key in ensuring the longevity of a not only precious but profitable destination. Creating a zero impact holiday can be looked at in a variety of ways and can be altered to suit a person’s needs and wants. One simply needs to be mindful and have the available oppertunities to take part in the activities they want to.
6m 5.5m Victoria’s Great Ocean Road
5m 4.5m 4m 3.5m 2000
An abundance of sustainable tourism activities available
curbing current trends When one thinks of Australia as a tourist destination, many places come to mind including Uluru, The Great Barrier Reef, and The Great Ocean Road, all of which fall under the umbrella that is environmental tourism. Environmental tourism is only good as long as it remains as pristine as the postcards, and this poses a huge challenge for many communities that have to either remain conscious of how they treat their surroundings, or change so that they do so. The responsibility of sustainable tourism doesn’t just lie with the locals,visitors to a country have to be aware of their impact on the place and how their actions will affect not only them but future visitors hoping to engage in the same experiences.
2005
2010
Based on previous data and trends, it is expected that Australia’s tourism industry is set to grow steadily in the years to come. With the growth of China’s wealth, Australia is set to see a large influx of tourists to the region. Many of these tourists are looking for new experiences and ways to easily embark on them, but with language barriers and time constraints this can often be extremely difficult. Having a set itinerary to suit their needs is important but giving them something new and uniquely Australian is the challenge being faced. It is what will keep the tourists coming back and other being drawn to the place.
Space saving and convenient.