3.1 Achieving sustainable development through tourism development

Question 1

Sustainable tourism development

Answer 1

• Sustainable tourism development in the tourism industry is achieved when sustainability principles are applied to:
  1. Economic,
  2. Social
  3. Environmental aspects of tourism development.
• The three dimensions need to be balanced to guarantee tourism’s long-term sustainability.
• An overfocus on one dimension may lead to other dimensions being overlooked.

Question 2

Ensuring economic sustainability

Answer 2

1. Continually providing employment opportunities and income growth.
2. Resulting in more social services that raise standards of living amongst locals.

Question 3

Continual provision of employment opportunities and income growth

Answer 3

• Employment provided by the industry needs to ensure that locals have stable employment and source of income.
• Skills training should be offered to:
  1. Ensure career progression and income growth for locals in the long term.
  2. Provide locals who are seasonally employed with a greater variety of skills, enabling them to find employment during the off-peak season.
  3. This ensures a stable employment and income, leading to economic sustainability.

Question 4

Increased provision of social services that raise standards of living amongst locals.

Answer 4

• Tourism revenue can be used to build schools or clinics for the local communities in tourist destination regions.
• This enables local communities, particularly the disadvantaged, to receive healthcare and education opportunities, raising their standards of living.
• With more education opportunities, local communities can seek better employment and income.
• This increases the standard of living and ensures economic sustainability.

Question 5

Ensuring social sustainability

Answer 5

1. Respecting the authenticity of local communities, practices and art
2. Contributing to intercultural understanding and tolerance

Question 6

Respect authenticity of local communities, practises and art forms

Answer 6

• When the authenticity of traditional practices and art forms are respected, they continue to be meaningful and significant for local communities and tourists.
• This leads to continued practice and preservation by locals, ensuring social sustainability.
• When they are disrespected, conflicts may occur between locals and tourists, which may discourage tourism.
• Visitor attractions could be sensitively developed to showcase authentic local culture. Tourists may also be advised by tour guides on how they may be respectful when interacting with locals and learning about the local cultures.

Question 7

Contribute to intercultural understanding and tolerance

Answer 7

• Exchanges between tourists and locals should enhance understanding, tolerance and a better appreciation towards each others’ culture.
• This enables local cultures to be meaningful for tourists and locals, leading to the continued practice and preservation of culture, ensuring social sustainability.
• A positive experience between tourists and locals will ensure the continuity of such exchanges and may attract more tourists to come.
• Negative experiences may lead to conflicts between tourists and locals, which may discourage tourism.

Question 8

How tourism development ensure environmental sustainability

Answer 8

1. Maintaining essential ecological processes.
2. Conserving natural heritage and protecting biodiversity

Question 9

Maintain essential ecological processes

Answer 9

• Ecological processes refer to the biological, physical, chemical processes that sustain ecological systems.
• They are crucial in providing ecosystem services, such as the supply of natural resources and regulating water and air quality.
• Strong ecological processes ensure that the environment is able to thrive, ensuring that the present and future demands of people can be met. This ensures environmental sustainability.
• Stakeholders in tourist destination regions can work together to minimise deforestation.
• This partnership helps to maintain ecological processes such as transpiration and photosynthesis.
• This ensures ecosystem services such as the supply of water and food are maintained, and contributes to environmental sustainability.

Question 10

Conserving natural heritage and biodiversity

Answer 10

• One way in which natural heritage sites are conserved involves the establishment of National Parks in the area.
• Sites are protected from threats such as the illegal poaching of endangered species, enabling their populations to recover.
• Governments can better manage tourist numbers and the waste generated in the area.
• This ensures the natural beauty and biodiversity of the area is conserved, thus enabling environmental sustainability.