Sustainable Tourism V (Wit Transactions on Ecology and the Environment)

Containing most of the papers presented at the fifth in a biennial series of conferences organized by the Wessex Institute of Technology on the topic of sustainable tourism practice, Sustainable Tourism V addresses the need to balance the development of the tourism industry with the preservation of the environment and cultural heritage. Today tourism is an important component of development, not only in economic terms but also for knowledge and human welfare. It has many more advantages than disadvantages. New forms of economic development and increasing wealth of human societies depend on tourism. Our knowledge of the world now includes a strong component due to tourism. Human welfare has physiological and psychological elements, which tourism promotes, both because of the enjoyment of knowing new territories and increasing contacts with near or far away societies and cultures. Many historic agricultural districts have maintained, or even recovered, their local population numbers through intelligent strategies of tourism focused on nature and rural culture. The tourism industry has nevertheless given rise to some serious problems, including social costs and ecological impacts. Many ancient local cultures have practically lost their identity. Their economies are oriented totally to the tourist industry. Both the natural and cultural - rural or urban - landscapes have also paid a high price for certain forms of tourism. Natural ecosystems are now a rarity on the planet and ecologists talk today about 'socio-ecosystems'. These problems will persist if economic benefit is the only target. Often myopic goals have led to economic gains that eventually become ruinous. It is a grave error to disregard the fact that visitors nowadays are more and more demanding in cultural and environmental terms. Natural landscapes and biodiversity are becoming increasingly appreciated. The tourism industry must be able to respond to these aspirations. Papers are organized into chapters on: Emergent strategies for tourism development; Tourism strategies; Environmental issues; Tourism as a tool of development; Climate change and the effects of natural hazards in tourism; Community issues; Art, architecture and culture; Heritage tourism.