Sustainability Has Been a Foundational

¶ … sustainability has been a foundational theory of environmental conservatism since the early 1900s with Theodore Roosevelt and the founding our first national parks. However, only recently have the theory of environmental conservatism reached an epoch towards the concept of sustainability. Sustainability by itself is closely defined by the United Nations as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their needs" (Geis, npg). Sustainable tourism then is an extension of the concept of sustainability to the industry of tourism. In its most basic definition, sustainable tourism is "an industry which attempts to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate income, employment, and the conservation of local ecosystems" (gdrc, npg). The tenets of sustainable tourism, or eco-tourism, is to take responsibility and ownership of the tourism industry to ensure that it is both ecologically and culturally sensitive.

Sustainable tourism however, is noted by many to be nothing more than a repackaging of old ideas. The concepts behind eco-tourism, that of economic, social and cultural sensitive, are in many ways mere faces of traditional "nature" tourism (Pleumarom, npg). Anne Pleumarom, an expert on the affects of tourism in Thailand, argues that eco-tourism claims "concerning its benefits are exaggerated, or owe moer to labeling and marketing than genuine sustainability" (Pleumarom, npg). Eco-tourism's aims is to present consumers with a tourism product to explore new and uncharted territory. This is in fact a practice that has been in place for the last hundred years. The majority of consumers for new eco-tourism packages are urbanites and new middle class "alternative lifestyles" thrill seekers. However, despite their claims to supposed sensitivity to the environment as well as the indigenous culture, many times these excursions and tourism activities are carried out without local consent or support (Pleumarom, npg). Pleumarom argues that eco-tourism does not meet its goals but rather serves as an "eco-facade." This practice is oftentimes damaging to the environment because it exproporiates virgin territories such as national parks and wilderness areas. Some eco-tourism ventures have gone so far as to create luxury hotels, shopping centers and golf courses within wilderness, which is definitely antithetical to the cause of sustainable tourism. In the final analysis, Pleumarom concludes that Eco-tourism is "highly insincere." She concludes that "with a lack of success stories, and sufficient evidence of serious adverse effects, the current huge investment in eco-tourism are misplaced and irresponsible" (Pleumarom, npg).

Despite this harsh criticism, sustainable tourism definitely takes on new dimensions that are nontraditional to the tourism industry and provides new hope towards developing methods that will be highly beneficial to local cultures and the environment. As Lisa Mastny, an expert for the Worldwatch Institute, argues that sustainable tourism has been a new approach that forces many within the tourism business to take positive steps to "become more environmentally and socially responsible" (Mastny, npg). Eco-tourism has become a modern trend not only because of pressure towards greater environmental initiatives, but that having such a practice will ensure the future sustainability of the industry itself. Mastny argues that current eco-tourism measures has restructured management and operations along environmental lines (Mastny, npg). Principally that new measures are being instituted to reduce the damage to local environments and cultures by changing the way they use water, energy and resources to reduce consumption and efficiently dispose of waste. Technologies are being developed in the past ten years to provide renewable energy use, and ecologically sound chemical management practices. The general trend of the industry is to modify its behavior to focus more on preserving the environment, culture and general atmosphere of tourism hotbeds. As evidence of the growth within these concerns, Mastny points to the fact that Europes's "Blue Flag Campaign awards a yearly 'eco-label' to some 2750 beaches and marinas in 21 countries for their high environmental standards and safe, sanitary facilities" (Mastny, npg). Sustainable tourism is definitely a procedure that changes the face of tourism around the world, and will have dramatically positive affects on how we view tourism and its relationship with the environment and local cultures in the long-term.