Sustainable Tourism: Sustainable Tourism

Overview
The goal of sustainable tourism is to maximize visitors’ enjoyment while minimizing environmental and societal impact. The idea is that by giving visitors an authentic, environmentally focused experience, it is possible to create a system where residents can benefit from tourism without sacrificing their local culture or depleting their natural resources. This is often a difficult balancing act, as traditional methods of tourism are often at great cost to the residents, however, new ideas and tourist demands are creating new avenues for sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism options could itself be a selling point for these island destinations. A 2010 Green Economy report found that over a third of all tourists prefer environmentally-friendly tourism options [15,32].

Portion from Sustainable Tourism Special Edition BioNews