“Mass tourism destinations are now evolving into mega tourism destinations.”
(Weaver 2008, xi)
Tourism became a major industry after World War II and has expanded ever since. Even outer space has become a destination for tourists who can afford the trip. (Weaver, 2008, xi) Tourism has evolved since the 1700 and 1800s when the Grand Tour of European capitals was an aristocratic pastime. (Hanna, 2009, p. 5) As the Weaver quote above exclaims, mass tourism is growing to the point where it will soon become mega tourism. Experience over the last 60 years has shown that tourism can have both positive and negative impacts on an area.
The objective of this paper is to examine whether or not alternative tourism is a solution for mass tourism with sustainability. Sustainability includes respecting the natural environment and maintaining economic profits into the future. Mass tourism in the 1960s resulted in many negative impacts, so alternative tourism was looked to as a solution. Unfortunately alternative tourism by small enterprises was not a sustainable solution. Weaver (2008) has noted that larger companies have the power to be sustainable whereas the small companies failed.
The scope of the research is to examine Mass Tourism impacts and whether alternative tourism is a solution. . A literature review has been conducted to determine whether or not there is research evidence that mass sustainable tourism (MST), an alternative strategy can offer a good solution. Sustainable Development (SD), Sustainable Tourism (ST), Mass Tourism (MT) and Alternative Tourism (AT) are defined. And then the Jafari Platforms are discussed with the history that motivated the concept of each platform. An example of a contemporary concept for alternative tourism in India has been described because it includes mass tourism (viewing of World Heritage sites) and sustainability with a new twist for alternative tourism. Examples for the different types of tourism are included in the discussion.
The phrase ‘sustainable tourism’ is often mistakenly interchanged with the phrases ‘sustainable development’ or ‘sustainable tourism development’ (STD). The World Commission on Environment (WCED) (1987, p. 43) defined sustainable development as “advocate(ing) the wise use and conservation of resources in order to maintain their long-term viability.” The WCED definition applies to all types of development not only tourism. Essentially it has come to mean that resources need to be conserved and used wisely so the resources will last longer (Weaver, 2008, p 10); ideally future generations will have access to the same resources. STD can be understood as developing sustainable tourism while respecting a country’s overall development goals. (Weaver, 2008) Hanna (1990, p. 8) addresses ST linked to consumerism, “Sustainable tourism could be understood as an emerging form of ethical consumption as it adopts social, environmental and economic concerns which are also expressed through the form of consumption.” He shares the example of climate change and the negative impact of travel associated with mass transportation. (Hanna, 1990, p. 8) Generally speaking consuming less fuel is a tactic that is part of the sustainability movement.
The sustainable movement grew from earlier movements advocating taking responsibility for personal influences on the environment like over-consumption and causing pollution. (Hanna, 1990, p. 7) Machnik (2013, p. 70) explained that the basic concepts for responsibility and sustainability include the four elements. The first three are (a) non-interference with nature, (b) respecting differences between cultures, and (c) traveling in small groups. The fourth important element is to become familiar “in a meaningful way” with nature, with the local community and with the culture. This is sometimes referred to as having an authentic experience. (Machnik, 2013, p. 70) The four elements can be applied to a typical eco-tourism trip with an emphasis on the natural landscape. The concept of sustainability has become part of decision -making for setting government regulations when industry does not self-regulate. (Weaver, 2008, p. 114)
One could suggest that an ideal situation would be zero negative impact on a tourist destination but that would be a big challenge. In a sustainable scenario industry, the community and the tourists all take responsibility for their actions and try not to negatively impact the site. For example, hunting without respecting conservation practices in Africa, India and other countries can decimate a population of animals that may already be endangered. Therefore the WCED (1987, p. 136) told governments they needed “to reinforce and expand existing strategies” such as working harder to promote “wildlife-based tourism.” Wild-life based tourism is an example of an alternative tourism because tourists are focused to a specific type of activity.
The opportunities for alternative tourism range widely. Diverse experiences are available. Mass tourism becomes a highly organized event when managed as an alternative event. (Weaver, 2008, p. 52) Alternative touristic travels can include a large range of destinations Weaver (2008, p. 52) has described the evolution of backpacking from lone hikers to backpacking hostel chains. Products like the best selling guidebooks Rough Guide and Lonely Planet are massed produced to meet the demand. If mass tourism occurs even with regulations in place, the nature of alternative tourism begins to resemble conventional tourism. For this reason alternative tourism is regulated “to maintain the integrity and identity” of a location. (Weaver, 2008, p. 52) Unfortunately, alternative tourism may have a precursor effect, like a Trojan horse, that brings environmental deterioration when greater numbers of tourists seek out the alternative experience. (Weaver page 52 citing Butler 1990)
Unfortunately although more money enters the community with a tourist destination, at the same time the environment deteriorates from tourist activities. A deteriorating environment at a tourist location makes that site less attractive and causes tourism to decrease. Sustainable tourism has become an important concept in the tourist industry because it has been demonstrated to break the cycle of mass tourism leading to environmental deterioration and finally to loss of tourists. (Weaver, 2012, p. 1033) The tourist industry is looking to alternative tourism to offer more benefits and more sustainability. (Fotiadis et al., 2008)
In contemporary times tourism has become the most popular form of leisure activity; the tourist industry is important globally. (Fotiadis et al., 2008, p. 83) Traveling to popular tourist sites or to very remote areas is becoming easier each year due to improvements in technology. More people have becoming accustomed to traveling; they are looking for new, unusual sites and the adventures alternative tours can provide. The contact between tourists and locals leads to cultural and economic ties between local communities and people they would otherwise never have a chance to meet. (Fotiadis et al., 2008, p. 83) Many alternative tourism locations when coupled with sustainability have the potential to benefit the communities as well as the visitors.
Remote areas were considered AT because they were not popularly visited in the past because traveling to them was so difficult. The number of people traveling to remote, mountainous areas has increased. More tourists add more stress to a remote area. And the competition between tourist companies to accommodate this movement becomes greater. (Lema, Agrusa, K. and W. Agrusa, W. 2009, p. 11) The increase in traffic can ruin remote sites if left unregulated or uncontrolled. No control was put on the waste Mt. Everest climbers left behind in the past. Now the numbers of visitors climbing Mt. Everest has increased to the point that garbage on the mountain trails is a problem. Now climbers are expected to bring the waste they produce back down the mountain. Uncontrolled waste activities negatively impact the mountain and can ruin the experience for other climbers so climbers must take responsibility for the impacts they cause.
The Jafari Platform model is a knowledge-based planning tool designed to find “environmentally and socio-culturally sustainable outcomes” based on the unique inputs from the tourist site being studied. (Weaver, 2010, p. 1033) The strategy is a carefully organized process based on the scientific method. (Weaver, 2008, p. 19) The goal of using the Jafari Platform model is to aid in the development of “deliberate alternative tourism (DAT)” and/or “sustainable mass tourism (SMT).” (Weaver, 2010, p. 1033) A tourism plan is described as ‘deliberate’ when it is controlled by regulations designed to preserve small-scale touristic enterprises. (Weaver, 2010, p. 1033) SMT must also be regulated, but the policies and laws for mass tourism are designed on a larger scale that those for DAT. Having a model to use for designing tourism sites has allowed a detailed evaluation of the tangible, measurable impacts of tourism.
Jafari studied the background, history and infrastructures of sustainable tourism at destinations. The contextualizing of the site by considering its history and its community makes it possible to combine mass tourism and alternative tourism realistically and practically. (Weaver, 2010, p. 1032) Each tourist site is different in hundreds or even thousands of ways such as ecosystems, the facilities, the attractions, the ease of reaching the site and government regulations. The model makes it possible to input the tourist site’s unique features in order to provide an appropriate design. The output of the model helps understand the types of impacts that need to be managed.
Jafari’s model has four platforms that have evolved through time in the following order advocacy, cautionary, adaptancy and knowledge-based. Advocacy dates from after World War II when tourism became global. All four platforms still exist in different places depending on the infrastructure, facilities, budget and degree of community input. The platforms help understand the evolution from conventional tourism to the most recent, knowledge-based.
The first platform, advocacy, lasted through the 1950s and 1960s and introduced the concept of MT. (Weaver, 2008, p. 10) Developed countries had middle class citizens that could afford to travel for fun and recreation. (Weaver, 2008, p. 10)Mass tourism started after the war because the world was perceived as a safe place and consumers chose to spend their money travelling. The economic benefits of MT are both direct and indirect but each benefit comes with disadvantages. (Weaver, 2008, p. 10) A tourist company can make direct revenue but seasonal tourism does not provide income all year around. The costs of running a company must be subtracted from the profit. The multiplier effect causes income to be generated in other sectors but fees for company include import taxes and other service costs. (Weaver, 2008, p. 10) Employment is created for low skilled workers because the tourist industry is labor intensive. The workers make low wages, do not earn benefit and only have seasonal work. (Weaver, 2008, p. 10) Regional development can be stimulated but it may focus around competitors building similar facilities or some other type of growth that is not necessarily the best for the region. (Weaver, 2008, p. 10)
The impacts of mass tourism depend on the location’s features and the infrastructure available. Traffic conditions must be analyzed from both perspectives. For example if the transportation infrastructure cannot handle a large influx of travelers then traffic jams will occur. Enough accommodations for the tourists need to be available. People in the local community have problems reaching their work and schools when increased traffic cannot be handled well. An increased amount of traffic leads to an increased input of greenhouse gasses, and that has a negative effect on the problem of global warming. (Hanna, 2009, p. 9) When mass tourism is not controlled the water, land and energy resources of the community may be used mostly for tourism enterprises instead of being prioritized for the area’s citizens (Hanna, 2009, p. 5); this is a problem of MT that led to the cautionary platform.
The second, the cautionary platform was developed during the 1970s after the unregulated tourism described in the advocacy platform resulted in so many negative consequences. (Weaver, 2008, p. 7) The negative impacts listed above were observed to be unacceptably large. Developing countries were especially damaged from mass tourism because they were more vulnerable. Developing countries did not have the infrastructure and facilities in place to accommodate mass tourism from external companies. The most important assumption of the cautionary platform is that tourism needs to be carefully regulated in order to protect destinations. (Weaver, 2008, p. 7)
The third, the adaptancy platform, was developed in the 1980s. It evolves naturally from the cautionary platform which suggests that since unregulated tourism is harmful to destinations then regulations are necessary. SD is the outcome of the cautionary platform. Sustainable tourism can only be maintained when it is controlled and managed properly. Local community participation in tourism offers a “Bottoms-up” strategy that empowers the locals and gives the project a better chance of remaining sustainable. (Lema, Agrusa, K. and Agrusa, W., 2009, p. 11) At the same time the local citizens will be able to benefit from the economic opportunities tourism brings.
Adaptancy proposes electing and implementing tourism options that are suited to the destination. The assumption is that the destination should benefit from the tourist trade. Tourists were offered alternative choices such as whale or birdwatching, agrotourism and environmentally focused tour packages. (Fotiadis et al., 2008) Alternative tourism is available in a range of choices from traveling to Antarctica for seal watching to a trek through the Amazon forest. Good, early and thorough planning ensures that less negative impacts occur. (Weaver, 2012, p. 587-588) In Hungary negative impacts during alternative tourism occurs when too few paths have been constructed, and so people go off paths on their own, creating a threat to the natural environment. (Fotiadis et al., 2008, p. 83) Herbs, flowers and other plants can be easily trampled, and waste can be difficult to clean.
The fourth, knowledge-based platform, evolved in the 1990s when sustainable development started gaining traction. (Weaver, 2008, p. 9) The fourth platform uses all the knowledge available that pertains in some way to the tourism business at the destination. The information and data collected make it possible to take an overall “holistic” look a tourism types. (Weaver, 2008, p. 9) When all the available data has been gathered, the strengths and weaknesses can be weighed in order to design the most appropriate type to use. If ST can be linked with MT the results may turn out to be positive. The goal of sustainable tourism is to maintain the community (the tourism destination) for the present and the future without negatively impacting the location. (WCED, 1987; Weaver, 2008; Weaver, 2012) ST is a positive move to protect the environment so that the location remains in the same condition (or better) for the next generations.
According to Weaver (2012, p. 1030) sustainable mass tourism (SMT) is taking placing organically, incrementally and by inducement. The word ‘sustainable’ in the description of SMT indicates that care for the environment is a priority and that an environmentally pragmatic management strategy has been used. (Weaver, 2012, p. 1030) The organic path is a conventional, market-driven path that has a life cycle of “involvement, development, consolidation and stagnation stages.” (Weaver, 2012, p. 1033) When the stagnation step of the cycle is reached, actions need to be taken to rejuvenate tourism or it will decline. MT can be sustainable if the company is large enough. (Weaver, 2008, p. 69) Weaver (2008, p. 69) has shown that large corporations can successfully implement sustainable features and remain profitable. “Economies of scale also mean that practices such as recycling and product re-use and reduction can be highly profitable or at least cost effective.” (Weaver, 2008, p. 69)
SMT can use many tactics to raise profits. Glover (2010, p. 30) reported an economic study that showed charging an admission price of $0.25 per visitor to the Margalla Hills National Park in the Himayatullah Khan would result in $140,000; equal to approximately 4 percent of Pakistan’s environment budget. (Glover, 2010, p. 30) Studies have demonstrated that tourists are willing to pay for the privilege of enjoying a national park or another protected area when they know the money will be used to enhance an area’s protection and/or will be used to upgrade facilities. (Glover, 2010)
An example of a contemporary alternative tourist strategy encompasses the characteristics of both ST and MT. In India, World Heritage sites linked to eco-culture opportunities have become available. Poyya (2003) They are based on the two premises of peace and sustainability. Community based heritage eco-cultural tourism destinations can be found in India. The concept is to consider tourism as a “Global Peace Industry” in order to reduce challenges and even conflicts that arise in developing countries. Poyya (2003) has described the great potential of alternative tourism in India because of the many religious sites and the beautiful landscapes. Local communities would benefit if peace and high environmental quality were the foundations for sustainable Indian tourism. Tourism will bring higher demand for regional products. (Poyya, 2003) If the plan is for a global peace industry then less noise, less pollution form vehicles, less solid wastes will be generated and good sewage treatment facilities will be built. (Poyya, 2003) Other benefits would be the availability of more jobs. (Poyya, 2003) Less social conflict and less violence will result “by learning to live in harmony and higher quality of life for the local populations well as improved quality of holidays for the guests.” (Poyya, 2003, p. 11) Popular tourist destinations can offer eco-cultural tourism that shows an appreciation of nature, respect for the culture and curiosity about the culture’s heritage. (Poyya, 2003, p. 11)
The negative impacts of mass tourism can be decreased by turning to alternative tourism and sustainable, responsible practices, but negative impacts cannot be brought to zero. SMT can be carried out successfully when all the stakeholders including industry, local communities and the tourists are involved. Weaver (2008) has shown that sustainability is not only for small enterprises; corporations can benefit and make a good profit.
Preserving the environment for future generations is a main characteristic of sustainability that also has good business impacts. Tourist destinations that are maintained well continue to be popular destinations for the long term. Sustainability also applies to an economically feasible plan that will offer positive business opportunities for the local community. The most promising strategy for a sustainable tourism design is the ‘Bottoms-up’ strategy because a business from outside the area does not come in and impose a touristic enterprise. Bottoms-up is like a grassroots movement because the citizens of the local community are invested in planning a tourist site. The benefit for the local area is larger when local citizens are involved.
Sustainable mass tourism will be a challenge to maintain, but as long as the tourism industry and governments are invested in the sustainable movement, important support is available for developing SMT. Now is the time to set the stage for successful sustainable tourism by using the Bottoms-up strategy, by developing useful assessments and using them routinely. Appropriate regulations need to be initiated at the same time because self-regulation by corporations has not been successful.
Research on a sustainable mass tourism can create a successful alternate tourism strategy shows a positive perspective. The strategy can work if all the stakeholders are involved in the process (industry, local community and tourists). The success will also require constant observations of the strategy so appropriate adjustments can be made. Importantly large companies have the ability to take advantage of sustainable practices in ways small businesses cannot. Therefore large companies will be able to offer tourists SMT as a successful alternate tourism choice. There is a good possibility that SMT will become mainstream (not considered alternate) in time because integrating sustainable methods can generate money (recycling) and save money (re-use of materials and conservation practices).
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