Individual Action

Individual Action

The Problem

The tourism sector is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and is closely associated with the social, economic, and environmental well-being of many countries, especially those in the developing world.1 Tourism provides an important source of foreign exchange and generates vast opportunities for employment, making it a desirable economic opportunity for host communities.1 Despite these benefits, tourism is also responsible for causing environmental degradation and cultural commodification.2 In order to accommodate the presence of a large number of people, infrastructure must be built to enable transportation and accommodate tourists.2 While this may be positive for urban development, the construction of tourism infrastructure often comes at the expense of the natural habitats, such as forests and coastal ecosystems.2 Tourism may also promote a renewed interest in traditional arts and cultural practices.3 The search for an “authentic experience,” however, can lead to the objectification and commodification of both culture and ethnicity in host communities, leading to the erosion of socio-cultural identity.3 Although the matter of unsustainable tourism is a large-scale issue that requires major changes to be made in the tourism industry in order to achieve sustainable development, individual tourists can do their part to support sustainable tourism development through individual action.

The Power of Individual Action

While the power of the individual is generally regarded as insufficient when it comes to making progress towards sustainability objectives, individual action has been shown to be an effective agent of change and a vital part of sustainable problem solving.4 One of the basic ways individuals can act as agents of change is by modifying their daily behaviors in ways that promote sustainability, such as recycling or eating a vegan diet to reduce one’s carbon footprint.4 When an individual’s act is so profound that it becomes a movement, the individual now has the potential to contribute to gradual societal change that can lead to the rapid transformation of society.4 One of the most effective ways to increase individual power and its effectiveness is through collaboration with other individuals and organizations that share the same beliefs in order to achieve goals through collective action or direct action.4 As Niesenbaum says in his book, Sustainable Solutions: Problem Solving for Current and Future Generations, in reference to Gandhi, “individuals can and need to be the change we wish to see in the world, and they have been successful at doing so throughout history.”4 When individuals dedicate themselves to making sustainable choices and joining in sustainable movements, their power can be amplified, helping us to move towards a more sustainable future.4

Individual Action in Tourism

When relating the concept of individual action to tourism, the greatest way in which individual tourists can help to mitigate the negative impacts of unsustainable tourism is by choosing to travel responsibly. According to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, responsible travel describes the behavior of individual tourists making decisions according to sustainable tourism practices.3 Sustainable tourism is defined by the UN World Tourism Organization as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”4 By traveling responsibly, tourists aim to minimize negative social, environmental, and economic impacts and maximize positive ones when visiting a tourism destination.6 Before traveling, tourists can take their first steps toward traveling responsibly by looking for sustainable lodging accommodations and working with sustainable travel providers.6 Exploring modes of transportation that have higher occupancy, such as fuel-efficient trains, buses, and long-haul flights, is important for tourists to help decrease their environmental impact and individual carbon footprint when traveling.6 Before they arrive, tourists should also take a closer look into the history, environment, language, and customs of their destination so that they can engage more with the local culture.6 Once they have arrived at their destination, tourists can continue to travel responsibly by supporting locally owned businesses, tour operators, and artisans.6 Buying local goods and services not only ensures that tourist money goes directly into the community but it also provides an opportunity for tourists to engage with local residents and learn more about their community and culture.6 Tourists can also do their part to protect the natural environment by staying on designated trails, respecting natural landmarks, properly disposing of waste, and minimizing water and energy consumption.6 After returning home, tourists can continue to support sustainable tourism and sustainable tourism development by sharing responsible travel tips with others and spreading awareness on how destinations are being impacted by unsustainable tourism practices. 

Discussing the Problem

In Kathrine Hayhoe’s book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, she discusses how we can constructively talk about global climate change with others so that they not only care about the issue climate change but feel inspired to take action in solving the climate crisis.7 She explains that the way to gain support is not simply to bombard people with the data and facts, but rather to relate the impacts of climate change to their interests and values as a way to show them why they should care.7 When approaching a conversation about climate change, Hayhoe suggests, “Start with something you have in common. Connect it to why climate change matters to us personally— not the human race in its entirety or the Earth itself, but rather us as individuals… Then, describe what people can and are doing to fix it.”7 The same methodology can be applied when talking to tourists about why they should be interested in traveling responsibly and should support sustainable development in the tourism industry. In her book, Hayhoe writes, “Connect who we are to why we care. Bond with someone over a value we already possess and share, one that is already near and dear to our hearts. Tell them why you care… and why others might, too.”7 So, for example, if a tourist claims to love the beach and its natural flora and fauna, you might describe to them how beaches are being affected by erosion as a result of over tourism and how sea creatures are being impacted by tourist waste that is making its way into our oceans. Then, you could describe to them your own passions for environmental protection and responsible travel and describe to them how they themselves can travel more responsibly and help to preserve the ecosystems they are interacting with. Assuming you were able to make a connection, you could then go on to describe the importance of sustainable tourism development and the role it plays in protecting the ecosystems and communities that tourists value.

Potential Impact of Solutions

Sustainability can be defined using the following definition; “a practice, process, or entity is sustainable if its initiatives, actions or impacts work to meet the social, environmental, and economic needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs by ensuring: resource use that maximizes renewal, encourages re-use, and minimizes waste while protecting and restoring the health of natural systems including the protection of biodiversity, reducing pollution, and mitigating global climate change; equitable economic opportunity that empowers all people to meet their own needs; and that essential social goals or foundations for humanity to prosper including basic human rights are met. Best practices for meeting these objectives include using an inclusive, transparent, and equitable process that employs systems thinking and scientific principles, encourages individual and collective action, and assessment using measurable indicators and establishes accountability.” While individual action is not negligible in the effort to achieve sustainable development in the tourism sector, there are limitations to what individuals tourists can achieve. While tourists may aim to accomplish sustainability objectives through responsible travel, there is only so much influence that an individual can have on a community, let alone a foreign community where language and cultural barriers exist. It is therefore more likely that sustainable tourism development will be achieved in host communities if the local government is involved and willing to make the changes necessary to accomplish sustainability objectives.

References

  1. United Nations. (n.d.) Sustainable Tourism. https://sdgs.un.org/topics/sustainable-tourism#:~:text=The%20World%20Tourism%20Organization%20defines,the%20environment%20and%20host%20communities%22.
  1. Corradi, A. (2017). The unsustainability of mass tourism. Brown Political Review. https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2017/11/unsustainability-mass-tourism/#:~:text=Mass%20tourism%20is%20responsible%20for,to%20the%20local%20natural%20environment.
  1. Shepherd, R. (2002). Commodification, culture and tourism. Tourist Studies. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/146879702761936653
  1. Niesenbaum, R. (2020). Sustainable Solutions: Problem Solving for Current and Future Generations. New York: Oxford University Press.
  1. Global Sustainable Tourism Council. (2021). What is Sustainable Tourism? https://www.gstcouncil.org/what-is-sustainable-tourism/
  1. Global Sustainable Tourism Council. (2021). What can you do to travel responsibly? https://www.gstcouncil.org/for-travelers/
  1. Hayhoe, K. (2021). Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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