TMGT 1312| INTRODUCTION OF TOURISM PLANNING

LECTURE 7 : TOURISM PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

 In tourism, sustainability means…
• Achieving quality growth in a manner that does not
deplete the natural and built-in environment and
preserves the culture, history and heritage of local
community.
• Achieving balance between number of visitors and
the capacity of the given environment
• Greatest interaction and enjoyment with the least
destruction.

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Levels of packaging and adventure throughout
the life cycle of a tourist destination area
(Butler & Waldbrook, 2003)

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Can we handle another 400 million tourists globally in just 6
years?
How will we handle congestion?

How will we handle waste?

How will we handle emissions?

Protest Sign Erected by Young Balinese

How will we manage our thirst for The Queue to Climb Everest
Source: Guardian
Source: ABC They Paved Paradise

water and land?

How will avoid residents’ backlash?

How will we protect vulnerable

people and cultures?

The Island Where Tourist Garbage is Stored in the

Source: China
Maldives
Daily
Source: Daily Mail
Are we at a ‘tipping point”?
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 KEY PERSPECTIVES IN TOURISM IMPACTS

• Impacts are multi-faceted.

• Tourism impacts can be categorized into three:
economic, socio-cultural and environmental.
• It can be positive (beneficial) or negative
(detrimental).
• The impacts also depends on the value and judgment
of the observer.

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 Types of Tourism Impacts

ECONOMIC IMPACTS

SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

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 ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF TOURISM
• POSITIVE • NEGATIVE
1. Foreign exchange earnings 1. Inflation
2. Contribution to government 2. Opportunity costs
revenues 3. Dependency
3. Generation of employment 4. Seasonality
4. Balance of payment / trade 5. Leakage
account balance
6. Enclave tourism
5. Stimulation of infrastructure
investment 7. Seasonal character of jobs
6. Contribution to local economies 8. Prostitution and the underground
economy

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 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
• Employment refers to work performed for a wage or salary.
• Tourism creates more employment opportunities as the tourism
industry is a labor-intensive industry that offers many direct
employment opportunities such as jobs in hotels and tour
agencies. It also creates indirect jobs in other industries such as
the food and beverage and transport industries.
• For example, the setting up of the Integrated Resorts in Singapore
has resulted in the creation of up to 35,000 jobs directly or
indirectly.

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 GROWTH IN INCOME
• Growth in tourism leads to growth in income as more tourists
lead to greater demand for goods and services hence
individuals and businesses in the tourism or related industries
can expect additional income.
• For example, fishermen on the Pamilacan Island in the
Philippines are enjoy more income as they are hired as
boatmen by tourists to look for whale sharks ad dolphins.

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 INCREASED IN FOREIGN EXCHANGE
• Foreign exchange refers to money earned from other countries
in exchange for goods and services, which can be used by the
receiving country to purchase goods and services from other
countries.
• Tourism leads to increase in foreign exchange as tourists
exchange their home currencies for local currencies, which
contributes to capital inflow for the receiving country.
• For example, tourism contributes to Fiji’s economy as the
largest foreign exchange earner and make up 20 – 25% of Fiji’s
economy.

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 GROWTH IN GOVERNMENT REVENUE
• Tourism contributes directly and indirectly to government
revenues.
• Tourism leads to growth in government revenue as
governments collect revenues directly from taxes on
tourists and income taxes from employees of
tourist-related business and their employers.
• For example, Cambodia taxes tourists in the form of
tourist visas and airport tax, which contributes to
government revenue.

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 LEAKAGE OF REVENUE
• Revenue generated from tourism may be lost as
leakage as it is paid to other countries for the import
of goods and services needed to meet the needs of
tourists.
• For example, tourists may fly into Thailand on a
foreign airline and stay in a foreign-owned hotel. The
profits made by these merchants do not stay in
Thailand but is lost to another country.

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 SEASONAL UNEMPLOYMENT
• Refers to low employment opportunities during low tourist season.
• Tourism may lead to seasonal unemployment as certain tourist
activities are dependent on climatic conditions and countries hosting
these activities may experience a rise in tourist numbers for several
months followed by a drop in tourist numbers for the next few
months.
• For example, the mountain ski resorts in the city of Sapporo, Japan
employs more people during winter to cater to the increased in
tourist arrivals during the winter, but have to release them when the
high tourist season is over.

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 WIDENING INCOME DIVIDE
• Tourism may aggravate the income division between
locals and foreign professional.
• For example, locals in developing countries such as
Madagascar are generally employed in lower paid or
jobs such as masseurs and cleaners while the higher
paid managerial and executive jobs are held by
foreign skilled personnel from the DCs.

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Tourism and the Economy: Four Tools of Analysis
❑ Tourism Yield Measures
expenditure measures popular but limited
❑ Tourism Satellite Accounts
measures economic contribution of tourism (eg contribution to
tourism GDP, tourism employment etc)
❑ Economic Impact Analysis
estimates the effects of shocks (+ or -) to tourism demand and
supply
changes in economy wide output, GDP/GSP, employment etc
❑ Cost-Benefit Analysis
estimates change in economic welfare from a policy or investment
proposal
 Tourism Yield

Standard measure is expenditure injected by type of visitor

by trip and by visitor night
❑ Often forms basis of destination marketing effort
❑ Expenditure is the most commonly used concept of yield.
❑ corresponds to the well known concept of ‘marketing yield’
which is found in the mission statements of many DMOs.
❑ The expenditure ‘yield’ of different markets informs the
marketing effort of many destinations world- wide at both
national and regional levels.
Tourism Australia, Tourism Victoria, Tourism Western
Australia, Kenya, NZ, Hong Kong, Malaysia, UK, Northern
Ireland etc
 Elements Of Culture

• Handicrafts • Gastronomy
• Language • Art And Music
• Tradition • History

• Local Work • Education Systems

• Architecture • Dress
• Religion • Leisure Activities

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 RELEVANT CULTURAL CONCEPTS
NORMS AND RULES EMOTIONOLOGY

ORIENTALISM PRIMITIVISM

ETHNOCENTRISM XENOPHOBIA

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SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM
• POSITIVE/BENEFITS • NEGATIVE/COSTS
• Preservation and • Loss of cultural character
restoration of cultural • Loss of authenticity and
heritage meaning of traditional arts
and crafts
• Revival of traditional arts • Commercialization of
and crafts human relationships
• Cultivation of cultural pride • Potential
and sense of identity misunderstandings and
conflicts between residents
• Cross-cultural exchange and tourists

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PRESERVATION OF CULTURE AND LOCAL
CUSTOMS
• Refers to the protection of the way people live, including their
economic activities, traditional and religious beliefs.
• Tourism may lead to the preservation of culture and local
customs as planning authorities invest resources to fund the
preservation and restoration of historical and cultural sites to
attract tourists interested in heritage tourism.
• For example, entry fees to sites such as the Great Pyramids of
Giza in Egypt and the Angkor Wat in Cambodia are used
directly to fund conservation.

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 DILUTION OF CULTURE AND LOCAL
CUSTOMS
• Tourism can lead to the dilution of culture local customs
of a place as local activities may be made to give way to
tourist activities or cultural festivals and religious rituals
are sometimes conducted as entertainment, thereby
losing their authenticity and significance.
• For example, the ancient traditional Balinese dance which
was formerly performed during religious events can now
be seen almost everyday during the high tourist season.

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 INCREASED CRIME
• Tourism can lead to high crime rates at popular
tourist sites as criminals are lured to the valuable
items carried by tourists such as watches, cameras
and cash.
• For example, Louvre in France, the most visited
museum in the world, was forced to close its doors
due to the increasing problem of pickpocketing in the
museum.

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 VANDALISM
• Tourism can lead to vandalism, which is the crime of
deliberately damaging property belonging to others.
• For example, the thousands of stones and bricks of
the Great Wall of China, which is visited by about 10
million tourists a year, are covered with graffiti.

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 THREE PERSPECTIVES: (RELATIONSHIP OF
TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENT)
1. Tourist-environment interactions
2. Tourist-host interactions
3. Host-environment interactions

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 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM
• POSITIVE • NEGATIVE
• Conservation of natural • Increased congestion
environments • Vandalism
• Pollution and littering
• Destruction of habitats
• Increased carbon
footprint

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 ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

1.Environmental awareness.
2.Enhancements of local environment.
3.Protection and conservation of wildlife.

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 “Environmental Awareness Raising”
• Tourism has the potential
to increase public
appreciation of the
environment and to spread
awareness of
environmental problems
when it brings people into
closer contact with nature
and the environment.

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 CONSERVATION OF NATURAL
ENVIRONMENTS
• Tourism can contribute to the conservation of natural
environments as revenue from tourist activities can be
channeled to fund the conservation efforts of environments such
as coral reefs and rainforests.

• For example, in Kenya, the country’s nature reserves and national

parks relies on funding received from international visitors to
continue its operations and preserve the animals and habitats.

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ENHANCEMENT OF LOCAL
ENVIRONMENTS
Retain and increase
visitor numbers by
improving the general
amenity value of the
local environment.

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 PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION OF
WILDLIFE
• Tourism acts as a force of
conservation as it offers an
alternative economic use.
• Tourism draws attention to
issues relating to
biodiversity, endangered
species and human impact
on the environment.
(Doswell, 1997)

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 ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS
• Inappropriate development
• Loss of natural habitat and effects on wildlife
• Pollution
• Loss of spirit
• Overcrowding and traffic congestion
• Activities (affecting the natural environment)

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 INAPPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENT
❑ Tourism development may be classed as inappropriate if it
fails to be sensitive to the natural environment.
❑ Long-term planning in environment terms should be done.
❑ Costa del Sol – had undergone a powerful colonization of
modern kind, it had robbed the shore of its natural features,
displaced headlands and harbors with badly made structures.
❑ Resorts in Pattaya, Thailand – considered to be
overdeveloped.

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TYPOLOGY OF VISITOR IMPACTS AT VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
1 | Overcrowding
considered to be greatly dependent on the capacity of the site to receive visitors.
an occasional problem, affecting the site at only certain times of the day or year, or a
persistent problem.
may affect either parts of the site, such as entry and exit points, as well as in and around
shops, refreshment areas and toilets, or the site as a whole.

The English Tourist Board (1991) notes five knock-on impacts associated with the overcrowding of
heritage sites:
• increased risk of damage to artefacts, exhibits and works of art;
• increased risk of accidents, fire and theft;
• creation of an inappropriate atmosphere in the setting of the attraction;
• reduced opportunity for visitors to experience and appreciate what the site has to offer;
• general reduction in the quality of the visitor experience

(Source: Garrod, Fyall and Leask, 2006)

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TYPOLOGY OF VISITOR IMPACTS AT VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
2| Wear and tear

These are strictly physical impacts and include the following:

i. Handling, which visitors may do consciously, for example touching an exhibit because they
are curious what it feels like, or unconsciously, for example, leaning against an antique wall
hanging. Often the problem is not that an individual handles an item but that a large
number may do so over the course of a year.
ii. Trampling, which is more likely to be unintentional than intentional, for example, the wear
and tear done to carpets at stately homes or footpaths in gardens as visitors move around
them. Again, the problem is one of very small individual impacts which become serious
problems when compounded by large visitor numbers.
iii. Humidity, which tends to rise as the number of visitors within an enclosed space increases.
Excessive humidity may cause damage to sensitive materials, such as needlework, frescoes
and books. It may also make the space uncomfortable for visitors. Generally humidity can
be controlled, and is usually only a problem when it rises or falls suddenly and
unpredictably.
(Source: Garrod, Fyall and Leask, 2006)

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TYPOLOGY OF VISITOR IMPACTS AT VISITOR ATTRACTIONS

2| Wear and tear (cont.)

iv. Temperature, which also tends to be associated with the presence of visitors in an
enclosed space. Again, sudden and unpredictable changes in temperature are
normally more of a management challenge than excessive heat or cold.
v. Pilfering, which, while probably only an occasional problem, may have a major impact
on the cash flow of a visitor attraction, and hence its ability to care for its artefacts
and/or the site itself.
vi. Grafitti, which may have a major impact on the ambience of the property if it is
allowed to remain, or may be difficult and costly to remove if the material on which it
appears is particularly sensitive, e.g. plasterwork.
(Source: Garrod, Fyall and Leask, 2006)

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TYPOLOGY OF VISITOR IMPACTS AT VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
3 | Traffic-related problems

visitors access the site is the private motor car or coach.

In city-centre sites, a wider variety of transport modes may be used and this visitor-induced traffic
may exacerbate extant traffic problems.
Examples of traffic-related visitor impacts include:
i. pollution from vehicle exhausts, which may in turn damage vegetation or the surfaces of
buildings;
ii. traffic congestion, which may add to the pollution damage referred to above;
iii. damage to lawns and verges due to poor parking;
iv. vibration damage to buildings.

Traffic-related problems may be occasional, such as traffic queues at peak times, or persistent.
They may also occur on site or in the locality of the visitor attraction.
(Source: Garrod, Fyall and Leask, 2006)

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TYPOLOGY OF VISITOR IMPACTS AT VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
4 | Relationship between visitors and the local community

• local residents effectively become an intrinsic part of the attraction, their distinctive
manner of dress, languages, customs or ways of life being something that visitors have
come to experience.
• Visitors may feel unwelcome because of the attitudes and behaviour of local people
towards them.
• This may be because local residents have developed an antipathy towards visitors, which
they may express by being rude or offensive to visitors.
• This is especially likely if the local residents feel that their concerns are not being
sufficiently listened to or addressed to by the managers or owners of the visitor
attraction.
(Source: Garrod, Fyall and Leask, 2006)

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TYPOLOGY OF VISITOR IMPACTS AT VISITOR ATTRACTIONS
5 | Impacts of visitor management

visitor management itself to have a negative impact on the ambience or authenticity of the visitor
attraction.

This may take the form of:

i. the provision of visitor facilities, for example, toilets, direction signs or handrails, which may
have a negative impact on the ambience of the property;
ii. adaptations to the site to enable orderly visitor flow around the site, such as the
iii. addition of new doorways to provide a separate entrance and exit to a particular room in a
stately home;
iv. adaptations made to the fabric of the property in order to enable visitor facilities to be
incorporated, for example, lifts for people with reduced physical mobility;
v. the need to take measures in order to ensure the health and safety of visitors may conflict with
the authenticity of the site;
vi. the use of interpretational media or messages that are not in keeping with or faithful to the
history of the property.
(Source: Garrod, Fyall and Leask, 2006)

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 CARRYING CAPACITY
❑ Refers to the ability of a destination to take tourism use
without deteriorating in some way.
❑ Mathieson and Wall (1982):
“The maximum number of people who can use a
site without unacceptable alteration in the physical
environment and without an unacceptable decline in
the quality of experience gained by visitors.”

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 CARRYING CAPACITY
The maximum number of people that may
visit a tourist destination at the same time,
without causing destruction of the physical,
economic, socio-cultural environment and an
unacceptable decrease in the quality of
visitors’ satisfaction (WTO, 1997)

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 CARRYING CAPACITY
- Carrying capacity is being used as a management tool in land use
planning, growth management, tourism, etc. to control their adverse
impacts
- Carrying capacity for any given area is not fixed – it can be altered by
improved technology, but mostly it is changed for the worse by
pressures which accompany a population increase
- As the environment is degraded, carrying capacity actually shrinks,
leaving the environment no longer able to support even the number
of people who could formerly have lived in the area on a sustainable
basis.

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TYPES OF CARRYING CAPACITY
PHYSICAL CARRYING CAPACITY
RESOURCE
ENVIRONMENTAL/BIOLOGICAL CARRYING CAPACITY

ECONOMIC CARRYING CAPACITY

VISITOR PSYCHOLOGICAL/BEHAVIORAL CARRYING CAPACITY

HOST SOCIAL CARRYING CAPACITY

COMMUNITY

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 PHYSICAL CARRYING CAPACITY
• The maximum number of tourists that an area is actually
able to support
• The maximum number that can fit on the site at any
given time and still allow people to be able to move
• PCC per day = Area (in meter squared) x Visitors per
meter x Daily duration

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 ENVIRONMENTAL / BIOLOGICAL
CARRYING CAPACITY
• The extent to which the natural environment is able to
tolerate interference from tourists.
• Deals with ecology which is able to regenerate to some
extent, so in this case, the carrying capacity is when the
damage exceeds the habitat’s ability to regenerate

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 ECONOMIC CARRYING CAPACITY
• Relates to a level of acceptable change within the
local economy of a tourist destination
• The extent to which a tourist destination is able
to accommodate tourist functions without the
loss of local activities
• Describe the point at which the increased
revenue brought by tourism development is
overtaken by the inflation caused by tourism.

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 SOCIAL – PSYCHOLOGICAL CARRYING CAPACITY
• Social Carrying Capacity – also referred to as perceptual,
psychological or behavioral capacity
• Relates to the number of encounters with other tourist
groups.
• Relates to the level of tolerance of host population for
the presence and behavior of tourists

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 SOCIAL – PSYCHOLOGICAL CARRYING CAPACITY
• The levels and concentrations of human use an area can
accommodate before the solitude is diminished
• The negative socio-cultural related to tourism
development
• Reduced the visitor enjoyment and increased crime are
also indicators of when the social carrying capacity has
been exceeded

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 Issues to be considered:
• Natural and man-made cultural and environmental
resources comprising tourism product are conserved
and renewed when necessary.
• For the benefit of succeeding generations.
• Tourists not only consume the tourism product, they
should be made aware of the need to protect it.

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 Issues to be considered:
• Tourism must be beneficial for the receiving
destination, region and country.
•For the receiving destination to be
prepared to accommodate tourists and
hospitality be extended when tourists
overstayed.

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 Issues to be considered:
• Maintaining and renewing the tourism product is
critical.
•To sustain steady tourist flow
•To ensure tourist satisfaction
•Sometimes, this means limiting tourists
flows

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 Issues to be considered:
•Benefits and costs must be politically
acceptable for the governing entities
at national, regional and destination
levels.

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