tourism impacts dissertation

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

We're Hiring!
Help Center

Socio-economic Impacts of Tourism Development and Their Implications on Local Communities

2016, International Journal of Economics and Business Administration,American Institute of Science (AIS)

Tourism has significant potentials for generating positive social, cultural and economic benefits depending on how tourism activities are managed and developed. However, tourism also has the potential to generate more negative outcomes. Therefore, the objectives of this study are first; to examine the impacts of tourism development on local communities, second; to recognize the attitudes and perception of local communities towards tourism development in their neighbourhoods. The study is based on the data gathered from 108 families in three villages to analysis the attitudes and perceptions of local communities towards tourism development. Additionally, six unstructured interviews were conducted with government officers of these villages to get the precise understanding of the tourism development in local communities and its impacts. The study reveals inadequate government planning, policies and regulations, insufficient knowledge and skills of tour operators, and the broader social...

Related Papers

SARJIT S. Gill / FEM

This article illustrates the role of local communities for tourism development. This study also attempts to highlight the role of tourism local development. This article looks at how local communities can develop tourism in local area. The concepts of community and community development have been important for local tourism development. The implication of this study arises from the fact that there has been little research carried out on interaction between communities and local tourism. Theoretically, the findings of this study enrich the knowledge concerning local tourism industry (Journal of American Science 2010;6(2):155-161). (ISSN: 1545-1003).

TRJ Tourism Research Journal

Filma Festivalia

The research aimed to analyze “The Impact of Tourism on Village Society”. The methodology of the study was quantitative research and descriptive analysis. The research was located in Sumurugul village. Respondents of this research were 92 residents. The data was collected by using convenience sampling. The data was analyzed by using validity and reliability test, frequency, and descriptive (mean) analysis. The study found that there is the positive impact of tourism on village society in Sumurugul in the point of economics, social, and environment aspect. The implication of this study showed that tourism should be one of the alternatives to develop a village.

Journal of Gastronomy, Hospitality and Travel

The perception of the locals respecting the impacts of tourism can be determined by the factors such as how the community, which they are member of is, affected by tourism; how tourism affects social activities and the attitudes of political and administrative authorities towards tourism. The main purpose of this study is to estimate whether locals' negative perceptions (NP) and positive perceptions (PP), locals' support for tourism development (STD) and community participation (CP) differ at rural and urban levels. The sub-aims are to figure out whether there is any mediation effect and correlations among NP, PP, STD and CP. Data were obtained from Muğla (urban) and Fethiye (rural) through face-to-face surveys with a total number of 400 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), validity and reliability analysis and path analysis for Fethiye and Muğla have performed. No statistically significant effect of CP, PP and NP on STD was found in Muğla and Fethiye. In Fethiye locals' PP have a significant and positive effect on STD. Locals' PP and NP have a significant and positive effect on CP. Consequently, a difference has found between Fethiye and Muğla concerning the impact of positive and negative perceptions on the participation in the tourism processes.

Journal of Tourism and Services

GÜRKAN ALAGÖZ

The purpose of this research is to determine the socio-cultural, economic, and environmental effects of tourism perceived by the local community living in Manavgat/Turkey on the satisfaction with the tourism development, to identify the effect of this satisfaction with tourism development, and to ascertain the moderator role of the demographic variables in this relationship. The population of the research is the local community living in Manavgat/Turkey. EFA, CFA, path analyzes, and Slope difference tests have been performed through 384 surveys collected from the local community. As a result, it has been determined that perceived socio-cultural, economic, and environmental positive effects of tourism and negative environmental effects have an impact on satisfaction with tourism development. Meanwhile, it has been determined that the local community's satisfaction with tourism development affects the attitude and gender has a moderator role on this effect. In line with these resu...

African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure,

Lwazi Apleni

The aim of this paper is to assess tourism as a catalyst for rural development and community awareness in a case study of Coffee Bay. Tourism is considered as a viable tool for economic development, specifically in the developing world. It was envisaged and deemed necessary to develop tourism in the local community as it would generate community development, thus supporting its overall development. Apart from this tourist sites enhance community cohesion and promote peace within the host community. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Questionnaires were distributed to community members of Coffee Bay. Furthermore, a random sampling method was used for the purpose of the study. Data obtained was analysed through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the study revealed a high awareness and a high level of community willingness to participate in tourism ventures. Furthermore, findings of the study revealed that some members of the community have already participated in Small Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs). However, the negative aspects raised by the community in the development processes are the issue of government interference and the lack of sponsors together with the poor infrastructure. Therefore, it is recommended that the government must make a concerted effort in providing a sustainable and conducive environment for tourism to thrive in the Coffee Bay community. Funding was also cited as one of the bottlenecks. As such, funding should be provided either by the government or by the private sector to ensure an on-going process of tourism development.

Dianne Dredge

Development is a challenging concept. Telfer and Sharpley (2008) observe that problems such as poverty, inequality, poor healthcare and a lack of educational opportunities are widely recognized and reflected in the goals of international development programs such as the UN Millennium Project. However, as these authors state, it is unclear as to what extent particular developmental vehicles such as tourism are effective in addressing these issues, especially as many of the problems facing developing countries may be the outcome rather than the cause of underdevelopment (see also Telfer, 2009). The notion of “community” is also problematic, and heterogeneity rather than homogeneity may be far more appropriate to describe communities that are encased with geographic (or virtual) boundaries (see Dicks, 1999). An alternative view of community, characterized by belonging to multiple networks over time and across spatial scales fits our contemporary understanding of a globalized world, but also makes “community” a slippery concept for the purposes of planning and policy. Hence, both the notion of “community” and “development” tend to be contested, adding to the challenge of understanding the meaning and contribution of “community-based tourism.” The recent critique of community participation in tourism by Butcher (2010) in the Research Probe section of Tourism Recreation Research, and responses by Singh (2010) and Weaver (2010), show that the debate around resident responsive tourism and community participation in tourism are far from over. This chapter continues to explore the challenges encapsulated in these debates and attempts to address the overall question: To what extent can tourism contribute to community development? Disadvantaged, low-income and minority populations generally tend to incur a high proportion of negative environmental and sociocultural impacts compared to other social groups, such as tourists, and local elites. How does community-based tourism address inequalities in the distribution of economic, environmental and sociocultural costs? And how do pro-poor and sustainable tourism agendas address pressing issues like climate change in the context of community development? The chapter will take up these questions of tourism’s contribution to community development, first by examining the key issues and challenges that underpin the chapter, followed by an examination of various approaches and forms of tourism. Planning and participatory approaches and mechanisms will then be addressed.

Economic Journal of Nepal

Marianne Heredge

A study of tourism in Upper Mustang was made in 2003 (Heredge, 2003) examining key issues in planning tourism development to maximize benefits to local communities there. In Upper Mustang at the time of writing, there was no evidence that any of the local people benefit ...

Athula Gnanapala

The study is mainly to identify the community perception and their involvement in the tourism development activities. Research was carried out at Passikudha, one of the planned tourism development site in Sri Lanka, adopting the mixed methodology. A survey was conducted using a semi structured questionnaire with 251 respondents from the local community. Additionally, in-depth interviews with six community leaders were conducted. The local community of Passikudha tourism resort area consists of 712 families, which was considered for the survey. The findings indicate that more benefits have been brought to the area due to the ongoing tourism development activities, however the local community is not in a position to get the real benefits of the tourism development due to lack of proper education, knowledge, experience, capacity etc. The community bear mixed perception about the ongoing development in the study area. On the other hand, those who get benefits through tourism hold positive perception and attitudes while those who have not received any tangible benefits hold negative attitudes about the tourism development. The results highlighted that, it is necessary to have a well planned awareness program about the community involvement for the ongoing tourism development activities. Therefore, the authorities should concern more about the community awareness and capacity building programs in order to deliver the benefits of tourism development to the local community also to ensure the long term sustainability of the industry.

Emmanuel Seni

Research Paper

Ala`a Abukhalifeh

This research discusses the role of local stakeholder participation in developing sustainable community-based tourism (CBT). A survey collected in Pulau Redang, Kuala Terengganu from carefully recruited community-based tourism stakeholders is discussed to further solidify the theoretical underpinnings of stakeholder participation and community based tourism nexus. Majority of the research participants indicated that the likelihood of them being included in the decision-making process shows improvement. In connection to this, types of community participation, strengths, motivations, and barriers to participation in community-based tourism development endeavours are highlighted. Research outcomes revealed two major influential factors for the existence of better community participation, namely, the presence of strong (CBT) organizations and committed leadership with growing support. The study concludes by providing with suggestions that further improve community-based tourism stakeholder participation in developing sustainable tourism from the perspective of the remote Island destination.

Impact of tourism development upon environmental sustainability: a suggested framework for sustainable ecotourism

Research Article
Published: 19 August 2022
Volume 30 , pages 5917–5930, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

Qadar Bakhsh Baloch 1 ,
Syed Naseeb Shah 1 ,
Nadeem Iqbal 2 ,
Muhammad Sheeraz 3 ,
Muhammad Asadullah 4 ,
Sourath Mahar 5 &
Asia Umar Khan 6

52k Accesses

82 Citations

3 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

The empirical research investigated the relationship between tourism development and environmental suitability to propose a framework for sustainable ecotourism. The framework suggested a balance between business and environmental interests in maintaining an ecological system with the moderating help of government support and policy interventions. The study population encompasses tourism stakeholders, including tourists, representatives from local communities, members of civil administration, hoteliers, and tour operators serving the areas. A total of 650 questionnaires were distributed to respondents, along with a brief description of key study variables to develop a better understanding. After verifying the instrument’s reliability and validity, data analysis was conducted via hierarchical regression. The study findings revealed that a substantial number of people perceive socio-economic benefits, including employment and business openings, infrastructure development from tourism development, and growth. However, the state of the natural and environmental capital was found to be gradually degrading. Alongside the social environment, social vulnerability is reported due to the overutilization of land, intrusion from external cultures, and pollution in air and water due to traffic congestion, accumulation of solid waste, sewage, and carbon emissions. The study suggested a model framework for the development of sustained ecotourism, including supportive government policy interventions to ensure effective conservation of environmental and natural resources without compromising the economic viability and social well-beings of the locals. Furthermore, the variables and the constructs researched can be replicated to other destinations to seek valuable inputs for sustainable destination management elsewhere.

Three pillars of sustainability: in search of conceptual origins

Public transportation and sustainability: A review

Ecotourism and sustainable development: a scientometric review of global research trends

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

Tourism is a vibrant force that stimulates travel to explore nature, adventures, wonders, and societies, discover cultures, meet people, interact with values, and experience new traditions and events. Tourism development attracts tourists to a particular destination to develop and sustain a tourism industry. Moreover, environmental sustainability is the future-based conscious effort aimed at conserving socio-cultural heritage and preserving natural resources to protect environmental ecosystems through supporting people’s health and economic well-being. Environment sustainability can be reflected in clean and green natural landscaping, thriving biodiversity, virgin sea beaches, long stretches of desert steppes, socio-cultural values, and archeological heritage that epitomize tourists’ degree of motivation and willingness of the local community to welcome the visitors. In this context, tourism growth and environmental sustainability are considered interdependent constructs; therefore, the increase in tourism development and tourists’ arrivals directly affects the quality of sustained and green tourism (Azam et al. 2018 ; Hassan et al. 2020 ; Sun et al. 2021 ).

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourism is one of the fastest-growing industries, contributing more than 10% to the global GDP (UNWTO 2017; Mikayilov et al. 2019 ). Twenty-five million international tourists in 1950 grew to 166 million in 1970, reaching 1.442 billion in 2018 and projected to be 1.8 billion by 2030. Mobilizing such a substantial human tourist’s mass is most likely to trickle environmental pollution along with its positive effects on employment, wealth creation, and the economy. The local pollution at tourist destinations may include air emissions, noise, solid waste, littering, sewage, oil and chemicals, architectural/visual pollution, heating, car use, and many more. In addition, an uncontrolled, overcrowded, and ill-planned tourist population has substantial adverse effects on the quality of the environment. It results in the over-consumption of natural resources, degradation of service quality, and an exponential increase in wastage and pollution. Furthermore, tourism arrivals beyond capacity bring problems rather than a blessing, such as leaving behind soil erosion, attrition of natural resources, accumulation of waste and air pollution, and endangering biodiversity, decomposition of socio-cultural habitats, and virginity of land and sea (Kostić et al. 2016 ; Shaheen et al. 2019 ; Andlib and Salcedo-Castro 2021 ).

Tourism growth and environmental pollution have been witnessed around the globe in different regions. The ASEAN countries referred to as heaven for air pollution, climate change, and global warming are experiencing economic tourism and pollution (Azam et al. 2018 ; Guzel and Okumus 2020 ). In China, more than fifty-eight major Chinese tourism destinations are inviting immediate policy measures to mitigate air pollution and improve environmental sustainability (Zhang et al. 2020 ). Similarly, Singapore, being a top-visited country, is facing negative ecological footprints and calling for a trade-off between tourism development and environmental sustainability (Khoi et al. 2021 ). The prior studies established that international tourism and the tourism-led growth surge tourists’ arrival, energy consumption, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, and air pollution resultantly cause climate change (Aslan et al. 2021 ). South Asian countries, more specifically Sri Lanka and Pakistan, are on the verge of tourism growth and environmental pollution compared to other countries (Chishti et al. 2020 ; Tiwari et al. 2021 ).

Pakistan is acknowledged in the tourism world because of its magnificent mountains with the densest concentration of high peaks in the world, scenic beauty of Neelum Valley, Murree, Chitral, and swat Valleys’, Kaghan, Naran, Hunza, Gilgit Baltistan (Baloch 2007 ), sacred shrines of Sikhism, archeological sites of the Gandhara and Indus Valley civilizations such as Mohenjo-Daro, Taxila including pre-Islamic Kalasha community (Baloch and Rehman 2015 ). In addition, Pakistan’s hospitable and multicultural society offers rich traditions, customs, and festivals for the tourists to explore, commemorate, cherish, and enjoy. Pakistan’s geographical and socio-cultural environment represents its resource and an opportunity (Baloch and Rehman 2015 ); therefore, Pakistan is looking to capitalize on it as a promising source of the foreign reserve to compensate for its mounting trade deficit (Baloch et al. 2020 ).

Tourism expansion has been established as a very deleterious ecological cost vis-à-vis the socio-economic benefits it passes to the host communities (Pulido-Fernández et al. 2019 ; Simo-Kengne 2022 ). In this context, the research is motivated to investigate the relationships between Pakistan’s tourism development activities and environmental sustainability. Drawing from the arguments of Pulido-Fernández et al. ( 2019 ) and Simo-Kengne ( 2022 ), it is feared that Pakistan’s ongoing determination to tourism development is likely to cause environmental degradation in two ways. Firstly, the tourism infrastructure developmental process would consume natural resources in the form of air and water pollution, loss of nature, and biodiversity. Secondly, the proliferation of tourism-related energy-consuming activities harms the environment by adding CO 2 emissions (Andlib and Saceldo-Castro 2021 ; Chien et al. 2021a ). Therefore, to tape this tourism-rich potential without compromising the sustainability of the natural and socio-cultural environment in the area, there is a dire need to develop Pakistan’s tourism areas into environment-friendly destinations.

Against the backdrop of a widening level of trade deficit, Pakistan’s rich tourism potential is being perceived as an immediate alternative for earning revenue to compensate for the current account gap. However, the developing large-scale tourism industry is considered a threat to deforestation, and air and water pollution, endangering biodiversity trading on resilient ecological credentials. The research study attempts to find an all-inclusive and comprehensive answer to the socio-ecological environmental concerns of tourism development and growth. Therefore, the research investigates the relationship between tourism development and its environmental sustainability to suggest a model framework for the development and growth of Sustainable Ecotourism in Pakistan along with its most visited destinations.

Literature review

Tourism development and growth

Tourism is considered a force of sound as it benefits travelers and communities in urban and suburban areas. Tourism development is the process of forming and sustaining a business for a particular or mix of segments of tourists’ as per their motivation in a particular area or at a specific destination. Primarily, tourism development refers to the all-encompassing process of planning, pursuing, and executing strategies to establish, develop, promote, and encourage tourism in a particular area or destination (Mandić et al. 2018 ; Ratnasari et al. 2020 ). A tourism destination may serve as a single motivation for a group of tourists or a mix of purposes, i.e., natural tourism, socio-cultural or religious tourism, adventure or business tourism, or a combination of two or more. Andlib and Salcedo-Castro ( 2021 ), drawing from an analysis approach, contended that tourism destinations in Pakistan offer a mix of promising and negative consequences concerning their socio-economic and environmental impressions on the host community. The promising socio-economic impacts for the local community are perceived in the form of employment and business opportunities, improved standard of living, and infrastructural development in the area. The adverse environmental outcomes include overcrowding, traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, environmental degradation, and encroachment of landscaping for the local community and the tourists. An extensive review of the literature exercise suggests the following benefits that the local community and the tourists accrue from the tour are as follows:

Generate revenue and monetary support for people and the community through local arts and culture commercialization.

Improve local resource infrastructure and quality of life, including employment generation and access to improved civic facilities.

Help to create awareness and understanding of different ethnic cultures, social values, and traditions, connecting them and preserving cultures.

Rehabilitate and conserve socio-cultural and historical heritage, including archeological and natural sites.

Establishment of natural parks, protracted areas, and scenic beauty spots.

Conservation of nature, biodiversity, and endangered species with control over animal poaching.

Improved water and air quality through afforestation, littering control, land and soil conservation, and recycling of used water and waste.

Tourism and hospitality business incorporates various business activities such as travel and transportation through the air or other modes of travel, lodging, messing, restaurants, and tourism destinations (Szpilko 2017 ; Bakhriddinovna and Qizi 2020 ). A tourist’s tourism experience is aimed at leisure, experiencing adventure, learning the culture or history of a particular area or ethnic entity, traveling for business or health, education, or religious purposes. The chain of activities adds value to the Tourism experience. Every activity contributes toward economic stimulation, job creation, revenue generation, and tourism development encompassing infrastructure for all activities involved in the tourism process. Tourism growth expresses the number of arrivals and the time of their stay/trips over a period of time. Tourism growth is measured through the interplay between tourists’ arrivals, tourism receipts, and travel time duration (Song et al. 2010 ; Arifin et al. 2019 ). The following factors drive the degree and level of tourism development and growth:

Environmental factors include scenic beauty, green spaces, snowy mountains, towering peaks, good climate and weather, the interconnectivity of destination, quality of infrastructure, etc.

Socio-economic factors: the distinctiveness of community, uniqueness of culture and social values, hospitality and adaptability, accessibility, accommodation, facilities and amenities, cost-effectiveness, price index, and enabling business environment.

Historical, cultural, and religious factors include historical and cultural heritage, religious sites, and cultural values and experiences.

The tourism development process and its different dynamics revolve around the nature of tourism planned for a particular destination or area, which can be specified as ecotourism, sustainable tourism, green tourism or regenerative tourism, etc. Ecotourism is “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” (Cheia, 2013 ; TIES, 2015). According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), ecotourism involves “ Environmentally responsible travel to natural areas, to enjoy and appreciate nature (and accompanying cultural features, both past, and present) that promote conservation, have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local peoples ”. Moreover, Blangy and Wood ( 1993 ) defined it as “ responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people ” (p. 32). The concept of ecotourism is grounded upon a well-defined set of principles including “environmental conservation and education, cultural preservation and experience, and economic benefits” (Cobbinah 2015 ; De Grosbois and Fennell 2021 ).

Ecotourism minimizes tourism’s impact on the tourism resources of a specific destination, including lessening physical, social, interactive, and psychosomatic impacts. Ecotourism is also about demonstrating a positive and responsible attitude from the tourists and hosts toward protecting and preserving all components of the environmental ecosystem. Ecotourism reflects a purpose-oriented mindset, responsible for creating and delivering value for the destination with a high degree of kindliness for local environmental, political, or social issues. Ecotourism generally differs from mass tourism because of its following features (Liang et al. 2018 ; Ding and Cao 2019 ; Confente and Scarpi 2021 ):

Conscientious behavior focuses on the low impact on the environment.

Sensitivity and warmth for local cultures, values, and biodiversity.

Supporting the sustenance of efforts for the conservation of local resources.

Sharing and delivering tourism benefits to the local communities.

Local participation as a tourism stakeholder in the decision-making process.

Educating the tourist and locals about the sensitivity and care of the environment because tourism without proper arrangement can endanger the ecosystems and indigenous cultures and lead to significant ecological degradation.

Sustainability aims to recognize all impacts of tourism, minimize the adverse impacts, and maximize the encouraging ones. Sustainable tourism involves sustainable practices to maintain viable support for the ecology of the tourism environment in and around the destination. Sustainable tourism is natural resource-based tourism that resembles ecotourism and focuses on creating travel openings with marginal impact and encouraging learning about nature having a low impact, conservation, and valuable consideration for the local community’s well-being (Fennell 2001 & 2020 ; Butowski 2021 ). On the other hand, ecotourism inspires tourists to learn and care about the environment and effectively participate in the conservation of nature and cultural activities. Therefore, ecotourism is inclusive of sustainable tourism, whereas the focus of sustainable tourism includes the following responsibilities:

Caring, protecting, and conserving the environment, natural capital, biodiversity, and wildlife.

Delivering socio-economic welfare for the people living in and around tourists' destinations.

Identifying, rehabilitating, conserving, and promoting cultural and historical heritage for visitors learning experiences.

Bringing tourists and local groups together for shared benefits.

Creating wide-ranging and reachable opportunities for tourists.

Environment and sustainability of ecosystem

The term “environment” is all-inclusive of all the natural, organic living, inorganic, and non-natural things. The environment also denotes the interface among all breathing species with the natural resources and other constituents of the environment. Humans’ activities are mainly responsible for environmental damage as people and nations have contemplated modifying the environment to suit their expediencies. Deforestation, overpopulation, exhaustion of natural capital, and accumulation of solid waste and sewage are the major human activities that result in polluted air and water, acid rain, amplified carbon dioxide levels, depletion of the ozone, climate change, global warming, extermination of species, etc. A clean, green, and hygienic fit environment has clean air, clean water, clean energy, and moderate temperature for the healthy living of humans, animals, and biodiversity as nature is destined for them by their creatures. Maintaining and sustaining a clean environment is indispensable for human and biodiversity existence, fostering growth and development for conducting business and creating wealth. The environment can be sustained through conservation, preservation, and appropriate management to provide clean air, water, and food safe from toxic contamination, waste, and sewage disposal, saving endangered species and land conservation.

The globalization process, known for building socio-economic partnerships across countries, is also charged with encouraging environmental degradation through the over-consumption of natural resources and energy consumption, deforestation, land erosion, and weakening (Adebayo and Kirikkaleli 2021 ; Sun et al. 2021 ). Chien et al. ( 2021b ), while studying the causality of environmental degradation in Pakistan, empirically confirmed the existence of a significant connection between CO 2 emissions and GDP growth, renewable energy, technological innovation, and globalization. However, Chien et al. ( 2021a ) suggested using solar energy as a source of economic intervention to control CO 2 emissions and improve environmental quality in China. The danger of air pollution is hard to escape as microscopic air pollutants pierce through the human respiratory and cardiovascular system, injuring the lungs, heart, and brain. Ill-planned and uncontrolled human activities negatively affect ecosystems, causing climate change, ocean acidification, melting glaciers, habitation loss, eutrophication, air pollution, contaminants, and extinction of endangered species ( Albrich et al. 2020 ) .

Humans have a more significant effect on their physical environment in numerous ways, such as pollution, contamination, overpopulation, deforestation, burning fossil fuels and driving to soil erosion, polluting air and water quality, climate change, etc. UNO Agenda for 2030 “Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) mirrors the common premise that a healthy environment and human health are interlaced as integral to the satisfaction of fundamental human rights, i.e., right to life, well-being, food, water and sanitation, quality of life and biodiversity to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages (SDG3)—which includes air quality that is dependent upon terrestrial ecosystems (SDG15), oceans (SDG14), cities (SDG11), water, cleanliness, and hygiene (SDG6) (Swain 2018 ; Opoku 2019 ; Scharlemann et al. 2020 ). The UNEP stated that 58% of diarrhea cases in developing economies is due to the non-provision of clean water and inadequate sanitation facilities resulting in 3.5 million deaths globally (Desai 2016 ; Ekins and Gupta 2019 ).

Climate change overwhelmingly alters ecosystems’ ability to moderate life-threatening happenings, such as maintaining water quality, regulating water flows, unbalancing the temporal weather and maintaining glaciers, displacing or extinction biodiversity, wildfire, and drought (Zhu et al. 2019 ; Marengo et al. 2021 ). Research studies advocate that exposure to natural environments is correlated with mental health, and proximity to green space is associated with lowering stress and minimizing depression and anxiety (Noordzij et al. 2020 ; Slater et al. 2020 ; Callaghan et al. 2021 ). Furthermore, the Ecosystem is affected by pollution, over-exploitation of natural resources, climate change, invasive and displacing species, etc. Hence, providing clean air and water, hygienic places, and green spaces enriches the quality of life: condensed mortality, healthier value-added productivity, and is vital to maintaining mental health. On the other hand, climate change aggravates environment-related health hazards through adverse deviations to terrestrial ecology, oceans, biodiversity, and access to fresh and clean water.

Tourism development denotes all activities linked with creating and processing facilities providing services for the tourists on and around a destination. Infrastructure development is vital for developing a tourism destination to advance tourists’ living conditions and preserve natural and cultural heritage by constructing new tourist facilities, the destinations administrative and supporting echelons, including community living, etc. Development for tourism infrastructure and land use often burdens natural capital through over-consumption, leading to soil erosion, augmented pollution, loss of natural habitats, and endangered species. Development of tourism infrastructure and construction work has profound implications on environmental degradation, reduction in green spaces, deforestation, solid waste and sewage, overutilization of air and water, emission of CO 2 and other gases contributing to air and water pollution, climate change, loss and displacement of biodiversity, and the degradation of ecosystems. These negative consequences of tourism development result in many problems for the tourists and the indigenous people in the foreseeable future (Azam et al. 2018 ; Hoang et al. 2020 ).

A report published by UNEP titled “Infrastructure for climate action” has suggested governments introduce sustainable infrastructure as the prevailing one is responsible for causing 79% of all greenhouse gas emissions in struggling climate change, alleviation, and adaptation efforts. Sustainable infrastructure signifies that structures’ planning, construction, and functioning do not weaken the social, economic, and ecological systems (UNEP 2021 ; Krampe 2021 ). Sustainable infrastructure is the only solution that ensures societies, nature, and the environment flourish together. Therefore, Sustainable Ecotourism supports adapting pro-environment and nature-based climate change strategies that help resilient biodiversity and ecosystem to impact climate change. The proposed strategy is to focus on the conservation and restoration of ecosystems to combat climate hazards, fluctuating rainfalls, soil erosion, temperature variations, floods, and extreme wind storms (Niedziółka 2014 ; Setini 2021 )

Pakistan’s tourism infrastructure suffered a colossal amount of damage during the earthquake of October 8, 2005, which left widespread demolition and destruction to its human, economic assets, and infrastructure networks, especially in Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's tourism areas. The tourism-related infrastructure, including hotels, destination facilities of social service delivery and commerce, water channels, and communications networks, were either drained or virtually destroyed. The destruction in the aftermath of the earthquake was further added by the war against terror in tourism-hit areas, resulting in the redundancy of tourists and tourism facilities for a long time (Akbar et al. 2017 ; Zakaria and Ahmed 2019 ). The tourism revival activities during the post-earth quack, post-terrorism scenario, and COVID-19 period called for various entrepreneurial activities, including the construction of infrastructure, hotels, road networks, community living, etc. Development and reconstruction of the livelihood and hospitality infrastructure through entrepreneurship were undertaken intensively through a public-private partnership from national and international findings (Qamar and Baloch 2017 ; Sadiq 2021 ; Dogar et al. 2021 ).

The revival and reinvigoration of infrastructure in tourism areas were backed up by extensive deforestation, use of local green land, rebuilding of the road network, displacement of biodiversity, and overtaxing the consumption of water and other natural resources. The deforestation, extensive use of green land, and over-consumption of water and other natural resources have depleted the tourism value of the area on the one hand and degraded the environment on the other. However, it was the focused rehabilitation activities of earthquake and Pakistan’s Government’s socio-environment conservation strategy of the Billion Trees plantation program in the province, including dominating tourism areas. The afforestation and loss of green tops are being reclaimed through these efforts, and the tourism environment is soon expected to regenerate (Qamar and Baloch 2017 ; Rauf et al. 2019 ; Siddiqui and Siddiqui 2019 ).

Government support and policy interventions

Tourism generates wide-ranging benefits for the economy, community, and people. Tourism contributes to the economy through revenue generation and shares responsibility with the Government to alleviate poverty alleviation, create opportunities for job placements, protect environments, and conserve natural ecosystems and biodiversity. It is assumed that if the tourism industry is left to its own, it will most likely prefer its business interests over environments or biodiversity. Governments, custodians of the life and well-being of their subjects, are directly responsible for providing a clean environment, nature, and Ecosystem. Therefore, national and local governments are responsible for preparing and implementing tourism development plans and enforcing values and standards for tourism development in conformity with the prerequisites of environmental sustainability. Through institutional governance, governments help tourism development by providing financial and budgetary support, regulatory framework, land, physical resources, infrastructure, etc. Provision and facilitation for Sustainability of Ecotourism and conservation of environment and biodiversity are dependent upon Government-supported interventions as follows:

The regulatory framework for setting up tourism-related entrepreneurship and quality standards can support ecotourism and prevent environmental degradation on any account.

Provision of budgetary support for ecosystem conservation and regeneration of bio-diversity-related projects.

Plan, rehabilitate if needed, promote conservation and protection of socio-cultural, historic, antique, and natural endowments in coordination with other public and private agencies, and deal with the defaulters, if any.

Promoting and undertaking afforestation alongside land conservation and discouraging deforestation, soil erosion, accumulation of solid waste, littering, and any direct or indirect loss or threat to biodiversity.

Setting restrictions for over-tourism beyond capacity and quality standards for transportation, restaurants, hotels, food and drinking water, etc.

Placing enforcement mechanism necessary to ensure application of the regulatory framework and quality standards applicable along with all activities inclusive to the Ecotourism value chain.

Theoretical support and hypothesis development

According to the social disruption theory, rapidly expanding societies usually experience a period of widespread crisis and a loss of their conventional routines and attitudes. The crisis impacts people whose mental health, worldviews, behavioral patterns, and social networks may all be impacted (Çalişkan and Özer 2021 ). According to the social disruption theory, fast community change brought on by population growth will result in a variety of social issues that are signs of a generally disorganized community (Smith et al. 2001 ). Because some types of tourism communities experience rapid expansion accompanied by intensive development and rapid social change over a relatively short period of time, they seem to be great settings for studying various postulations of the social disruption theory.

Place change and social disruption theory are closely connected. According to this assumption, when a community undergoes fast expansion, it tends to experience a generalized crisis that might culminate in several social issues as changes spread throughout the community and among individuals (Rasoolimanesh et al. 2019 ). Place change can result from fundamental community restructuring due to economic development, new class divides, and migration of both long-term and temporary people (Nelson 2001 ). Social unrest, though, is not enduring. Instead, it is transitory; societies gradually adjust to these changes (Deery et al. 2012 ).

The standard of living may initially deteriorate, but due to the adaptability of people and communities, they will gradually reinvigorate and strengthen themselves accordingly. Furthermore, the social disruption proposition reinforces one of the challenges in analyzing the effects of tourism, particularly in emerging nations, since it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the effects of tourism and the overall ongoing development (Park and Stokowski 2009 ) (Fig. 1 ).

Tourism development and growth significantly affect natural environment resources.

Tourism development and growth significantly affect environmental pollution.

Tourism development and growth significantly affect the physical ecosystem of the environment.

Tourism development and growth significantly affect the socio-cultural environment.

Tourism development and growth significantly affect the economic environment of people and the community.

Government policy and support significantly moderate the relationship between tourism development and growth and the environmental factors.

Conceptual framework

Methodology

The study aimed to investigate the association of tourism development and its impact on environmental factors. Therefore, a survey method was employed to collect data by including all the relevant people in the locality. The study is based on stakeholders’ opinions from Pakistan’s most visited tourist areas, including Murree, Swat, Chitral, Naran, Kaghan, Neelum Valley, Malam Jabba, Ayubia, and Nathia Gali. A total of 650 stakeholders were contacted from the above-mentioned tourist destinations through survey. The distribution of the sample is mentioned in Table 1 .

Using quantitative techniques, hierarchical linear regression analysis was employed to investigate the possible relationships between tourism growth and various dimensions of environmental sustainability. The results below reveal that tourism development translates into environmental deterioration, and the relationship between tourism and environmental sustainability is bidirectional.

Tourism growth and development were measured through a five-item scale. The environment was measured through 16 items combined scale with sub-dimensions; depletion of Natural Resources=3 items, Polluting Environment=3 items, Physical Effects on Ecosystem=4 items, Socio-Cultural Degradation=3 items, and Economic Environment=3-items. Similarly, our moderating variable, Government Interventions and Support, was measured using a 5-item scale. Table 2 below presents the details of the instruments.

Analysis and results

Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 26. It includes correlation, linear regression, and stepwise hierarchal regression analysis.

Table 3 above shows that our Tourism Growth and Development has significant and positive relationship with Polluting Environment ( r = 0.20**), Physical Effects on Ecosystem ( r = 0.19**), Depletion of Natural Resource ( r = 0.24**), Socio-Cultural Degradation ( r = 0.18**). However, Tourism Growth and Development has positive relationship with Economic Environment ( r = 0.29**) and Government Interventions and Support ( r = 0.13**).

Results of linear regression analysis at Table 4 above depict that tourism growth and development predicts 4.1% variance in Depletion of Natural Resources ( β = 0.20, p <0.01), 3.9% variance in pollution ( β = 0.19, p <0.01), 6% variance in Physical Effects on Ecosystem ( β = 0.24, p <0.01), 3.6% variance in Socio-Cultural Degradation ( β = 0.18, p <0.01), and 8.8% variance in Economic Environment ( β = 0.29, p <0.01).

The study analyzes the applied two-step hierarchal regression. In the first step, Tourism Growth and Government Interventions were treated as independent variables, and their significant impact was measured. In the second step, the interaction term Tourism and Growth× Government Interventions was added, and its impact was measured. The results suggest that Government Interventions and Support moderate the relationship between Tourism Growth and the Environmental variables (Table 5 ).

The study has reported unique findings regarding tourism and its environmental impacts. We found that tourism growth and development generate economic activity on the one hand. However, it has specific adverse environmental and socio-cultural outcomes on the other hand as well. Our study revealed that tourism growth and development predict a 4.1% variance in Depletion of Natural Resources ( β = 0.202*, p <0.01). This suggests that due to the expansion of tourism in the country, natural resources are continuously depleted to meet the needs of tourists. Studies also supported our findings and suggested that revival and reinvigoration of infrastructure in tourism areas were backed up by extensive deforestation, use of local green land, rebuilding of the road network, displacement of biodiversity, and overtaxing the consumption of water and other natural resources (Qamar and Baloch 2017 ; Sadiq 2021 ; Dogar et al. 2021 ). The prior studies are consistent with our hypothesis that “tourism development and growth significantly affect natural environment resources.”

We further found that tourism growth and development predict a 3.9% variance in pollution ( β = 0.198*, p <0.01), suggesting that tourism expansion may pollute the natural environment. Furthermore, recent national statistics depict that major human activities at local tourism destinations such as Kalam, Sawat, Muree, and Northern Areas have accumulated solid waste and sewage, resulting in polluted air and water. Further, research also suggests that the overflow of tourists to tourist destinations may adversely affect the environment due to human activities (Noordzij et al. 2020 ; Slater et al. 2020 ; Andlib and Salcedo-Castro 2021 ; Callaghan et al. 2021 ). Thus, it is safe to argue that the growth of tourism has a particularly detrimental effect on the environment. These findings also support our hypothesis, “Tourism development and growth significantly contribute to environmental pollution.”

The results reported that tourism growth and development predict a 6% variance in Physical Effects on the Ecosystem ( β = 0.245*, p <0.01). Studies have reported that deforestation and alteration in species’ natural environment for tourism facilities construction may adversely affect environmental health (Kuvan, 2010 ; Azam et al. 2018 ; Hoang et al. 2020 ; Andlib and Salcedo-Castro 2021 ). During post-terrorism and post-Covid-19 times in Pakistan, millions of local tourists moved to popular tourist destinations that required new infrastructure to accommodate these tourists. Consequently, colossal deforestation and other detrimental human activities have negatively affected ecosystem. These findings also support our hypothesis that tourism development and growth significantly affect the physical ecosystem of the environment.

The study reported a total of 3.6% variance in socio-cultural degradation ( β = 0.189*, p <0.01) due to tourism growth and development. These findings suggest that tourism’s growth and development may lead the inhabitants to imitate the foreign tourists regarding their living standards, which may endanger their traditional culture. Thus, our hypothesis that “tourism development and growth significantly affect the socio-cultural environment” is confirmed.

Further, it was found that tourism growth and development predict an 8.8% variance in the economic environment ( β = 0.297*, p <0.01). It is established from the literature that tourism growth and development generate economic activity in the country. Development projects such as the construction of infrastructure, hotels, and road networks generate economic activity to facilitate international and indigenous tourists, positively affecting the community’s living standard (Baloch et al. 2020 ). Thus, our hypothesis, “tourism development and growth significantly affect economic environment of people and community,” is confirmed.

Due to tourism growth and development, our study reported a 1.8% variance in Government Support and Interventions ( β = .133*, p <0.01). However, more recently, the Government of Pakistan has devised specific interventions that may help curb the adverse impacts of detrimental environmental factors. For example, developmental schemes such as the Billion Trees Plantation drive and Road-Infrastructure Network Development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative may prove moderators to curb the negative impacts of tourism growth on the environment (Qamar and Baloch 2017 ; Rauf et al. 2019 ; Siddiqui and Siddiqui 2019 ). Therefore, the hypothesis, Government policy and support, significantly moderates the relationship between tourism development and growth with the environment is confirmed based on these findings.

Suggested model for ecotourism framework

Through its detailed review of existing literature, prevailing tourism policies, and empirical inputs from the stakeholders’ perspectives, the study has identified a wide range of obstacles limiting the development and growth of ecotourism in Pakistan. The study suggests National Tourism Management authorities carefully invest in ecotourism destination’s planning and development in coordination with the environment development agency. The suggested model for ecotourism framework is initially meant for the tourism destinations specifically designated for ecotourism. However, selected points can also be extended to the quality management parameters set for the National Parks, Conservation and Protracted Areas, Museums, National or International event sites, etc. The national tourism authorities are to lay particular emphasis in their forthcoming National Tourism Policy on the development and promotion of Sustainable Ecotourism having, with focus on the following key areas:

Identify and classify four to five ecotourism destinations, including ecotourism-centered activities of value chains for priority development, which are administratively possible within budgetary constraints. However, the development plan shall consider the integral benefits of other developmental schemes such as the Billion Trees Plantation drive, Road-Infrastructure Network Development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor initiative, International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) programs in the area.

While staying within the alignment of UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) calling for ‘environmental sustainability’ and the development vision of each designated destination, the Tourists Management System shall take into cognizance of issues like managing capacity of the place, quality parameters for the conservation of the environment, and allowable activities thereof.

Identify degenerated destinations of religious, socio-cultural, or historical significance for their rehabilitation under the Regenerated tourism program.

Tourism Destinations that have been over-consumed and exhausted (e.g., Murree, Galiaat, Naran, Malam Jabba) because of over-tourism shall be planned for their reclamation through regenerated tourism. However, to facilitate the success of the regeneration of their tourism potential following is to be catered for:

To deflect the tourist pressure upon these destinations, the potential tourists from nearby cities and metropolitan areas be provided with nearby alternative destinations for leisure tourism as stay-tourism sites.

To prevent the environment from air pollution, the traffic load on the destination be curtailed through an effective traffic management strategy, provision of off-destination parking for combustion engine vehicles, and encouraging electric driven or hybrid vehicles for nearby parking.

Provision of clean drinking water through public infiltration plants, public toilets, solid waste carriers, and recycling of sewage and used water is recommended in the most visited areas of the destination.

Signposting at appropriate places, giving social messages encouraging to maintain cleanliness, avoid littering, ensure nature conservation, and humility toward biodiversity.

Develop all-inclusive, comprehensive execution plans to expedite the investments for the sustainable ecotourism, encouraging public–private cooperation, community involvement, and infrastructure mapping guaranteeing environmental conservation and safeguards.

Develop and place on the ground an all-inclusive program of capacity building for sustainable ecotourism, regenerative and green tourism services.

Develop and launch Pakistan tourism profile and Sustaining Ecotourism obligatory framework “to promote tourism on the one hand and nurture conscious ecological behavior among the potential tourists of the area”.

In order to fetch local ownership for the ecotourism center developments, all efforts shall be made to share the socio-economic benefits integral to the development scheme with the local population for community development.

As part of the destination management planning, identify complementary value chains and livelihood activities that could be developed as part of the overall ecotourism destination package.

Governments at all levels and the tourism Development and Promotion Agencies Network in Pakistan shall join hands to chalk out and, with a strict enforcement mechanism, a “Regulatory Framework for Ecotourism Friendly Destination” to sustain the efforts and policies undertaken in this regard on the one hand and generate responsible behavior from the tourism stakeholders on the other. Some of the suggestive points could be:

Setting new quality standards facilitating the promotion of ecotourism and environmental sustainability through acts of various bodies operating in the Ecotourism value chain, such as:

Revision of Private hotels Management Act (1976) and Tourists Operators Act (1976) alongside introduction and promulgation of a new “Tourism Destination Management Act” incorporating new quality standards as of today.

Promulgating laws to make all new construction/development projects responsible from any agency in the area, incorporating quality standards needed for environmental sustainability, and promoting ecotourism.

Set measures for the preservation of the local biodiversity and preservation of endangered species, including seeking support from internationally active environment conservation agencies, declaring local hunting illegal, introducing licensing programs for hunting of certain selected animals/ birds on the payment of a handsome amount to be used for the welfare of the local community.

Create awareness programs against deforestation, land conservation, and biodiversity, and maintain cleanliness, inculcating a culture of respecting and enjoying nature instead of spoiling it.

Conclusion, implications, and limitations of the study

The study premise was based on the contention that sustenance of ecotourism focuses on the economic viability of the business interests alongside the conservation and preservation of natural ecosystems, including ethical fairness to the socio-cultural environment of the host community. Ecotourism is a phenomenon that contributes to environmental sustainability through well-planned and careful destination management capable of balancing conflicting interests of business growth and environmental sustainability. Tourism-environment paradox suggests that the sustainability and survival of both are dependent upon the flourishing mode of each other. Quality of environment and sustainability of bio-ecosystem stimulates tourists’ arrivals and over-tourism beyond capacity with irresponsible behavior from tourists negatively influencing the environment and harming the ecosystem of nature. Ecotourism is not inevitably sustainable unless it is economically sustainable and environmentally maintainable besides being socio-culturally acceptable. Socio-culturally intolerable ecotourism means the activity which does not benefit locals and their socio-cultural values. Hence, the study concludes that ecotourism has to positively interplay between economy, environment, and culture without compromising one over others. The pursuit of sustainable ecotourism is not an end in meeting the little comforts of the business interests but rather a means to end the sustainability issues created due to ill-conceived tourism development and unmanageable growth.

Practical implications

Drawing from the findings and conclusions of the research, the study extends the following practical implications for effectively managing the process of tourism development and environmental sustainability in line with the dictates of the philosophy behind ecotourism:

Paradoxically tourism necessitates ecological capitals as primary ingredients for the creation of tourism experiences on the one hand. However, it is also contingent upon the conservation and preservation of ecological integrity on the other. The study suggests that unbalancing this “resource paradox” results in the harshness and tenacity of adversarial climate change, natural calamities, environmental pollution, and endangered biodiversity.

The research findings and the suggested framework for ecotourism imply that sustainable ecotourism principles-based planning is mandatory for destination management to assure effective trade-off between the business interests’ sustainability of the environmental ecosystem.

Tourism development and growth shall be steered through ecotourism principles as its sustainable model offers enduring social, environmental and economic, ecological integrity, and social and cultural benefits for the local community. Therefore, ecotourism is a recipe for preventing environmental degradation and guarantees sustainability of ecosystems nature and its biodiversity. Hence, ecotourism shall stand central priority focus for strategic management to nurture quality experiences from sustainable tourism.

To revive back the sustainability of the environment, in the areas where over-tourism has degraded the environment, schemes for regenerated tourism shall be immediately launched to mitigate the negative footprints on the sustainability of destinations, including reinforcing protracted conservation sites, biodiversity, and recouping endangered species, afforestation drives, recycling of water and solid waste, refurnishing of landscaping, preservation, and rehabilitation of cultural heritage and refurbishing of depleted infrastructure accordingly. Furthermore, to regenerate and sustain the tourism infrastructure of the destinations experiencing over-tourism, capacity building measures like capacity, recycling of water and solid waste, preventive measures to control air and water pollution, traffic control management, and spread of entertainment facilities shall be the focus of the regeneration plans.

The study implies that government authorities and policymakers have a special role in placing their moderating intervention in terms of policy guidelines, regulatory framework, and budgetary support, provision of inter-organizational synergy in planning and implementation of ecotourism strategies, protection of environmental resource base and conservation of natural and biological ecosystem, sustenance of socio-cultural value of local community over and above their economic and social well-being/quality life for the long run.

The study also implies that public and private policymakers lay down threshold criteria for responsible travel and tourism standards for destination management and its related supply chain. The laid criterion would facilitate management in nurturing “responsible behavior” to plan, protect, conserve, preserve, and sustain natural and cultural resources and responsible socio-economic development without compromising the sustainability of the environment and long-term well-being of the hoist community. The deep-seated adherence to social responsibility protocols by the tourism supply chain network can significantly increase the capacity of tourism destinations and improve the conscious awareness of green consumers along the tourism supply chain. Furthermore, the consciously responsible behavior among stakeholders and legislatures can strike a needed balance between the business interests and environments in favor of sustainability of socio-cultural, economic, and natural capital.

The study elucidates that responsible behavior necessitates purpose-built eco-friendly infrastructure and policy parameters to support the sustainability of environments across destinations. The strategic planning aligned with the sustainability-focused objectives dictates the need for artistic, innovative, and talented people and quality intuitions in harnessing quality tourism services and responsible tourism behavior. Furthermore, the study encourages community involvement in the developmental process, enactment of structural policies, preservation of socio-cultural heritage, and conservation of natural biodiversity as it would foster emotional bondage between the people of the host community and the tourism undertakings. Therefore, community and value chain managers shall collaborate to maximize the perceived benefits of responsible tourism while developing cultural exchanges and planning opportunities for leisure and tourism.

Regulatory measures help offset negative impacts; for instance, controls on the number of tourist activities and movement of visitors within protected areas can limit impacts on the ecosystem and help maintain the integrity and vitality of the site. Limits should be established after an in-depth analysis of the maximum sustainable visitor capacity. Furthermore, the variables and the constructs researched can be replicated to other destinations to seek valuable inputs for sustainable destination management elsewhere.

Study limitation

Besides the functional, practical applications, the study has some limitations. Besides having integral disadvantages of cross-sectional research, the respondents selected for the study were visitors on peak days with the highest tourist arrivals, thereby having experiences of a higher degree of environmental pollution and natural disorder. Furthermore, the research is limited to stakeholders’ perspectives instead of any scientifically generated data or mathematical or econometric model.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Abasyn University, Peshawar, Pakistan

Qadar Bakhsh Baloch & Syed Naseeb Shah

Air University School of Management, Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Nadeem Iqbal

Department of Commerce, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

Muhammad Sheeraz

IBA, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan

Muhammad Asadullah

University of Sialkot, Sialkot, Pakistan

Sourath Mahar

Islamia College University Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan

Asia Umar Khan

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

QBB: conceptualization, methodology, writing—original draft. SNS: data curation and supervision. NI: visualization, editing, proofreading. MS: review and editing. MA: review and editing. SM: editing, data curation. AUK: review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nadeem Iqbal .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. We also declare that we do not have human participants, data, or tissue.

Consent for publication

We do not have any person’s data in any form.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Arshian Sharif

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Baloch, Q.B., Shah, S.N., Iqbal, N. et al. Impact of tourism development upon environmental sustainability: a suggested framework for sustainable ecotourism. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30 , 5917–5930 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22496-w

Download citation

Received : 14 December 2021

Accepted : 08 August 2022

Published : 19 August 2022

Issue Date : January 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22496-w

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Environmental sustainability and degradation
Natural environment
Ecosystem and biodiversity
Ecotourism framework
Find a journal
Publish with us
Track your research

Kinzua Skywalk to close on and off for three years, local economies are bracing for the effects

A side view of the Kinzua Skywalk at Kinzua Bridge State Park.

The Kinzua Skywalk and Kinzua Creek Trail in McKean County will close for three years starting in November , only reopening for two months each fall.

The PA Wilds, a 13-county tourism region in north central Pennsylvania, said tens of thousands of people visit the Skywalk every year, and the closure will likely impact nearby communities that rely on the tourism revenue.

Wesley Robinson is the press secretary for the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. He said there's no danger to visitors now, but there are structural concerns with the skywalk.

“We want to make sure that it's reinforced and that we don't have any issues like we had last summer. We had some high winds, [and] they closed the park for a couple of days out of an abundance of caution," Robinson said.

Robinson said work on the skywalk will replace steel in some of the supports that have thinned because of environmental exposure. There will be temporary closures starting in September. The long-term closure will begin November 19 and last until the fall of 2027.

Visitors walking on the Kinzua Skywalk at Kinzua Bridge State Park.

Ta Enos, the CEO of the nonprofit PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, said the PA Wilds Center has applied for DCNR funding to help with public awareness messaging around the closures and reopenings.

“We know first hand how important the park’s foot traffic is to rural small businesses, so we are trying to be proactive and line up some additional funding to support extra advertising campaigns and similar efforts,” Enos said. “Openings and closures like this, over a multi-year period, can cause confusion for the traveling public, so we want to be the best partner we can to help get the word out."

The PA Wilds Conservation Shop and Visitor Center at the Kinzua Bridge State Park will stay open. Staff are trained to guide visitors to other nearby attractions and rural communities.

Brandy Schimp is the mayor of Kane, which is about a 25-minute drive from the Kinzua Bridge State Park.

“Because it's such a valuable place to so many people here, most of us understand that work needs to be done in order to keep things up and running," Schimp said.

The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau says there are tourism revenue concerns for businesses in the area. But the bureau hopes people will still visit for outdoor recreation and other attractions like the Zippo Museum and the Penn-Brad Oil Museum.

“I think a lot of effort has been put forth within our communities and the region to make it so that when people come for the bridge, there's a lot more than just that," said Kate Kennedy, the Executive Director of the Kane Area Development Center.

Kennedy, who is also a board member for WPSU, said she is hopeful the tourism effects in Kane and in the area will not be drastically affected by the Kinzua Skywalk closure.

The last few hundred yards of the Knox and Kane Rail Trail will also be impacted during the closure, but a detour will be provided so people can continue on to the park visitor center.

DCNR said it will also make improvements to the visitor experience during these closures. Work will include new plexiglass at the end of the skywalk, since the old glass section had become foggy and difficult to see through. Renovations will also replace the handrails along the skywalk.

Surborbital Space Tourism: A Case Study on Virgin Galactic and the Environmental Impacts of the Emerging Industry

Throughout my four years at the University of Virginia (UVA), I have culminated knowledge in aerospace engineering and engineering ethics to prepare me for my capstone class and my undergraduate Science, Technology, and Society (STS) thesis. The technical project is the result of my efforts in the Spacecraft Design class with Professor Haibo Dong and Professor Michael McPherson. A class of thirty students, including me, worked on the technical project to deliver a final report on the design, analysis, and tests. I worked on the STS research paper throughout my fourth year and with Professor Joshua Earle. The following details the specifics of the senior capstone design project and the research gathered for the STS undergraduate thesis. The technical design project was to research, design, and prototype a high-powered rocket to achieve a 4,000ft altitude and deploy a payload while allowing for student research and experimentation. Three main sub-teams–Aero-structures, Propulsion, and Mechatronics & Control–worked on the high-powered rocket. As the Propulsion Team Lead, our sub-team’s main concern was designing, fabricating, and testing the 75mm motor hardware and propellant to ensure that the rocket would reach the target apogee. There is a delicate balancing act between each sub-team because any shifts in the weight of other team's designs would affect the amount of outputted thrust required for our motor. Furthermore, there were several changes in the constraints within the course itself that ranged from differing budgets, certain safety constraints from UVA Environmental Health & Safety, and timing limitations. After several iterations, we designed, fabricated, and tested a final product through non-energetic means. The motor was 21” long, and 3” in diameter, and consisted of a snap-ring casing to hold the closures and nozzle. We chose a 3” diameter to adhere to the standard typically found in commercially available high-powered motors. Team members used computer simulations to determine the geometries and chemical formula for the propellant, and they fabricated the motor using equipment at UVA. The final product showcased the class’s abundant knowledge of aerodynamics, structures, and project management, along with many more engineering skills. The STS research paper is a Technological Momentum analysis of the emerging suborbital space tourism industry with a specific focus on its environmental effects. The journey to space was exclusive, limited to a select few who underwent rigorous training and scrutiny under federal programs like Gemini and Apollo. However, with technological advancements, space travel is becoming more accessible through various companies, including Virgin Galactic, offering different methods to get to space. The increased accessibility to space stems from more capital going into the space industry, particularly in the commercial sector. Although traveling to space is exciting, it is important to consider the environmental effects of many launches happening within a short period. Firstly, I address the significance, history, and future of space tourism, focusing on Virgin Galactic as a case study because of its significant presence in space tourism. Then, I highlight the environmental impact of the rapidly rising space industry, particularly regarding launch vehicle propulsion systems, which historically harm the Earth's atmosphere. By utilizing the Technological Momentum framework, I examine the environmental consequences of increased space activities and provide recommendations for regulations to balance technological innovation with environmental preservation. Through this analysis, I show that space tourism's rise is inevitable, highlighting the need for proactive environmental regulations to mitigate its adverse effects on the Earth. The rocket that is the focus of my technical project will have extremely negligible effects on the immediate environment of the launch site. Even so, I believe there is a connection between the STS topic and the results of my capstone. The main difference between the two is the scale and the project objective. The propulsion system proposed for the technical project is a very common propulsion system used in full-scale launch vehicles: ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP). Furthermore, many launch vehicles used in the emerging space tourism industry have a very similar silhouette to the capstone class’s rocket, but at a much larger size. Although we are working with smaller rockets, it is important to consider the socioeconomic and environmental effects of all our products as we apply our engineering expertise to our respective careers. Overall, the ethical analysis of the space tourism industry will apply to the technical project, simply at a different scale.

Tohti-Prospectus.pdf

Uploaded: May 08, 2024

Downloads: 4

Tohti-STS Research Paper.pdf

Tohti-Technical Report.pdf

Downloads: 5

Tohti-Executive Summary.pdf

2024 U.S. Election Won’t Scare Off Tourists, But It Will Make Advertising More Expensive

Dawit Habtemariam , Skift

May 10th, 2024 at 11:03 AM EDT

As the U.S. enters its most expensive election cycle, tourism marketers are going to need to get creative to stay on top of the minds of targeted audiences.

Dawit Habtemariam

Advertising costs on TV and other mediums are to going to go up this fall as the America’s presidential campaign swings into full gear – and that will impact tourism marketers, too.

“History shows that [the election] doesn’t impact the volume of travel, but it definitely impacts the advertising purchase,” said Brad Dean, Discover Puerto Rico CEO and president.

“The answer for all of us is that advertising from August through November is going to be more expensive,” said Martha Sheridan, Meet Boston CEO and president.

Both Dean and Sheridan spoke to Skift this week at IPW, the travel trade conference in Los Angeles.

The 2024 election cycle features campaigns for the presidential, Congressional, state and local races. Political advertising for this cycle is forecasted to reach a record $12 billion, according to Insider Intelligence . That would be up 28% from the 2020 election cycle.

Advertising rates on broadcast TV, radio and other traditional advertising mediums are not only going to rise but political advertisers are going to take up slots, especially in swing states like Ohio and Michigan in the coming months.

“There’s sometimes you just can’t buy advertising,” said Dean. “We’ve seen some markets where the rate of advertising can double or triple year over year.”

The Impact on Tourism Marketing

In the coming months, TV, radio and out-of-home advertising is going to be cluttered with election advertising, making it harder for tourism marketers to get their message across. “There’s gonna be a lot of noise between now and November,” said Jay Salyers, senior vice president of special projects at Miles Partnership, a travel marketing consultancy.

Tourism marketers don’t stop advertising, they are just shift more of their spend from traditional to digital and social media. “It doesn’t mean you stop advertising. It just means you adapt your strategy because the price goes up two or three times, but the payoff isn’t quite as good,” said Dean.

To reach travelers during this cluttered time, advertising on travel websites like booking platforms will be a safer bet instead of media that is going to be inundated with news coverage of the elections, said Salyers.

The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch

Tags: advertising , destination markeing , destination marketing organizations , tourism

Photo credit: Joshua Earle on Unpslash Joshua Earle / Unsplash

Times of San Diego

Local News and Opinion for San Diego

San Diego Helps Drive Tourism As Statewide $150B Impact Exceeds Pre-Pandemic Levels

Drake's cultural identity is on trial again

Drake leaves the court after the NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Lakers at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto

Kendrick Lamar made several serious allegations against Drake during their first headline-making rap beef . In his victory-clinching “Not Like Us,” Lamar renews criticisms about Drake’s cultural identity and alleged inauthentic relationships with fellow artists.

“You called Future when you didn’t see the club/Lil Baby helped you get your lingo up/21 (Savage) gave you false street cred,” Lamar rapped. “You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars/ No, you not a colleague, you a f--- colonizer.”

For years, Drake has faced allegations that he cozies up to rap artists and replicates their sound and style for personal gain before moving on to his next project. Rappers like Earl Sweatshirt , Rick Ross and Pusha T have spoken about the purported pattern, and claims of Drake being a “culture vulture” have swirled for at least a decade.

Most of the allegations lie in adapting phony accents, musical similarities and covers, appearances with burgeoning artists and unproven claims of theft.

When Drake released his 2015 hit “Hotline Bling” on his Beats 1 Radio Show “OVO Sound,” it was initially billed as a “ Cha Cha remix ,” referring to Virginia singer DRAM’s earlier burgeoning hit. As time went on, though, Drake distanced “Hotline Bling” from the song amid allegations that he essentially stole the track. DRAM has been vocal about his stance, writing in a post on X that fall, “Yeah, I feel I got jacked for my record...But I’m GOOD.”

Drake told The Fader in 2015 that “Hotline Bling” samples Timmy Thomas’ ’70s hit, “Why Can’t We Live Together.” He chalked up similarities between “Hotline Bling” and “Cha Cha” to the artists using a similar “riddim ,” sounds or riffs that act as anchors in Jamaican music.

“Imagine that in rap, or imagine that in R&B,” Drake said. “Sometimes I’ll pick a beat that’s a bit, like, sunnier, I guess is the word you used, than usual, and I just try my hand at it. And that’s kind of what ‘Hotline Bling’ was. And I loved it. It’s cool. I’ve been excited by that sort of creative process.”

Gabe Niles, who produced “Cha Cha,” has said the song does not sample Thomas’ track.

Similar controversies have followed Drake throughout his career, making Lamar’s criticisms the latest in a long history of claims that Drake’s industry practices may be exploitative. But for Drake’s defenders, the issue isn’t a matter of exploiting Black cultures and artists, but of race.

Social media posts about Lamar’s lyrics quickly dissolved into conversations about race in the hip-hop and rap industry. Drake’s fans have long held that his biracial identity — he is both Black and white — along with his Canadian nationality negatively impacts his standing in the industry.

“People cannot fathom that they gave drake (a canadian biracial man) the legacy they NOW feel kendrick (an american black man) should’ve had,” one person wrote in a post on X. Another added : “You don’t get to call out a biracial person for their blackness level. That’s colorism, and I don’t f with that.”

Amara Pope, Pope explored Drake’s cultural and racial identities in her 2016 Ph.D. dissertation, Musical Artists Capitalizing on Hybrid Identities. She said Drake’s place in the industry is skewed by both his race and nationality.

“I think that people have questions about Drake’s authenticity when it comes to his Blackness based on, not necessarily what Graham has done,” Pope said, referring to his real name Aubrey Graham, “but the dominant belief … that Canadians are exclusively white and that Canadian music exclusively folk or country and R&B and hip-hop is exclusively created for Black Americans.” Pope added that Drake represents his biracial, Canadian and Jewish roots in his music.

“Drake, for a long time, has talked about not being Black enough to be in hip-hop music,” Pope said.

Drake did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News, but he has rapped about not feeling “Black enough” for the industry and spoken in interviews about feeling “excluded” because he is half-white.

“Sometimes some of my Blackest friends can be just as cruel by making you feel excluded or making you feel like, ‘You can’t get in on this,’” he said in 2019 during an interview with Rap Radar .

“I associate myself as a Black man,” he said, lamenting feeling that he is not often celebrated as a “Black artist” for his accomplishments. “It’s something that I just acknowledge and I keep it moving.”

A.D. Carson , a professor of hip-hop and the global south at the University of Virginia, doesn’t see it that way, though. Valid criticisms of Drake shouldn’t be flattened into a tragic story, he holds, but should be taken seriously. Drake rose to popularity with melodic hip-hop music rooted in vulnerability and transparency, but this has since seemed to slip into an apparent series of personas that sometimes feels inauthentic and further removes Drake from the sound that fans first fell in love with.

Carson describes Drake’s alleged behavior in the music industry as “cultural tourism.” Carson is a tenured professor of hip-hop at t the University of Virginia. His dissertation, "Owning My Masters: The Rhetorics of Rhymes & Revolutions," is a rap album set to be released in October.

“Everything he is in proximity to, he appropriates and mimics it,” Carson said of Drake. “He’s able to genre-hop through identity theft, and it’s genre-bending in a way that we definitely critique white artists doing. He’s more insulated from it because of what folks call ‘biracial identity.’”

He added: “Kendrick is asking, ‘what is the cultural identity? What are those things that you possess outside of the means by which you’re going to sell your next product?’ Those are the questions.”

Drake has drawn criticism for dabbling in sounds from underground subcultures and artists — like Caribbean dancehall, U.K. grime, house music and New Orleans bounce, to name a few. He has addressed the backlash, saying that he is simply appreciating the music and supporting lesser-known artists.

“I hate that people think that me being into music from these kids that are trying to make it and build a name for themselves is like, ‘Oh that’s some culture vulture,’” he said in a 2019 interview . “What does that even mean? I don’t understand. Would you rather me not acknowledge anything or not support? That’s some real confused hater sh---.”

Critics like Lamar have equated this support to exploitation. In “Euphoria,” Lamar’s initial response to Drake’s “Push Ups” diss track, he implied that Drake’s songs with Black artists result from his supposed identity issues.

“How many more Black features ‘til you finally feel that you’re Black enough?” Lamar raps.

Meanwhile, Rick Ross, in a diss track of his own, hurled insults about Drake’s race, calling him “white boy.”

Hip-hop, like all music genres, has racial dimensions and cultural affiliations. Conversations — and criticisms — of whiteness in the industry have existed within the genre for decades, especially as it has grown into a lucrative, culture-defining, billion-dollar business. Carson said that conversations about Drake’s biraciality in the industry should not be used to dismiss the valid criticisms of his allegedly exploitative music practices within hip-hop.

“Drake’s ability to operationalize Blackness insulates him from critique. Somebody would say, ‘Well, you can’t appropriate Blackness if you are Black,’” Carson said. “Nobody is gatekeeping Drake out of Blackness. Folks are asking, ‘How does he benefit from white supremacy?’”

For more from NBC BLK, sign up for our weekly newsletter .

Char Adams is a reporter for NBC BLK who writes about race.

Sustainability
Latest News
News Reports
Documentaries & Shows
TV Schedule
CNA938 Live
Radio Schedule
Singapore Parliament
Mental Health
Interactives
Entertainment
Style & Beauty
Experiences
Remarkable Living
Send us a news tip
Events & Partnerships
Business Blueprint
Health Matters
The Asian Traveller

Rhys ap Gwilym

BANGOR, Wales: In April, Venice began its controversial experiment to charge day trippers €5 (US$5.40) to visit the city on some of the busiest days of the year. But it’s not just the lagoon city, with its 30 million visitors a year which is interested in trying out new tourism taxes.

In the UK, a council in the county of Kent has recommended introducing a tourism tax on overnight stays in the county. In Scotland, it seems likely that visitors to Edinburgh will be paying a fee by 2026, and the Welsh government plans to introduce similar legislation later this year.

Such taxes may seem new to the UK, but there are more than 60 destinations around the world where this type of tax is already in place. These vary from a nationwide tax in Iceland to various towns across the US. Some have been in place for a long time (France was the first in 1910), but most were introduced during the last decade or two.

Before the pandemic struck (and tourism was put on hold), 2020 was described by one newspaper as the “year of the tourist tax”, as Amsterdam joined an ever-growing list of destinations, which includes Paris, Malta and Cancun, to charge visitors for simply visiting.

LINK BETWEEN LEVIES AND VISITOR NUMBERS IS NOT SIMPLE

Introducing these tourist taxes has often been controversial, with industry bodies voicing concerns about the potential impact on the tourist trade.

And it appears that the link between such levies and visitor numbers is not simple, with several studies reaching different conclusions. For example, some have suggested that tourism levies have hindered international tourism in the Balearics and the Maldives, and that they may dissuade people from participating in domestic tourism.

Yet in one of the world’s most popular tourism spots with a levy, Barcelona, visitor numbers have consistently risen, with hotel guests increasing from 7.1 million in 2013 to 9.5 million in 2019.

In fact, the relationship between a visitor levy and tourist flow is so complex that there is no unified view, even within the same country. Italy has been one of the most studied, and results are inconsistent there too.

Another study, looking at three neighbouring Italian seaside spots finds that only in one destination has the visitor levy reduced tourist flow. And a study on the Italian cities of Rome, Florence and Padua shows that these cities have not experienced any negative effects either in terms of domestic or international demand.

So the impact of tourism taxes on visitor numbers is inconclusive.

Commentary: Mount Fuji overtourism furore tests limits of Japan’s hospitality

Commentary: Visa-free policies alone will not revive China’s inbound tourism

Little evidence that taxes put tourists off.

But what about other effects, such as the potential benefits of spending the revenues raised? As part of an ongoing research project, we looked at seven different destinations in which tourist taxes are levied to look at how the money raised is then spent.

For most places, tourism tax revenues were used to fund marketing and branding - so invested directly into promoting more tourism. The income was also commonly used to fund tourism infrastructure, from public toilets and walking or cycling paths to a multi-billion dollar convention centre in Orange County, Florida.

In the Balearics, revenues tend to go to projects that mitigate the negative impact of tourism on the environment, culture and society of the islands. These include waste management, conserving natural habitats and historical monuments, and social housing.

But in general, tourism taxes have been implemented successfully across the destinations we looked at, and there is little evidence of tourists being put off from visiting.

Research also suggests that when tourists are told what the levy is used for - and when it relates directly to improving their experience or enhancing sustainable tourism - tourists are willing to accept and pay the levy.

Commentary: How to make your next holiday better for the environment

As tourists move in, Italians are squeezed out on holiday island of Capri

Day trippers.

For many tourism destinations, the major problem is not overnight tourists, but rather day visitors who use local resources while making little in the way of a financial contribution. For these reasons, taxes might also be used to deter day visits and instead encourage longer stays.

Venice is at the forefront of this shift. And in April, after long discussions between the local authority, residents and business owners, Venice started a trial of a day visitor tax (a so-called “access fee”).

Back in Kent, it may take longer for any such radical plans to come to fruition. In contrast to Scotland and Wales, there are currently no national plans to introduce tourist taxes in England.

This might be considered shortsighted, given the dire need of many destinations in England to improve local infrastructure that tourists rely on, including clean bathing water and public transport. In Manchester and Liverpool, businesses have implemented voluntary overnight charges on visitors, in the absence of the statutory basis to implement compulsory levies.

Many other English towns and cities will probably follow their lead. Tourism taxes are something we might all have to consider budgeting for in our future travel plans, wherever we choose to visit.

Rhys ap Gwilym is Senior Lecturer in Economics, and Linda Osti is Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management at Bangor University. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.

Twenty years after dramedy Sideways, a look back at how the movie shaped wine tourism

Actors Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church taste the spoils of Santa Barbara wine country in Sideways Fox Searchlight/Handout

“It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” says Frank Ostini, proprietor of The Hitching Post II, the restaurant made famous in Alexander Payne’s 2004 film Sideways . Twenty years after the release of the Academy Award-winner (for Best Adapted Screenplay), the story of two friends touring Santa Barbara wine country continues to draw attention to the region and one of its staple grapes, pinot noir. “There’s no amount of money, no ad campaign that could have created this kind of publicity,” Ostini says. “All these new people have come in and challenged us to get better.”

Filmed on location in California’s Buellton, Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley, the road-trip movie featuring actors Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh captured the sunshiny beauty of the region, beaming bucolic vineyards and quaint villages into cineplexes and TV screens around the world. A so-called “ Sideways effect” followed, as sales of pinot noir skyrocketed by 300 per cent in the decade after the film’s release. Some winemakers accused the film of souring the reputation of Californian merlot, but that grape’s commercial success was already falling off a cliff before the film’s pinot-loving protagonist Miles insists: “If anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving.”

Because of its close proximity to Southern California and Los Angeles population centers, the Santa Ynez Valley has become a popular weekend getaway destination. George Rose/Handout

In hindsight, the real Sideways effect was creating awareness of California winemaking regions beyond Napa and Sonoma and spearheading a growth in wine tourism throughout the Golden State – and around the world. It made wine touring a focus of weekend escapes and full vacations, which helped to increase wine consumption in North America and paved the way for smaller estate winemakers.

Richard Sanford was one of the first to see the vinous potential of Santa Barbara’s windswept hills, which are cooled by fog blowing in almost daily off the Pacific Ocean. He established the 120-acre Sanford & Benedict Vineyard in 1971 and set his sights on producing top quality pinot noir in the region. By the mid-1980s, the area was home to acclaimed wineries, such as Au Bon Climat, Babcock Winery & Vineyards and Sanford Winery, which is where Miles shares winetasting tips with his friend Jack (“Stick your nose in it. Don’t be shy; really get your nose in there.”) in the film. “It was brilliant because after the movie premiered, these places existed,” Sanford says. “People were able to come and visit.”

The Hitching Post II restaurateur Frank Ostini is one of many local business owners still benefitting from the resulting wine tourism boom including visitors that tour local wineries. Jeremy Ball/Handout

Santa Barbara’s Visitors Center offers a free, self-guided Sideways trail map, listing 18 wineries, restaurants and attractions featured in the film. The Days Inn in Buellton, which was called The Windmill in the movie, rebranded itself as The Sideways Inn. Dining options, The Hitching Post II and Los Olivos Wine Merchant and Café, continue to welcome fans of the film.

Visitors attracted to the region located two hours northwest of Los Angeles are also able to find many more new discoveries. Home to roughly 50 wine producers in 2000, the Santa Ynez Valley viticultural area now features more than 200 wineries and tasting rooms that produce 360 million litres of wine. Pinot noir continues to be its strong suit, but vineyards are planted with 60 different grape varieties.

It’s worth noting that the growth of the wine industry hasn’t spoiled the area’s relaxed beauty. Unlike Napa where the value of the grape crop saw local farmers transition exclusively to wine growing, Santa Barbara’s vineyards continue to share space with walnut trees, strawberry fields and other agricultural ventures.

Its culinary scene continues to flourish as well. Wine savvy visitors created demand for higher-end restaurants, as well as a greater appreciation and use of local ingredients. One of the most hotly anticipated culinary developments is the launch of a partnership between Thomas Keller and Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts. The renowned French Laundry and Per Se chef will oversee food and beverage operations at Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club, including the Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore Santa Barbara, which will reopen after four years of renovations later this year.

Plan your weekend with our Good Taste newsletter, offering wine advice and reviews, recipes, restaurant news and more. Sign up today.

Report an editorial error

Report a technical issue

Editorial code of conduct

Follow related authors and topics

Film Follow You must be logged in to follow. Log In Create free account
Wine Follow You must be logged in to follow. Log In Create free account

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following .

Interact with The Globe

At the Top of the Golden Gate Bridge, Governor Newsom Announces Tourism Spending Hit an All-Time High in California

Published: May 05, 2024

California remains the #1 state for tourism

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW : New data released today shows that California continues to have the largest market share of tourism in the nation, with travel spending in the state reaching an all-time record high of $150.4 billion last year.

SAN FRANCISCO – Governor Gavin Newsom and Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta today announced that travel spending in the state reached an all-time high of $150.4 billion last year, surpassing the record $144.9 billion spent in 2019. This comes after the state retained its title as the world’s 5th largest economy and had a population increase , both of which are directly tied to California’s nation-leading tourism and entertainment industries.

VIDEO: Gov. Newsom makes announcement at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge

WHAT GOVERNOR NEWSOM SAID : “From our world-renowned coastline, to the world’s tallest trees, to our iconic cities and theme parks, California is the nation’s coming attraction. Visitors from all over the world are coming here to experience the wonder of the Golden State, boosting our economy and creating good-paying jobs for years to come.”

BY THE NUMBERS : The Economic Impact of Travel in California, prepared by Dean Runyan Associates and released by Visit California, detailed spending that is 3.8% higher than 2019 and 5.6% higher than 2022. Spending exceeded 2019 levels in a majority of counties.

WHAT VISIT CALIFORNIA CEO BETETA SAID : “California tourism is back where it belongs – setting records and providing for the workers, business owners and all Californians who depend on the travel industry as a cornerstone of our state’s economy. The industry has once again proved its ability to recover from any challenge, whether it be economic or environmental. California continues to be the largest, most diverse and most resilient tourism economy in the United States.”

WHAT THIS MEANS : California has the largest market share of tourism in the nation. The new travel-spending record generated $12.7 billion in state and local tax revenue by visitors in 2023, marking a 3% increase over 2019. Tourism created 64,900 new jobs in 2023, bringing total industry employment to 1,155,000.

California remains the 5th largest economy in the world for the seventh consecutive year, with a nominal GDP of nearly $3.9 trillion in 2023 and a growth rate of 6.1% since the year prior, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. California’s per capita GDP is the second largest among large economies.

In addition to visiting the state, more people are moving to California. Earlier this week, Governor Newsom announced the state’s population is increasing for the first time since the pandemic.

The Golden State, which has the most equitable tax system in the entire country , is #1 in the nation for new business starts , #1 for access to venture capital funding , and the #1 state for tourism spending , manufacturing , high-tech , and agriculture .

Essential Zheleznodorozhny

Zheleznodorozhny Is Great For

Eat & drink.

IMAGES

Chap5 (tourism impacts)
Sustainable Tourism Dissertation Sample
Tourism impacts
(PDF) Long Lasting Tourism Developing Sustainability Tourism in Dhofar
Impacts of Tourism in Host Communities
Managing tourism impacts

VIDEO

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TOURISM
Dr. Maksim Godovykh about the Tourism Experimentation Platform (TEX)
Minimizing conflicts between residents and local tourism stakeholders

COMMENTS

PDF The Effects of Tourism Impacts Upon Quality of Life of Residents in The
The effects of tourism impacts upon Quality of Life of residents in the community Kyungmi Kim Committee Chair: Muzaffer Uysal Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management ... guided me in the accomplishment of my dissertation. For helping me stretch and reach for the best, I am grateful to Dr. Joseph M. Sirgy. His
(PDF) Tourism Impacts on Destinations: Insights from a Systematic
Abstract: is paper aims to systematically review and analyse the current research on tourism. impacts on destinations for the period 2016-2020. e study evaluated 80 published articles. selected ...
Tourism and its economic impact: A literature review using bibliometric
Then, Snepenger et al. (1998) investigated the perceived impacts of tourism development on downtown in a rural community, ... Doctoral thesis, WU Vienna University in Economics and Business, Austria. Google Scholar. Hummel J, van der Duim R (2011) Tourism and development at work: 15 years of tourism and poverty reduction within the SNV ...
(PDF) Socio-economic Impacts of Tourism Development and Their
Tourism Impacts The sustainable tourism development in a destination is built on three pillars such as the promotion and enhancement of the natural and cultural environment; the effective planning and sustainable management of the environment and the participation of the local community (Myburgh & Saayman, 2002). The impacts follow-on tourism ...
Impact of tourism development upon environmental sustainability: a
Ecotourism minimizes tourism's impact on the tourism resources of a specific destination, including lessening physical, social, interactive, and psychosomatic impacts. Ecotourism is also about demonstrating a positive and responsible attitude from the tourists and hosts toward protecting and preserving all components of the environmental ...
Toward an accurate assessment of tourism economic impact: A systematic
Table 1 presents a summary of selected tourism economic impact studies. The pioneering study in this field was published by Sadler and Archer in Annals of Tourism Research in 1975, with a further 420 full-length articles published on this subject between 1975 and 2020. On average, fewer than 12 articles were published each year in 20 SSCI or ABS journals, indicating that the research topic has ...
Resident perceptions and responses to tourism: individual vs community
The Perdue, Long and Allen conceptual model. The Perdue et al. (Citation 1990) model is central to resident attitude research because of its pioneering attempt to conceptualise different aspects of tourism impacts, their antecedents and host community responses.The model examined "the relationships between resident perceptions of tourism impacts, both positive and negative, and their support ...
PDF The role and impact of tourism on local economic development: A
Role and impact of tourism on local economic development 199 Literature Review On a global scale, tourism has proven to be an economic sector that is essential in creating employment in both formal and informal sectors, improvement of quality of life, and the attraction of foreign exchange. The sector also serves as an alternative
Sustainable tourism: a comprehensive literature review on frameworks
However, despite the positive impacts of tourism, such as economic benefits, it has significantly contributed to environmental degradation, negative social and cultural impacts and habitat fragmentation. ... master's dissertations, doctoral theses, textbooks, and unpublished working papers in the Sustainable Tourism literature. The second ...
PDF The Impacts of Tourism Development on Stakeholders' Quality of Life
The primary goal of this dissertation is to determine the relationship between the effects of tourism and stakeholders' quality of life. Specifically, the research investigates stakeholders' perception of the impact of tourism on their life domains, their satisfaction with life domains, and their overall life satisfaction.
Tourism and COVID-19: Impacts and implications for advancing and
COVID-19 tourism impacts will be uneven in space and time, and apart from the human tool, estimates show an enormous and international economic impact: international tourist arrivals are estimated to drop to 78% causing a loss of US$ 1.2 trillion in export revenues from tourism and 120 million direct tourism job cuts representing seven times ...
PDF College Students' Perceptions on Tourism Climate Change Impacts and
begun studying the effects of climate change on tourism destination decision making and addressed the importance climate plays in travel. In spite of the increasing number of climate related studies in tourism, the study results have shown, "climate" is more complex than just temperature.
Climate Change and Sustainable Development within the Tourism Sector of
to assess climate impacts and adaptation within the tourism sector of a SIDS - The Bahamas that relies on tourism and faces climate vulnerabilities, as do other SIDS. ... Three manuscripts in this dissertation examine impacts of climate change on tourism, assess businesses' adaptive capacity, and evaluate climate adaptation in current plans ...
(PDF) Socio-economic Impacts of Tourism Development and Their
positive tourism impacts relat ing to the social w e ll-being of. the community as the stimulation of infrastructure. development (road s, communications, healthcare, educat ion, public transport ...
PDF Dissertation Connecting to Nature Via Ecotourism As Sustainable Development
2012). The very concept of ecotourism or sustainable tourism arose from harsh critiques of tourism development that had destroyed communities as well as ecosystems. The first promise of ecotourism was that it might counteract the exploitive destructive essence of much of mass tourism and empower communities to protect their cultures and
Evaluating the Sustainability Issues in Tourism Development: An Adverse
According to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the principle of sustainability refers to the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental aspects of tourism development (UNWTO, 2005).Therefore, for sustainable tourism, an appropriate balance must be struck between benefits and issues in economic, socio-cultural, and environmental dimensions of tourism development (Stoddard et al., 2012).
PDF Essays on Tourism and its Determinants
A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2016 . ii Abstract This thesis is based on four essays dealing with tourism development and its determinants. Chapter Two explores the different definitions of 'tourism' and ... TABLE 3.10 FIXED EFFECTS IN WHOLE SAMPLE WITH TOURISM-TRADE INTERACTION (TTRADEP).. 62
The Impacts of Cruise Tourism at Destinations
Fox (1977) well-defined the social and cultural impacts of tourism as "the ways in which . ... A thesis . submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of T ourism .
PDF Impacts of Tourist Attraction in the Community of one City in the
Tourism impact has direct and indirect effects that are brought by the tourist behaviors or doings and the establishments that have relation to tourism [2] The impacts are categorized into three which are economic, environmental, and socio-cultural aspects. Environmental play the most important role in our ...
Bhutan's Tourism Dilemma: Balancing Economy and Sustainability
Bhutan has preferred following the "high-value, low-impact" philosophy of tourism - preserving its unique cultural and religious heritage and following a sustainable path. Bhutan did not ...
Kinzua Skywalk to close on and off for three years, local economies are
The Kinzua Skywalk and Kinzua Creek Trail in McKean County will close for three years starting in November, only reopening for two months each fall.. The PA Wilds, a 13-county tourism region in ...
Surborbital Space Tourism: A Case Study on Virgin Galactic and the
Firstly, I address the significance, history, and future of space tourism, focusing on Virgin Galactic as a case study because of its significant presence in space tourism. Then, I highlight the environmental impact of the rapidly rising space industry, particularly regarding launch vehicle propulsion systems, which historically harm the Earth ...
2024 U.S. Election to Make Travel Advertising More Expensive
The Impact on Tourism Marketing. In the coming months, TV, radio and out-of-home advertising is going to be cluttered with election advertising, making it harder for tourism marketers to get their ...
San Diego Helps Drive Tourism As Statewide $150B Impact Exceeds Pre
California's tourism economy generated $150.4 billion in spending last year, surpassing the record $144.9 billion spent in 2019, according to a new study from Visit California. The "Economic ...
Drake's cultural identity is on trial again
Amara Pope, Pope explored Drake's cultural and racial identities in her 2016 Ph.D. dissertation, Musical Artists Capitalizing on Hybrid Identities. She said Drake's place in the industry is ...
Commentary: Why you should expect to pay more tourist taxes
The impact of tourism taxes on visitor numbers is inconclusive, say these Bangor University academics. A masquerade parade on the Grand Canal during the Venice carnival, in Venice, Italy, Feb 5, 2023.
Twenty years after dramedy Sideways, a look back at how the movie
Twenty years later, Christopher Waters looks at its long-term impact In 2004, the California road-trip film turned a generation of moviegoers into wine tourists.
At the Top of the Golden Gate Bridge, Governor Newsom Announces Tourism
California remains the #1 state for tourism. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: New data released today shows that California continues to have the largest market share of tourism in the nation, with travel spending in the state reaching an all-time record high of $150.4 billion last year.. SAN FRANCISCO - Governor Gavin Newsom and Visit California CEO Caroline Beteta today announced that travel ...
Kenya floods: Anger mounts as people left homeless and searching for
Weeks of intensely heavy rainfall have torn through swaths of Kenya, killing more than 220 people and forcing thousands from their homes.
Zheleznodorozhny, Russia 2023: Best Places to Visit
Zheleznodorozhny Tourism: Tripadvisor has 1,133 reviews of Zheleznodorozhny Hotels, Attractions, and Restaurants making it your best Zheleznodorozhny resource. ... Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more. Europe. Russia. Central Russia. Moscow Oblast. Zheleznodorozhny.