Sustainable Tourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Sustainable Tourism - Essay Example In order to conduct an in-depth analysis a literature review consisting of the existing literature has been carried out. This has been followed by a primary research which would provide firsthand information about the means to ensure sustainable tourism in the nation. A questionnaire survey has been created for the purpose which would be followed by a section that would contain a set of plausible recommendations about the means to bring about sustainable tourism in a nation so as to bring about greater economic and social prosperity in the tourism industry. Introduction The twenty first century has been often cited by critics as the age of globalization which has been categorized by organizations trying to breach across geographical boundaries to reach out to new and potential market regions. This has bolstered and fuelled the economic growth of many nations whose citizens have reported considerable rise in disposable income. This has in turn enhanced the demand for leisure activitie s like tourism. Tourism has evolved in a major way with global tourism hotspots being termed as generators of revenue for the economy and the nation. According to World Tourism Organization sustainable tourism is defined as â€Å"tourism which leads to management of all resources in such a manner that social, economic and the aesthetic needs could be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity and life support systems† (United Nations Foundations, 2002, p.1). The significance of tourism as an industry segment could be analyzed from the fact that global tourism industry contributes approximately 11 percent towards the global GDP of the world. This sector employs approximately 200 million individuals across the globe serving approximately 700 million customers across the world. Experts point out that this figure is expected to increase to exactly twice its present value. Much of the value of this global tourism comes from the developed nations which contribute approximately seventy percent of the total revenues generated from tourism. The developing nations have grown by approximately 9.5 percent since 1990 which is quite comparative as compared to the annual growth of the global tourism industry which is pegged at 4.6 percent. Tourism generates precious foreign exchange, employment as well as GDP for the nations. There are a large number of nations and islands whose economy is entirely dependent on the tourism industry (Roe & Khanya, 2001, p.1). The present study would try to analyze the aspect of sustainable tourism and would also discuss about the different factors affecting global tourism with regards to certain issues related to the environment. Literature Review Social and Economic Sustainability of Tourism The sustainability of tourism industry is largely dependent upon other sectors as many economic and social factors are said to be correlated with the tourism industry. Presence of infra structure and political stability are factors that have a deep impact on the success and growth of the tourism indus