by Brittany Franks

Created on: April 05, 2007   Last Updated: May 12, 2007

Tourism: how to balance benefiting and bruising modern society.

The term Tourism' was first used officially in 1937 by the League of Nations, predecessor of the United Nations. As a highly lucrative industry with one of the world's fastest development rates, tourism has been redefined more than 20 times by government bodies, travel organisations and of course the tourists themselves. This article will explore the resources gained through global tourism, the negative impacts it causes as well as the policies implanted to ensure protection of tourist destinations and their inhabitants.

The idea that society needs to engage in more responsible tourism was first recognised internationally at the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio, Brazil, where 182 governments adopted Agenda 21. The first of its kind to attain international cooperation, Agenda 21 declares that:
"Tourism should contribute to the conservation, protection and restoration of the Earth's ecosystems"
"Environmental protection should constitute an integral part of the tourism development process", and
"Tourism development should recognize and support the identity, culture and interests of indigenous peoples."
Ten years later the UN assigned 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism. Ecotourism is a modern term for responsible leisure travel that conserves the environment and welfare of communities in a tourist's host country.

~The Benefits~
Global tourism employs over 200 million people, accounting for approximately 10% of the total international income of US$500 billion. It supports families that would otherwise suffer, for example, the aftermath of the Bali bombings in 2002 resulted in hundreds of local families without food on the table because tourists, too scared to return or travel to Bali, stopped needing the services of the average working men and women. This is especially important for rural areas and third world countries in need of urgent income.

Tourism, particularly ecotourism, promotes environmental values
and provides funding for countries to ensure preservation of their natural
resources by placing environments under a foreign spotlight. There are
many examples of tourist sites that encompass preservation of
biodiversity, for instance: the laws preventing visitors from removing
flora and fauna in the Great Barrier Reef, and those laws that protect
hundreds of trees of cultural and historical significance in Redwood
National Park, USA. This aspect improves the welfare of wildlife habitats
and residents

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