Environmental Impact Assessment of Tourism †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Environmental Impact Assessment of Tourism. Answer: Introduction Global changes in climate has underwent change in the current age. These changes bear great influence on the industry of tourism. The two factors that have proved to be harmful for the hotel industry is climate change and loss of the biodiversity. This essay talks about the effect that changes in climate along with bio-diversity loss can have on tourism sector. The essay highlights different methods that can be of help for tourism in facing the challenges. It has been suggested by different studies that people will like to visit the places that have high altitude and are situated in the mountainous regions. Tourists who are from the temperate nation form a major part of those who go on international travel. They will like to spend the holiday within that of their home country. Winter will be the preferred season when the tourists will go for vacation. The appealing climate of winter will attract the tourists and the hospitality industry will face loss because they would not be able to earn revenue from the tourists (Li et al. 2014). Shift pertaining to the pattern of travelling will have consequences and more money will be spent on temperate regions. The tourists will end up spending less amount of money on the nations that are warm. It can prove to be effective in altering flow of intra-regional tourism when climate is considered to be very important. There is lack of clear evidence regarding whether climate change can reduce global v olume pertaining to tourism. It can be said that impact on the climate change will however be limited on the basis of the global platform. Tourists will react in a holistic manner to the issue of climate change. Demand pertaining to tourism at the level of region will also be affected on account of the environmental changes. Change pertaining to global climate can have a bearing on demand of tourism within certain selected destinations (Gssling and Peeters 2015). It can also bring changes within the regional level where political destabilization might take place. Decision making process of the tourists will be affected by the notions that people have in relation to climate changes. It will also have a grave impact on the people who invest in tourism. Perceptions that people have towards the environmental changes are of significance for consumers along with that of actual conditions. Media coverage can play a crucial role in deciding regarding choice of customers. Decline has been brought about in the ski-industry on account of the changes in climate (MacNeill and Wozniak 2018). There will be less snow-fall within the sk i-resort on account of global warming. Immense heat will be responsible for keeping the tourists away from the Asian along with Mediterranean regions. The looming fear that disease will spread in these regions will force the tourists not to visit these areas (Garca, Vzquez and Macas 2015). The tourists will be attracted owing to rich bio-diversity and it will help to bring profit for the industry pertaining to tourism. The natural beauty of the places will decline due to the changes taking place in climate and people would not want to visit these places. Rainfall in less amount can be disastrous for the areas that have rain forests and that of coral reef (George et al. 2016). The kind of weather that prevails are important for the tourists. It is found that if the weather is nice then it can help in the performing of an activity and harsh weather can be an inhibitor in relation to participation. Increase in temperature can lead to bleaching and this can be harmful for the coral reefs. The suspended sediments increasing in number can be harmful for plant as well as animal life form (Scott, Hall and Gssling 2016). These kind of conditions can help in forming zooxanthallae which causes the colour to move away from the coral. The coral becomes white in colour in the algae and it dies soon afterwards. Great Barrier Reef helps in bringing profits for tourism but coral bleaching is occurring since the last twenty years. Mitigating measures are important for tourism and this can help in offering various business opportunities. Reduction of energy can act as a mitigating measure and changing destination marketing is important for the tour operators. Shifting in transport from the usage of car to coach can help in reducing energy consumption. It has been found that increasing length of stay by tour operator can reduce carbon footprint (Mowforth and Munt 2015). These can also open the path for different kinds of economic opportunities pertaining to the destinations. Tourism being able to address the issue of climate change forms an important aspect pertaining to sustainable development. Tourism sector should know about the results of climate change in the different economic sectors that can have a bearing on tourism. Sustainable tourism can preserve land for that of nature and it can offer other livelihood options to the people who rely on the use of land. Tourism can help in meeting the emissions reduction target and it does not involve only carbon offset but also that of strategic energy saving (Hall et al. 2015). Introduction of the renewable power and investment in that of energy efficiency can help in the abatement of emission pertaining to tourism. Accommodation is responsible for 27 % of the emissions and it can help in saving money by the reduction of emissions. Using of the offsets that can target the challenges pertaining to fuel-switching can act as a cost-effective strategy. Tourism can raise the awareness and it can help in motivati ng people to change long-established practices. Proper definition of the natural areas and introspecting on capacity limit can help in preventing tourism from damaging the species (Li et al. 2014). Creative campaigns are also developed by tourism that can help in raising awareness in relation to bio-diversity. Conclusion: The tourists on account of global warming will visit spots only in the winter season that can lead to loss of revenue. Less snowfall within the ski-resorts can decrease number of visitors in these places. Change in that of medium of transport can be of great benefit in reducing the use of energy. It has been found that if the tourists will stay at a location for a long period of time then it can help in reduction of carbon foot print. The tourism will develop creative campaigns that can prove to be an effective step in augmenting awareness. Training programs can also prove to be effective in protecting environment. References: Garca, F.A., Vzquez, A.B. and Macas, R.C., 2015. Resident's attitudes towards the impacts of tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives,13, pp.33-40. George, R., Barben, T., Chivaka, R., van Vuuren, M.J., Knott, B., Lehmann, S., Mulder, M., Nel, J., Nieuwenhuizen, C., Saunders, C. and Swart, K., 2016.Managing tourism in South Africa(No. Ed. 2). Oxford University Press. Gssling, S. and Peeters, P., 2015. Assessing tourism's global environmental impact 19002050.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,23(5), pp.639-659. Hall, C.M., Amelung, B., Cohen, S., Eijgelaar, E., Gssling, S., Higham, J., Leemans, R., Peeters, P., Ram, Y. and Scott, D., 2015. On climate change skepticism and denial in tourism.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,23(1), pp.4-25. Li, G., Yang, X., Liu, Q. and Zheng, F., 2014. Destination island effects: A theoretical framework for the environmental impact assessment of human tourism activities. Tourism Management Perspectives,10, pp.11-18. MacNeill, T. and Wozniak, D., 2018. The economic, social, and environmental impacts of cruise tourism. Tourism Management,66, pp.387-404. Mowforth, M. and Munt, I., 2015.Tourism and sustainability: Development, globalisation and new tourism in the third world. Routledge. Scott, D., Hall, C.M. and Gssling, S., 2016. A report on the Paris Climate Change Agreement and its implications for tourism: Why we will always have Paris.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,24(7), pp.933-948.