UNIT 1 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT : TOURISM

DEBATE

Structure

1.0 Objectives
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Sustainable Development
1.3 Sustainable Tourism and Development
1.4 Approaches
1.5 Views of WTO
1.6 Roles and Responsibilities
1.7 Let Us Sum Up
1.8 Clues to Answers
1.9 Annexure: Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

1.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit you will be able to:
understand the concept of sustainable development,
know about some of the major developmental approaches,
link the above mentioned ob jectives with tourism development, and

appreciate the role to be played by different segments of the tourism system for sustainable
tourism development.

1.1 INTRODUCTION
In 1999, as per the WTO, international tourist arrivals touched the 664 million figure. Out of this 62.1
per cent market share went to 15 countries. In terms of international tourism receipts of US$ 455
billion, 15 countries had shared US$ 286.7 billion with US having the largest share of US$ 74.4
billion. Well these figures are not just numbers as they demonstrate a variety of things. Massive
movements of people also mean utilisation and consumption of resources (both man-made and
natural) and leaving behind impacts (socio -cultural, environmental, economic, etc.). If you add to this
the numbers of domestic tourists (virtually ignored in such analysis) the resources consumed and the
impacts would be mind-boggling. The impacts are both positive as well as negative. Whereas the
developed and rich nations have the resources to mitigate the negative impacts, the poor and
developing nations continue to suffer in this regard. However, in both the cases application of the
concept of sustainable development is the talk of the day. Hence, the development debate has been
consciously selected as the first theme of this course.

The Unit starts with describing the concept of sustainable development and goes on to explain some
developmental approaches. Of course, the emphasis is on the tourism development. Why should the
industry support the efforts for sustainable tourism development and what should be the role of
consumers (tourists) and service providers (hosts)? are the other questions which the Unit attempts to
answer. In brief the Unit also discusses the views of WTO on the issue of sustainability in tourism
development. It is expected that the knowledge provided in this Unit would be put into actual practice
by our learners.

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1.2 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The two alternative paths for development, i.e., you live in harmony with nature or you exploit nature
have always been available to the human beings. Different societies, at different intervals have
adopted either of the two paths. Some, on the other hand, adopted a middle path. There are village
societies where while consuming the natural resources precautions were taken that the future
generations should not be adversely affected. Decision making in such societies was done keeping in
view the interests of future generations and not just of the present ones. Hence, what in modern
terminology is described as sustainable may not be a new concept for many students of history. With
over 300 definitions of sustainable development and every one claiming to be a green, it is not an
easy task to define sustainability in the developmental context. However, the awareness and growth of
nature conservation, concern for environmental degradation, etc. have all contributed to the
emergence of this concept in its modern sense. The most widely accepted definition is the one given
by Brundtland Commission in 1987 which defined sustainable development as a process of
change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of
technology development, and institutional changes are made consistent with future as well as
present needs and as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs .

In 1983, the UN established the World Commission on Environment and Development which
was chaired by the Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland. The report of this
commission (1987) is famous as Brundtland Report.

Sustainability is an integrative concept because it looks at the human use and management of
resources in a manner that should not destroy or disturb the habitat that is the basis of survival. Socio-
economic and environmental dimensions thus become the focus of the management approach.
Changes in the views of the community and its attitudes towards development are relegated to a
secondary position.
For the first time an effort was made at the international level in 1990 during the Globe 90
Conference (Vancouver, Canada) to link tourism and travel with sustainable development. The
Tourism Stream Action Strategy Commission of the conference prepared an Action Strategy for
Sustainable Development. Further, the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development came with the famous Rio declaration (June 1992). Some of the highlights of this
declaration are:
In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection should constitute an integral
part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it. (Principle 4).
All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an
indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in
standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world (principle 5).
The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and
environmental needs of present and future organisations (principle 3), etc.

For details of Rio declaration see www.unep.org/Documents.asp?Document ID=78&Article

ID=1163 and the annexure to this Unit.

1.3 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT

The concept of sustainability has become a fundamental issue in tourism development and growth
after the debate at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. Seeing the rapid changes in tourism and the world
trends, we are now examining geopolitical, socio-economic, technological and environmental impacts
of contemporary tourism. It was realised that tourism requires an agenda of its own, and not as a part

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of the overall post structural adjustment process. This was reflected in the 7th Meeting of the
Commission on Sustainable Development in 1999, which was devoted to tourism impacts around
the world. This was due, to a large extent, to the efforts of NGOs working in different parts of the
world coming together to speak in one voice on what their experience had been through grass roots
interaction, in the course of the phenomenal growth of tourism in the last two decades. It, therefore,
became a part of the evaluation of the implementation of the Agenda 21 set at Rio.
The concept of sustainability when applied to tourism can be perceived and interpreted in various
ways. Sustainability for attractions (both natural and man-made), infrastructure, cultures,
environment, economy, etc. will have different meaning for different disciplines and the
methodologies adopted also may not be the same. For example, a sociologist might be interested in
retaining the authenticity of customs, rituals or other aspects of culture that are now being packaged as
tourism products or attractions. In this case sustainability can be achieved by retaining the authenticity
and hence, both the concepts are inter-linked. Similarly, in the case of natural resources (water,
forests, hills, etc.) it would be linked to consumption patterns and levels; in case of historical
buildings and monuments it would be linked to conservation aspects; for a destination it would mean
sustaining its attraction and so on. And yet we can derive some commonality on the issue. According
to Victor T.C. Middleton and Rebecca Hawkins (Sustainable Tourism: A Marketing
Perspective, Oxford, 1998):
Sustainable tourism means achieving a particular combination of numbers and types
of visitors, the cumulative effect of whose activities at a given destination, together with
the actions of the servicing businesses, can continue into the foreseeable future without
damaging the quality of the environment on which the activities are based.
The scope of environment in this definition is quite large and according to them (Practical
Environmental Policies in Travel and Tourism, 1994) for all practical decisions as far as tourism is
concerned environment means the:
quality of natural resources such as landscape, air, sea water, fresh water, flora and
fauna; and the quality of built and cultural resources judged to have intrinsic value and
be worthy of conservation.
Achieving sustainability for tourism, according to them requires that:
the cumulative volume of visitor usage of a destination and the associated activities and
impacts of servicing businesses should be managed below the threshold level at which
the regenerative resources available locally become incapable of maintain(ing) the
environment.
Here, we must also take note of Richard Bullers view (1994), which differentiates between
sustainable tourism and sustainable development in the context of tourism. Sustainable tourism,
according to him, is tourism in a form that can maintain its viability in an area for an indefinite
period of time, whereas sustainable development in the context of tourism is tourism that is
developed and maintained in an area in such a manner and at such a scale, that it remains
viable over an indefinite period and does not degrade or alter the environment in which it exists
to such a degree that it prohibits the successful development and well being of other activities
and processes.
We can say that for sustainable tourism development, environment conservation and management of
visitor usage and servicing businesses are interlinked concepts. They are susceptible to the impacts of:
tourist/host behaviour and attitudes,
the policies of the servicing businesses,
the government policies, and
the changes in technology.
None of the above four can be described as static and hence, the management of sustainable tourism is
also a dynamic activity. When we apply the sustainability criteria to the way in which the tourism

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industry operates and the way tourism products are consumed by the tourists (international as well as
domestic) our attention in immediately drawn to the tourism impacts on the destinations:
natural resources and attractions (including man-made),
economy,
society, and
culture, etc.
Tourism is also an economic activity like any other sector, although it has a glamorised image. It
involves international forces that work according to global laws. This means that the development
debate has to come to terms with the sustainability of international tourism, despite its complexities.
Tourism has a variety of products to offer, from low impact products to high impact products. These
can be delivered by the organised sector, but in small and developing countries the unorganised sector
plays an important role in delivering these products. The tourism product has several components,
which are supplied by a variety of suppliers, all of whom do not have common standards. Tourism
represents a variety of interests. At the destination are the local people who are divided by the costs
and benefits of tourism. Then there is the industry, where the organised and unorganised sectors can
have differences and the national and multinational companies can have a conflict of interests.
Governments tend to promote tourism for economic reasons without looking at the impacts and costs.
Then there are the tourists who have different patterns of consumption and expect different levels of
service. For the developmental debate therefore, we have to engage in a multi-stakeholder process to
see how to resolve genuine conflicts and respect the aspirations of the stakeholders who are involved
in this activity.
The challenge before a country like India which has always looked at tourism as a source of earning
foreign exchange, even though we have not had a foreign exchange crisis for a decade, is how to be a
part of the global market for new tourist destinations at a time when a new consumer is emerging.
Such consumers are concerned with the issue of sustainability even as they consume more than their
share of tourism resources in the far corners of the world.
In fact, there is a range of issues that the concept of sustainable tourism has raised in the
contemporary tourism development debate. These include:
1) Contemporary tourism involves movement of 640 million people across boundaries and many
many millions within the boundaries figures that could not be imagined 50 years ago. How can
we deliver a sustainable product particularly where eco-systems are fragile and yet an attraction
for the tourist gaze?
2) How to evaluate, keeping in view the sustainability criteria, the conflicts and convergence
between development and tourism? This evaluation has to be done keeping in view the
development of socio-economic and environmental resources for increasing the wealth and well
being of the people.
3) Particular pressures of tourism on specific resources have to be evaluated.
4) The need to accommodate the present rates of growth vis--vis consumption and production is a
challenge to the concept of sustainable tourism.
5) There is a need for policy initiatives that would help to promote an awareness of the fact that
contem porary tourism impacts go beyond the beneficial aspects and can also be very damaging as
growth and profitability are pursued. This requires new terms of legitimatising the importance
given to tourism. Income generation and employment can no longer be the sole determinants in
this regard.
Tourism is not an undifferentiated phenomenon. There are as many types of tourism as there are
market segments. (niche tourism/niche markets). There is a need for establishing a balance between
tourism and other existing and potential activities. Again, merely endorsing sustainable tourism whilst
continuing with mass tourism will make the costs and profits of such tourism growth disappear in the
long run.

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There is uncertainty but it also puts a challenge before us. If tourism responds to societal changes and
global changes, whilst conforming to the basic principles of conservation of our planets resources,
then there can be opportunities for tourism enterprises based on the new ethics. Here again, traditional
societies like India have an advantage since they have not yet opened up to the neo-liberal market
rationality of over consumption. They still recycle, reuse and renew their resources since the
integration with the money and market global economy is not complete. What happens later is yet to
be seen but late starters have an advantage of utilising others experiences.
As globalisation and the World Trade Organisation demolish protective barriers, we have to renew
our commitments to:
1) The conservation and enhancement of ecological processes and set our priorities so that in the
new world order we may not be subject to non-tariff barriers.
2) Protection of our bio-diversity as the extinction of any species is the first alarm call for human
survival as well.
3) Inter- and intra-generational equity, which involves the rights of the child, youth, the elderly, the
poor and women, and particularly indigenous communities whose survival is so closely tied with
the survival of our bio-diversity.
4) Integration of economic, social, political, cultural and environmental concerns, which will help to
bring about a holistic model of tourism that represents our ethics and culture.
As environmental and economic issues are becoming more interdependent, tourism policy makers and
facilitators have to ensure that the new model of sustainability becomes an opportunity for target
groups and communities and not a threat to their survival. Just as the worst impacts of tourism have
been documented, so also the best practices have been documented. However, these should be used to
get a commitment for sustainability, not only as a political slogan but also as an analytical tool.

Check Your Progress 1

1) What do you understand by sustainable tourism development?

2) Why is sustainability needed in tourism development?

1.4 APPROACHES
Development means different things to different people. It is a combination of differing values, both
material and ethical. It covers the present and the future, but uses the past to show the way to compare
and to evaluate the nature of social change that includes economic and technological changes as well
as the cultural and geo-political context of change. Consequently, there has not only been a debate on
the nature and structure of development, but approaches have been suggested on how to measure
tourism and its impacts and also to create perspectives that express the evolution of balance,
development and growth.
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To make the debate accessible to a wider and concerned group, four broad approaches to
development, can be identified. These are modernisation, dependency, neo-classical and neo-
liberal counter-revolution and alternative development.
1) Modernisation theories see societies passing through a series of stages, from lower to higher
levels of development. The highest level is where the role of innovation and entrepreneurship is of
great importance, as the developed areas of the world have demonstrated. State involvement to
ensure a trickle down effect is a part of this model. In tourism, enclaves and large resorts and state
investments in such projects in partnership with the private sector have been encouraged in all
developing countries. In India the state owned Ashok group of western style hotels in metros,
urban areas and even remote destinations was a part of the modernisation model.
2) Dependency theory links development to external forces, where power at the centre exploits the
periphery. An example is the colonial exploitation of India, where British interests determined the
path of development undertaken in India. International tourism, being concentrated in the West,
uses developing countries as cheap destinations for budget tourists, which perpetuates the dualism
between the rich and the poor. The response to this concentration of wealth and power is to favour
domestic markets, be self-sufficient and substitute domestic tourism for international tourism to
have control of the expenditure and benefits. In India, domestic tourism is of the volume of 170
million and contributes three times the earnings of international tourism. Domestic tourism is only
now being recognised as the basis of tourism development, rather than international tourism.
3) Neo-Liberal or neo-classical responses to the oil crisis and the debt crisis of the 70s and 80s
have stressed the role of privatisation and the free market as a solution. Development through
incentives, subsidies and other financial inducements to foreign investors has been propagated for
developing countries to reach the same level in tourism activity as Europe and North America
have achieved in the post war period. The World Bank has been a major proponent of this
approach, along with other non-governmental international organisations like the UNDP and the
ADB, which have funded major tourism programmes in developing countries. The scale of these
projects often defied the local aspirations and conditions. This led to the emergence of the
movement of local NGOs, who evaluated the impacts of such developments. Their conclusions
were that such forms of tourism did not help the disadvantaged who were the most in need of
economic activity that would help to remove their poverty.
4) Alternative Development approaches are based on basic needs satisfaction. Has the resort
development at Kovalam or Goa resolved the issue of food, clothing, housing, health and
education needs of the local people? This approach provides a grass roots perspective, where loc al
needs and peoples control are the major planning inputs. Eco-tourism, nature tourism, appropriate
tourism, ethical tourism and responsible tourism are some of the concepts that have emerged from
this approach. These concepts often overlap and are not very precise. Critics argue that tourism is
big business, and the grass roots approach may not bring the benefits desired. The gender
perspective, which looks at the issue of women in tourism and opposes the promotion of child
abuse and sex tourism, has also been a contentious area between proponents of alternative tourism
and mainstream tourism.
As these ideas indicate, the tourism development debate is also a political and ideological debate.
Conservative politics favours open market with very little State control in tourism. The top-down
approach, with a strong private public partnership is their solution to the issue of growth in tourism.
Liberals are divided between non-structural economists and structural economists. The former urge
the grass roots approach while the latter favour broad based reforms to create a better distribution of
wealth. The more radical Marxist approach, which favours class struggle as a method to redistribute
wealth and power, sees in international tourism the seeds of neo-colonialism. It advocated social
tourism or state subsidy for access to tourism for the mass of people. However, the Marxian approach
is also undergoing changes. The development of tourism in China for economic gains, in Cuba for
image promotion and economic benefits and the emergence of Kerala under a Marxist government as
leading tourism state in India are examples in this regard.
Within the concept of sustainability, Kerry B. Godfrey (Towards Sustainability, in Harrison and
Husbands (ed.) Practicing Responsible Tourism, New York, 1996) has mentioned two schools of
thought:

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1) The Product Approach : In this approach sustainability is regarded as an alternative to or
replacement of conventional mass tourism by developing new green products.
2) The Industry Approach : Considering that mass tourism is inevitable because of the tourist
demand the requirement is to make all forms of tourism more sustainable.
The Industry approach endorses the Product Approachs positive qualities but believes that it cannot
replace mass-tourism and as Cohen puts it, the aim should be to help to reform the tourist
establishment and mass tourism from within (1989). In fact no single approach is viable to meet
the challenge of sustainability. The issue is further complexed because of the diversity in fragility,
durability and other natural features of the tourism regions, areas or sites which are targeted for
sustainable development.

1.5 VIEWS OF WTO

The World Tourism Organisation has been championing the cause of sustainable tourism
development. It has incorporated in the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism sustainable tourism as
Article 3 (you will read about this code in the last Unit). It has published the following books on this
theme:
Sustainable Tourism Development: Guide for Local Planners,
What Tourism Managers Need to Know: Indicators of Sustainable Tourism, and
Sustainable Development of Tourism A Compilation of Good Practices.
Besides these, its publication on National and Regional Tourism Planning mentions that:
One of the important benefits of tourism is that, if it is properly developed based on
the concept of sustainability, tourism can greatly help, justify and pay for conservation
of an areas natural and cultural resources. Thus, tourism can be an important means
of achieving conservation in areas that otherwise have limited capability to accomplish
environmental protection and conservation objectives.
For achieving sustainable development it lays stress on three aspects:
1) An Environmental Planning Approach
2) Community based tou rism, and
3) Concept of quality tourism .
The first takes into account all elements of environment before going for development, the second
focuses on community involvement in planning and the third refers to tourist attractions, facilities
and services that offer good value for money, protect tourism resources and attract the kinds of
tourists who would respect the local environment and society.
The principles of sustainable tourism as defined by the WTO in 1988 are envisaged as leading to
management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled
while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life
support systems. These principles should be adopted for all forms of tourism. They should be
adopted by all tourism operations, establishments and projects, including conventional tourism and
the alternative forms that have emerged as an attempt to share the costs of mass tourism around the
world.
The WTO also provides consultancy on the issue of sustainability. Many other international
organisations have also come out with their own codes in this regard.

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1.6 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Ignorance, politics and economics seems to work contrary to the attainment of the goal of
sustainable development as far as tourism is concerned, wrote Richard W. Butler (Pre and
Post-impact Assessment of Tourism Development in Pearce and Butler (ed) Tourism Research,
London 1993). As a result of the deterioration of tourism attractions and resources, it is tourism itself
which suffers heavily. The victims are the host communities, for the tourist will move to another
unspoilt destination (only to spoil it?). It is the local industry that will suffer as the big players will
also move out and do business elsewhere. At many destinations even the host communities, in order
to make quick money, over use or throw open their resources and environment to be exploited by the
visitors, businesses or local vested interests. It is time for them to realise that this is a suicidal path for
the destination. In order to move towards the path of sustainability or to achieve sustainable
development every player in tourism has a role which is loaded with heavy responsibilities.
Middleton mentions five good reasons for collective action by the multiple players in tourism on the
environmental issues (Sustainable Tourism, 1998):
1) Size and Growth Potential
2) Prosperity
3) Global reach
4) Market Demand, and
5) Competitive Business Advantage.
All these five aspects are interlinked. For example, the size and growth potential will depend on the
quality of environment of tourism areas and a sense of growing responsibility has to be conveyed to
all in this regard.
The physical environment and diverse cultures, as the core resources for tourism not only need to
be collectively protected for their intrinsic values but also need to be treated by the industry in
practice in the same way as commercial assets, needing continuous maintenance,
refurbishment, and investment. On this, according to Middleton, will rest the future commercial
prosperity.
Tourism is a global activity and the industry has the option either to be in the vanguard of change
and influence and control events, or ignore the process of environmental change. However, if they
opt for the second, they alone will be the sufferers as the initiative and control will pass on to
regulators and anti-tourism lobbies.
Middleton points out that there are clear indicators that the market demand is for such tourism
products which offer clean air, clean beaches and bathing water, pristine mountain slopes and
uncongested, crime and pollution -free destinations. One can add to this many other attributes like
authenticity of crafts, customs (i.e., cultural aspects), the demands of green tourists, etc. Hence,
ignoring these aspects of market demand in product-design, marketing strategies and business
operations will be a self -defeating exercise for the tourism industry. Those in the industry who
contribute towards sustainable practices and development will have a competitive business
advantage . A realisation to this effect is already there and various tourism industry associations are
making their members aware and adopting codes of conduct in this regard. Here one must remember
that the NGOs are playing a vital role, often through struggles also, in influencing the attitudes of the
industry as well as the people in the destination areas.
The NGOs have also brought to fore the necessity of changing the behaviour and attitudes of the
consumers of tourism products. In a submission to the UN Commission on Sustainable
Development the Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism (April 1999) stressed on
influencing consumer behaviour towards sustainable tourism (see http://www.ecen.org/tourbhav.htm):
From a sustainability perspective, feeding tourist fantasies and demands for
familiarity and comfort is a costly business. In the typical destination area, the natural
eco-system is levelled, paved, and then landscaped with lawns and a handful or two of
nursery-grown tree and flower species; landmarks and neighbourhoods central to the

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 local communitys sense of place are replaced by cookie -cutter hotel and recreation
developments; scare water is diverted for swimming pools and tourists long, hot
showers. Ecological thresholds are routinely crossed, and in many southern
destinations, international human rights standards are daily violated. Indigenous
peoples are particularly vulnerable to market-driven tourism, losing their customary
lands and resources, religious freedom, and ultimately their cultures and capacity for
self-sufficiency. Women and children are also at high risk, where tourism economies are
built upon exploitative labour practices, and where sex tourism occurs.
The average consumer resists acknowledging this dark side of tourism. The apathy
stems largely from our Northern worldview, which promotes individualism, with
purchasing power the measure of success. However, it is also reinforced by our
consumer savvy business and political systems. Both, together with the media, deliver
abbreviated interpretations of global crisis, alleviating any direct sense of complicity.
Consequently, there is little impetus for consumers to address in any meaningful way
the exponential costs of tourism, like climate change or the loss of biological and
cultural diversity.
In the North, most consumers are ignorant of the connectedness between ecosystems
and human activities, and related issues like equity, we live in a monetary society, often
removed and detached from the places and people that sustain us. Tourism, involving a
highly buffered and short-term experience of other locales, tends to reinforce this
insular perspective. As tourists we can play and then leave, remaining isolated from any
negative impacts at the local level. We can suspend common sense and codes of conduct,
without being accountable for what is damaged or who is hurt.
Hence, it is necessary to make the consumer of tou rism products aware of sustainable practices.
No doubt a new consumer has started emerging with a different market demand as mentioned earlier.
While consuming tourism resources, this consumer is concerned with the issue of sustainability. But it
is still a Herculean task to make every tourism consumer, business and service provider contribute
towards sustainable tourism development. The responsibilities in this regard lie with one and all, i.e.,
government, industry, tourists and locals. Middleton mentions two major dimensions in this regard:
Improving sustainable practice at the destination chosen by visitors, and
the way the businesses within the travel and tourism industry conduct their development and
operational decisions.
We can add to these the commitment of the government, the local bodies and people to
sustainable development. A commitment that should be demonstrated through practice and not by
conferences or on paper alone. At the same time the workers and trade unions also have a
responsibility in this regard. The International Confederation Free Trade Union and Trade Union
Advisory Committee to the OECDs background paper for the commission on Sustainable
Development (April 1999) stated that Trade Unions are well placed to play a role in making
sustainable tourism a reality tourism workers have the potential of becoming active agents of
change amongst the tourists they are paid to serve however, it can only be achieved with the
cooperation of employers, governments and NGOs.
An important tool for monitoring the sustainability criteria is impact assessment of tourism. However
scholars like Richard W. Butler have gone a step further to advocate even post impact assessment
(Pearce and Butler, Tourism Research , 1993) of tourism projects.

Check Your Progress 2

1) Discuss the various approaches to sustainable tourism development.

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2) Mention the five reasons for colle ctive action given by Middleton.

1.7 LET US SUM UP

Sustainable development can be regarded as a philosophy. It has received support because it reflects
the growing popular understanding and awareness of the scientific investigation of our socio-political
and environmental reality that should be the basis of our economic and leisure activity in the future. It
looks at the needs of the worlds poor and the limitations which nature has to impose on the
consumption of the worlds rich. It offers an opportunity for action at all levels, which will give rise to
new ways of doing things. However, it also gives legitimacy to market capitalism and the trickle
down economy, because it aims to reform the western capitalist form of consumption and production,
and not to change it.
One has to keep both sustainable tourism and sustainable tourism development in view while planning
for tourism. Similarly, these concepts have to be practised in business operations also along with
making the consumers aware of their significance. Though each player in tourism has a role in this
regard it is the NGOs who have come forward to play the role of watchmen. It is expected that as
professional managers you would be able to apply the various aspects discussed in this Unit in your
day to day operations. The views of Middleton discussed in the Unit are extremely relevant for the
tourism industry.
A gathering of 64 nations at Manila in 1997 undertook to be more responsible with the phenomenal
growth of tourism. Drug abuse, sex tour, child exploitation, crime and environmental degradation
were among the social costs of tourism that were addressed by them. Legal regimes should be put in
place to curb and to eliminate problems that are serious enough to threaten social cohesion and the
ecological equilibrium of the communities visited by tourists.
Since tourism is a form of consumption, and therefore, a product of econom ic development, it is clear
that a balance has to be created so that the benefits will flow to all countries rather than the social
costs of the evils of tourism being borne by the poor, the small and the less developed countries. With
millions of tourists estimated to be on the move in the year 2000 and earnings estimated at US$ 621
billions, the challenge before us to control mass tourism in the interests of the resident communities
and service providers, so that they are not left to pick up the ills of tourism after the tourists have gone
home. However, we must remember that the debate for sustainable tourism development is an
ongoing debate and every one has a stake in it.

1.8 CLUES TO ANSWERS

Check Your Progress 1

1) Read the various views in Sec. 1.3.
2) Otherwise the resources will degrade and tourism will vanish for such destinations. See Sec. 1.3.

Check Your Progress 2

1) Read Sec. 1.4 for your answer
2) In Sec. 1.6 these reasons have been elaborated upon.

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1.9 ANNEXURE : RIO DECLARATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, having met at Rio de Janeiro from
3 to 14 June 1992, reaffirming the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment, adopted at Stockholm on 16 June 1972, a/ and seeking to build upon it, with the goal of
establishing a new and equitable global partnership through the creation of new levels of cooperation
among States, key sectors of societies and people, working towards international agreements which
respect the interests of all and protect the integrity of the global environmental and developmental
system, recognizing the integral and interdependent nature of the Earth, our home, proclaims that:

Principle 1
Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy
and productive life in harmony with nature.

Principle 2
States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international
law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and
developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or
control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of
national jurisdiction.

Principle 3
The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental
needs of present and future generations.

Principle 4
In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part
of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.

Principle 5
All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an
indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in
standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.

Principle 6
The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly the least developed and those
most environmentally vulnerable, shall be given special priority. International actions in the field of
environment and development should also address the interests and needs of all countries.

Principle 7
States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and
integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental
degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries
acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit to sustainable development
in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and
financial resources they command.

Principle 8
To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce
and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate
demographic policies.

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Principle 9
States should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity-building for sustainable development by
improving scientific understanding through exchanges of scientific and technological knowledge, and
by enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including new and
innovative technologies.

Principle 10
Environmental issues are best handled with participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant
level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning
the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and
activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States
shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely
available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy,
shall be provided.

Principle 11
States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, management
objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and development context to which they
apply. Standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and of unwarranted economic and
social cost to other countries, in particular developing countries.

Principle 12
States should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would
lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries, to better address the problems
of environmental degradation. Trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not
constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on
international trade. Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of
the importing country should be avoided. Environmental measures addressing trans -boundary or
global environmental problems should, as far as possible, be based on an international consensus.

Principle 13
States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and
other environmental damage. States shall also cooperate in an expeditious and more determined
manner -to develop further international law regarding liability and compensation for adverse effects
of environmental damage caused by activities within their jurisdiction or control to areas beyond their
jurisdiction.

Principle 14
States should effectively cooperate to discourage or prevent the relocation and transfer to other States
of any activities and substances that cause severe environmental degradation or are found to be
harmful to human health.

Principle 15
In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States
according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full
scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent
environmental degradation.

Principle 16
National authorities should endeavour to promote the internalisation of environmental costs and the
use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle,
bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international
trade and investment.

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Principle 17
Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed
activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a
decision of a competent national authority.

Principle 18
States shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters or other emergencies that are
likely to produce sudden harmful effects on the environment of those States. Every effort shall be
made by the international community to help States so afflicted.

Principle 19
States shall provide prior and timely notification and relevant information to potentially affected
States on activities that may have a significant adverse trans-boundary environmental effect and shall
consult with those States at an early stage and in good faith.

Principle 20
Women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is,
therefore, essential to achieve sustainable development.

Principle 21
The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world should be mobilized to forge a global
partnership in order to achieve sustainable development and ensure a better future for all.

Principle 22
Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in
environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices.
States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective
participation in the achievement of sustainable development.

Principle 23
The environment and natural resources of people under oppression, domination and occupation shall
be protected.

Principle 24
Warfare is inherently destructive of sustainable development. States shall therefore respect
international law providing protection for the environment in times of armed conflict and cooperate in
its further development, as necessary.

Principle 25
Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible.

Principle 26
States shall resolve all their environmental disputes peacefully and by appropriate means in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

Principle 27
States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfilment of the
principles embodied in this Declaration and in the further development of international law in the field
of sustainable development.

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