Module code MGBBT2ENT Module Edmund Cheng

and title: Tourism Impacts and Sustainable leader:OU Lisa Caron Whitaker
Development

Assignment Assessment 1 Assessment 50%

No. and Essay 2,000 words weighting:
type:
Submission On or before: Target 3 weeks from the date of final
time and 2pm 20 May 2024 (Monday) feedback submission
date: time and
date:

Student name-

Id-

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Contents
.........................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Main Body.......................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Tourism is a major industry in many countries and is the fastest-growing industry in the world.
This essay explains the ways to deal with the impacts of over tourism to keep sustainable
tourism intact. It explains how tourism development should always be beneficial and have a
good effect on local communities (Mihalic, 2020. pp. 103025). The purpose of this essay is to
analyze the ascend of tourism in the tourism industry and outline the issues and contributing
factors concerning destination places. Over tourism is now conceptualised as a sustainable
approach because sustainable tourism is now a mainstream tourism paradigm, primarily based on
a balance between economic, environmental, and socio-cultural sustainability (Fennell and
Cooper, 2020).

Tourism has been considered one of the strategic sectors of the Egyptian Economy. Egypt
being the land of Pyramids, historical monuments and pharaohs is considered a 'tourism
powerhouse' as beyond its inspiring monuments is the beaches that add to the beauty of it
(Derbali, 2020). Egypt has a significant geographical location that allows it to be connected by
sea to every part of the world. Also known as the ‘mother of the world’ each city casts its own
spell some of them have unique ancient old temple while other boasts pristine handicrafts , all
radiates towards the history, culture and dynamism of Egypt (Mohamed, 2021. pp.89-101).

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Main Body
Over tourism is now a major aspect of concern in the tourism industry and is one of the most
discussed issues in popular media and academia. Tourism is excessive numbers of tourists at a
specific destination that can result in negative impacts of all types on the community involved
(Goodwin, 2021. pp. 916-921). The rise of over-tourism in cities is seen because of the
increasing world population and visitors are provided with a range of multifunctional, complex,
multiuser environments due to which there is not only an increase in domestic and international
leisure tourists but also business tourists. Mass tourism affects the environment and causes
pollution that leads to the devastation of nature and creates trouble for local populations. Another
cause of tourism is that amongst middle-class families there is a high tendency to travel and
experience other places' culture (Milano et al., 2020. pp. 113-131). The low cost of travel,
seasonal travel, limited popular destinations, easy accessibility in bookings and trade
associations all lead to an increase in tourism. Over tourism has been accepted for many years as
a major persistent issue but due to the problems associated it has now been a major cause of
concern because these destinations supported destination marketing Organisations (DMO) to
attract tourists. Tourism has once again become a concern, particularly after the rebound of
international travel post pandemic as tourism is directly related to the ongoing success of many
economies around the world; it boosts the revenue of the economy creating thousands of jobs,
and culture exchange between foreigners and citizens. Geo-tagging has also been responsible for
the sudden spike in tourism (Benner, 2020. pp. 3653). Another reason why there is the
occurrence of over tourism includes that government makes a percentage of their revenue by
relying on tourism, so to gain profits they invest a lot in the infrastructure of the country which
attracts tourists, also people these days are involved in cultural exchange programs in huge
amount showing a keen interest to learn about a new culture. One can avoid the contribution to
over-tourism by travelling in smaller groups, supporting local businesses, executing radical
policy measures that break the over-tourism cycle, setting up awareness campaigns, introducing
high entry fees, encouraging sustainable travel practices and prioritising less explored locations
along with low impact activities (Hassan and Sharma, 2021). Another way to avoid over-tourism

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is destination management which includes limiting visitor numbers, introducing tourist taxes,
restricting pre-booking for popular destinations and travelling to places that promote sustainable
and ethical travel.

Over tourism has spread widely in popular destinations and has been greatly aggravated which is
leading to protests by residents. Public outrage in Egypt majorly in the heart of the capital,
Cairo is considered a major cause of concern with the growing tourism industry as it is causing a
threat to city's cultural heritage. Tourism represents negative impacts which are major reasons
for dissatisfaction among the residents (Ragab et al., 2021. pp. 49-57). Majorly the cultural
heritage and environmental aspects of tourism are associated with popular destinations, first is
the alienation of residents that can be a result of rising noise, rents and crowding leading to
increases in prices and pressure of daily living along with leakage of economic benefits. Second
is the degradation of tourist experiences, due to long queues and waiting periods. Damage to
nature and overload on local infrastructure creates pressure as services used by tourists such as
transport and hygiene create major challenges to be faced that are associated with energy
consumption and waste management (Hristov et al., 2021. pp. 59-66). Egypt is recently facing
problems regarding heritage major causes are human actions and climate change, political
instability, globalisation, lack of tourism development and social changes all contributing erosion
of Egyptian culture and social identity. The Giza plateau has been a protected UNESCO site
since the year 1979; the lack of security has caused the damage over these years causing it to
encroach closer and closer to itself. Over-tourism has also caused the long pedestrianised road
that stretches through the plateau to be joined across by two large car parks causing a threat to
Egypt's cultural and historical heritage (Dodds and Butler, 2024. pp.34-43). Integrating
sustainability initiatives has developed the concept smart tourism destination. Challenges
that need to be overcome to move Egypt towards smart sustainability management include
communication networks, and all the hotels to obtain environmentally friendly green certificates.
In cities in Egypt like Sharm El-Sheikh initiatives such as environmentally friendly means of
transport, footpaths and bicycles are developed contributing to smart sustainability (Kodaş and
Kodas, 2021. pp.111-127). Smart Destination is built based on innovation and sustainability that
not only improve the tourism experience but enhance the overall tourism development.

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Ethical Tourism is a type of tourism that benefits people and their surrounding environment in
different destinations. Ethical tourism is a form of responsible tourism that is concerned about
the effects of tourist actions on the environment, local residents and local economy; it's a concept
that has been developed in response to an evaluation of mass tourism at various destinations.
Ethical tourism is important as it considers the impact of actions on three pillars of sustainable
development that is the environment, economy and society (Nicolaides, 2020. pp. 1-16).
Sustainability in tourism is crucial as it aims to preserve resources for future generations as local
communities depend on the resources available in the environment for sustained growth. It also
assures longevity and viability promoting local economic development. The tourism industry is
expanding at a fast pace. In this context, numerous ethical issues need to be pondered upon.
These issues are enlisted below, Firstly distribution of income, which is not distributed evenly
causes economic leakage as most of the wealth goes to large Western corporations (Saarinen,
2021. pp. 6599). The other negative economic impact that is seen is gentrification, due to which
local inhabitants are now homeless as the cost of living has now risen and they cannot afford it.
Other ethical issues include children and women exploitation, environmental destruction and
cultural impacts. One example of ethical tourism is cultural tourism, it is the act of travellers
visiting a particular destination to experience and learn about a particular culture, this will
include many activities such as visiting museums, attending events and festivals and tasting local
food and drinks, languages and customs (Jamal and Higham, 2021. pp.1-15). One of the major
aims of cultural heritage tourism is to develop sustainable economies by communicating with
local Organisations enhancing job and business opportunities. Economic and cultural
development is magnified by allowing people to work together to induce community satisfaction
as a part of cultural heritage tourism it also protects natural and cultural resources which
improves the quality of life for residents and travellers who participate in the services and
attractions (Ruhanen and Whitford, 2021. pp.1-15). Various studies have shown that travellers
are more satisfied and found more suitable to travel to places that have a strong community
identity.

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Responsible and Ethical tourism must be incorporated as Egypt tourism is focused greatly
on ancient civilization, culture and heritage. The impact of ethical tourism is seen in both in
environmental and wildlife sectors. To maximize the Sustainable tourism experience among the
tourists a lot of challenges and opportunities need to be addressed. All resorts around the coast
have protected some areas; a no-go for local people (Haiying, 2020. pp. 202-205).Over the years
many initiatives were taken by the government to establish sustainability such as new road
infrastructures that have been developed to reduce traffic fluidity. This new infrastructure will
allow more land to be available for the agricultural sector and hence an increase in exports of
agricultural produce. Asserting Smart sustainability practices sets the framework of a
digitally–-driven model of urban development that will finally lead to the attainment of goals
towards a beneficial environment (El-Motasem et al., 2021. pp. 3317-3329). Cities in Egypt
show features that support the transition to smart sustainability, for example, Sharm El-Sheikh,
have the infrastructure of road and transport networks that include environment-friendly means
of transport. Sharm El-Sheikh stands out from other cities as a tourist destination in terms of
environmentally friendly hotels and high-speed internet. Smart cities are now in line with Egypt's
sustainable development strategy and Egypt's vision 2030, by initiating technology and artificial
intelligence. The challenges faced by tourists in Egypt involve language barriers, navigating
crowded urban areas, cultural sensitivity and personal safety (Ali, 2022. pp. 2774). Smart
sustainability application includes the building of policies needed for digital transformation. To
bring changes to Egypt's vision for 2030 include projects related to the communication and
technology sector that aim towards making Egypt a global digital hub that eventually maximizes
the use of undersea cables, and supports various projects namely; high-speed internet project,
Suez Canal development project and construction of the new cities (Elgohary, 2022. pp. 71-106).
To enhance the quality of life of local communities a shift towards renewable and clean energy
has been kept a priority for example, the construction of Benban solar power plant in Aswan
and the establishment of the famous wind farm in Jabal al-Zayt one of the renewable and clean
sources of energy also contributing to preserving migratory birds as the radars sense the bird
movement and turbines stop as birds cross these areas. Transportation Advancement was also
made by the expansion of use of smart electric buses and bicycles (Ragheb et al., 2022. pp.
101520). Egypt is said to have the potential to become a smart and sustainable tourism
destination if these practices are optimised regularly.

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Conclusion
It can be concluded that principles of sustainable tourism and awareness regarding ethical
tourism have developed and impacted the tourism industry to a great extent. Egypt being the
most visited city deals with growing pressure as a consequence of mass tourism by invention,
initiation and adapting smart sustainability practices this will support and maintain the overall
well-being of its ecosystem and residents. Though measures and policies have been adapted to
control tourism still challenges of smart sustainability need to be addressed accurately.
Accordingly, some recommendations must be commenced to control tourism and encourage
sustainable tourism which involves training courses that promote professionalism making the
tourism industry more attractive, this will directly encourage these tourism professionals to
contribute to a green environment that will equally spread awareness among residents as well.
Lastly, the main objective of the tourism sector in Egypt is to evolve a sustainable, ethical and
eco-responsible form of tourism, the current situation requires more planning to achieve
environmental transition and gradually succeed in overall profound transformation.

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