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Impact of tourism in coastal areas: Need of sustainable tourism strategy

This article discusses the current status of coastal tourism , the associated issues and impacts. The article further provides recommendations for future management of coastal tourism.

  • 1 Introduction
  • 2.1 Causes of coastal degradation
  • 3.1 Tourist infrastructure
  • 3.2 Careless resorts, operators, and tourists
  • 5.1 Environmental impacts
  • 5.2 Impacts on biodiversity
  • 5.3 Socio-cultural impacts
  • 6.1 Economic benefits
  • 6.2 Environmental Management and Planning benefits
  • 6.3 Socio-cultural benefits
  • 7.1 Analysis of status-quo
  • 7.2 Strategy development
  • 7.3 Action plan
  • 8 Conclusions
  • 9.1 External links
  • 9.2 Internal Links
  • 10 References

Introduction

Since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, there is increasing awareness of the importance of sustainable forms of tourism. Although tourism , one of the world largest industries, was not the subject of a chapter in Agenda 21 , the Programme for the further implementation of Agenda 21, adopted by the General Assembly at its nineteenth special session in 1997, included sustainable tourism as one of its sectoral themes. Furthermore in 1996, The World Tourism Organization jointly with the tourism private sector issued an Agenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism Industry, with 19 specific areas of action recommended to governments and private operators towards sustainability in tourism.

On the other hand, an analysis of the sustainability policies, strategies and instruments of 21 European countries revealed a gap between good theoretical approaches and the general willingness to support a sustainable tourism development and the realisation of it, and concluded that in hardly any of the countries is sustainable tourism put in the centre of the national tourism policy as a priority area [1] .

Specific situation of coastal areas

Coastal areas are transitional areas between the land and sea characterized by a very high biodiversity. They include some of the richest and most fragile ecosystems on earth, like mangroves and coral reefs . At the same time, coasts are under very high population pressure due to rapid urbanization processes. More than half of today’s world population live in coastal areas (within 60 km from the sea) and this number is on the rise.

Additionally, among all different parts of the planet, coastal areas are those which are most visited by tourists and in many coastal areas tourism presents the most important economic activity. In the Mediterranean region for example, tourism is the first economic activity for islands like Cyprus, Malta, the Balearic Islands and Sicily.

Forecast studies carried out by WTO in 2000 estimated that international tourist arrivals to the Mediterranean coast would amount to 270 millions in 2010 and to 346 millions in 2020. However, the latter figure was reached already in 2015 [2] .

Causes of coastal degradation

Tourisms often contributes to coastal degradation. There are many other causes:

  • Coastal zone urbanization
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Port development and shipping
  • Land reclamation
  • Land-use conversion (Agriculture, Industrial development)
  • Climate change and sea level rise

See also Threats to the coastal zone .

How does tourism damage coastal environment

Massive influxes of tourists, often to a relatively small area, have a huge impact. They add to the pollution, waste, and water needs of the local population, putting local infrastructure and habitats under enormous pressure. For example, 85% of the 1.8 million people who visit Australia's Great Barrier Reef are concentrated in two small areas, Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands, which together have a human population of about 130,000.

Tourist infrastructure

In many areas, massive new tourist infrastructure has been built - including airports, marinas, resorts, and golf courses. Overdevelopment for tourism has the same problems as other coastal developments, but often has a greater impact as the tourist developments are located at or near fragile marine ecosystems . A few examples:

  • mangrove forests and seagrass meadows have been removed to create open beaches;
  • tourist developments such as piers and other structures have been built directly on top of coral reefs ;
  • nesting sites for endangered marine turtles have been destroyed and disturbed by large numbers of tourists on the beaches.

Careless resorts, operators, and tourists

The damage is not only due to the construction of tourist infrastructure. Some tourist resorts empty their sewage and other wastes directly into water surrounding coral reefs and other sensitive marine habitats . Recreational activities also have a strong impact. For example, careless boating, diving, snorkeling, and fishing have substantially damaged coral reefs in many parts of the world, through people touching reefs, stirring up sediment , and dropping anchors. Marine animals such as whale sharks, seals, dugongs, dolphins, whales, and birds are also disturbed by increased numbers of boats, and by people approaching too closely. Tourism can also add to the consumption of seafood in an area, putting pressure on local fish populations and sometimes contributing to overfishing. Collection of corals, shells, and other marine souvenirs - either by individual tourists, or local people who then sell the souvenirs to tourists - also has a detrimental effect on the local environment.

The case of cruise ship tourism

tourism development coastal areas

Cruise ship tourism is a fast growing sector of the tourism industry during the past decades. While world international tourist arrivals in the period 1990 – 1999 grew at an accumulative annual rate of 4.2%, that of cruises did by 7.7%. In 1990 there were 4.5 million international cruise arrivals which had increased to a number of 8.7 million in 1999 and to 27 million in 2019, with gross economic benefits estimated at $150 billion in direct, indirect and induced economic benefits [3] [4] . From the 1980s to 2018, the global cruise fleet grew from 79 to 369 vessels operating worldwide, and the average cruise ship size and capacity grew from 19.000 to 60.000 gross registered tonnage (GRT). Carrying on average 4,000 passengers and 1,670 crew, these enormous floating towns are a major source of marine pollution through the dumping of garbage and untreated sewage at sea, and the release of other shipping-related pollutants.

Problems caused by cruise tourism are ubiquitous and well-documented, especially for small island nations and the Mediterranean [5] [6] .

  • Discharge of sewage in marinas and nearshore coastal areas . The lack of adequate port reception facilities for solid waste, especially in many small islands, as well as the frequent lack of garbage storing facilities on board can result in solid wastes being disposed of at sea, and being transported by wind and currents to shore often in locations distant from the original source of the material.
  • Coral reefs. Land-based activities such as port development and the dredging that inevitably accompanies it in order to receive cruise ships with sometimes more than 3000 passengers can significantly degrade coral reefs through the build-up of sediment . Furthermore, sand mining at the beaches leads to coastal erosion . In the Cayman Islands damage has been done by cruise ships dropping anchor on the reefs. Scientists have acknowledged that more than 300 acres of coral reef have already been lost to cruise ship anchors in the harbour at George Town, the capital of Grand Cayman.
  • Socio-cultural impacts. Cruise-ship tourism can produce socio-cultural stress, since it means that during very short periods there is high influx of people, sometimes more than the local inhabitants of small islands, possibly overrunning local communities. Vital resources such as food, energy, land, water, etc. may become depleted.
  • Ship emissions. Fuel-based cruise ships currently produce large amounts of greenhouse gases. The gradual replacement is only now starting. From the approximately 100 new builds planned up to 2027, one-fifth are LNG powered, corresponding to 39% of the new tonnage and 41% of the added capacity [7] .

Cruise tourism is often ascribed as hedonistic. However, a positive effect of expedition cruise tourism is its educational and awareness-creation potential for sustainability values and issues. It can transform a ‘sense of place’ to a ‘care of place’, encouraging tourists and locals to assume more responsibility [8] .

Impacts of coastal tourism

tourism development coastal areas

Environmental impacts

  • The intensive use of land by tourism and leisure facilities
  • Overuse of water resources, especially groundwater, leading to soil subsidence and saline intrusion
  • Changes in the landscape due to the construction of infrastructure, buildings and facilities
  • Vulnerability to natural hazards and sea level rise
  • Pollution of marine and freshwater resources
  • Energy demand and consumption
  • Air pollution and waste
  • Disturbance of fauna and local people (for example, by noise)
  • Loss of marine resources due to destruction of coral reefs , overfishing
  • Compaction and sealing of soils, soil degradation due to overuse of fertilizers and loss of land resources (e.g. desertification , erosion )
  • Loss of public access

Impacts on biodiversity

Tourism can cause loss of biodiversity in many ways, e.g. by competing with wildlife for habitat and natural resources or by providing pathways for the introduction of alien species. Negative impacts on biodiversity are caused by various other factors, such as those mentioned above.

Socio-cultural impacts

Change of local identity and values:

  • Commercialization of local culture: Tourism can turn local culture into commodities when religious traditions, local customs and festivals are reduced to conform to tourist expectations and resulting in what has been called "reconstructed ethnicity".
  • Standardization: Destinations risk standardization in the process of tourists desires and satisfaction: while landscape, accommodation, food and drinks, etc., must meet the tourists expectation for the new and unfamiliar situation. They must at the same time not be too new or strange because few tourists are actually looking for completely new things. This factor damages the variation and beauty of diverse cultures.
  • Adaptation to tourist demands: Tourists want to collect souvenirs, arts, crafts, cultural manifestations. In many tourist destinations, craftsmen have responded to the growing demand and have made changes in the design of their products to make them more attractive to the new customers. Cultural erosion may occur in the process of commercializing cultural traditions.

Cultural clashes may arise through:

  • Economic inequality - between locals and tourists who are spending more than they usually do at home.
  • Irritation due to tourist behaviour - Tourists often, out of ignorance or carelessness, fail to respect local customs and moral values.
  • Job level friction - due to a lack of professional training, many low-paid tourism-jobs go to local people while higher-paying and more prestigious managerial jobs go to foreigners or "urbanized" nationals.

Benefits of Sustainable coastal tourism

Economic benefits.

tourism development coastal areas

The main positive economic impacts of sustainable (coastal) tourism are: contributions to government revenues, foreign exchange earnings, generation of employment and business opportunities. Employing over 3.2 million people, coastal tourism generates a total of € 183 billion in gross value added and represents over one third of the maritime economy of the European Union. As much as 51% of bed capacity in hotels across Europe is concentrated in regions with a sea border [10] .

Contribution to government revenues Government revenues from the tourism sector can be categorised as direct and indirect contributions. Direct contributions are generated by income taxes from tourism and employment due to tourism, tourism businesses and by direct charges on tourists such as ecotax. Indirect contributions derive from taxes and duties on goods and services supplied to tourists, for example, taxes on tickets (or entry passes to any protected areas), souvenirs, alcohol, restaurants, hotels, service of tour operators.

Foreign exchange earnings Tourism expenditures, the export and import of related goods and services generate income to the host economy. Tourism is a main source of foreign exchange earnings for at least 38 % of all countries.

Employment generation The rapid expansion of international tourism has led to significant employment creation. Tourism can generate jobs directly through hotels, restaurants, taxis, souvenir sales and indirectly through the supply of goods and services needed by tourism-related businesses (e.g. conducted tour operators). Tourism represents around 7 % of the world’s employees. Tourism can influence the local government to improve the infrastructure by creating better water and sewage systems, roads, electricity, telephone and public transport networks. All this can improve the standard of living for residents as well as facilitate tourism.

Contribution to local economies Tourism can be a significant or even an essential part of the local economy. As environment is a basic component of the tourism industry’s assets, tourism revenues are often used to measure the economic value of protected areas. Part of the tourism income comes from informal employment, such as street vendors and informal guides. The positive side of informal or unreported employment is that the money is returned to the local economy and has a great multiplier effect as it is spent over and over again. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) estimates that tourism generates an indirect contribution equal to 100 % of direct tourism expenditures.

Direct financial contributions to nature protection Tourism can contribute directly to the conservation of sensitive areas and habitats . Revenue from park-entrance fees and similar sources can be allocated specifically to pay for the protection and management of environmentally sensitive areas. Some governments collect money in more far-reaching and indirect ways that are not linked to specific parks or conservation areas. User fees, income taxes, taxes on sales or rental of recreation equipment and license fees for activities such as hunting and fishing can provide governments with the funds needed to manage natural resources.

Competitive advantage More and more tour operators take an active approach towards sustainability. Not only because consumers expect them to do so but also because they are aware that intact destinations are essential for the long term survival of the tourism industry. More and more tour operators prefer to work with suppliers who act in a sustainable manner, e.g. saving water and energy, respecting the local culture and supporting the well-being of local communities. In 2000 the international Tour Operators initiative for Sustainable Tourism was founded with the support of UNEP. In 2014 it merged with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) .

Environmental Management and Planning benefits

Sound and efficient environmental management of tourism facilities and especially hotels (e.g.water and energy saving measures, waste minimization, use of environmentally friendly material) can decrease the environmental impact of tourism. Planning helps to make choices between the conflicting interests of industry and tourism, in order to find ways to make them compatible. Planning sustainable tourism development strategy at an early stage prevents damages and expensive mistakes, thereby avoiding the gradual deterioration of the quality of environmental goods and services significant to tourism.

Socio-cultural benefits

Tourism as a force for peace Travelling brings people into contact with each other. As sustainable tourism has an educational element it can foster understanding between people and cultures and provide cultural exchange between guests and hosts. This increases the chances for people to develop mutual sympathy, tolerance and understanding and to reduce prejudices and promote the sense of global brotherhood.

Strengthening communities Sustainable Coastal Tourism can add to the vitality of communities in many ways. For example through events and festivals of the local communities where they have been the primary participants and spectators. Often these are refreshed, reincarnated and developed in response to tourists’ interests. The jobs created by tourism can act as a very important motivation to reduce emigration from rural areas. Local people can also increase their influence on tourism development, as well as improve their jobs and earnings prospects through tourism-related professional training and development of business and organizational skills.

Revitalization of culture and traditions Sustainable Tourism can also improve the preservation and transmission of cultural and historical traditions . Contributing to the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources can bring opportunities to protect local heritage or to revitalize native cultures, for instance by regenerating traditional arts and crafts.

Encouragement social involvement and pride In some situations, tourism also helps to raise local awareness concerning the financial value of natural and cultural sites. It can stimulate a feeling of pride in local and national heritage and interest in its conservation. More broadly, the involvement of local communities in sustainable tourism development and operation seems to be an important condition for the sustainable use and conservation of the biodiversity .

Benefits for the tourists of Sustainable Tourism The benefits of sustainable tourism for visitors are plenty: they can enjoy unspoiled nature and landscapes, environmental quality of goods or services (clean air and water), a healthy community with low crime rate, thriving and authentic local culture and traditions.

Sustainable Tourism Strategy

The sustainable management of tourism is a complex managerial undertaking, requiring the involvement of multiple stakeholder groups, at local, regional and international levels. It entails a large set of actors and stakeholders, ranging from tour operators, industry associations and NGOs to local public authorities, businesses and independent small vendors. Indirectly, ‘producing holiday experiences’ involves entire communities and is subject to a multiplicity of motives, interests and perspectives [7] . In other words, the tourism economy consists of an entire network of institutional and business actors, that should be engaged in sustainable practices through rules and incentives.

Below a few steps are listed for the development and implementation of a strategy for sustainable tourism.

Analysis of status-quo

  • Analysis of previous tourism management strategies for the specific area: What can be used? Has it been implemented? Which lessons are to be learnt?
  • A stakeholder analysis: Who has an interest in sustainable tourism development? Who are the main actors?
  • Facts and figures of the local educational system, economic and social structure
  • Anecdotal and traditional knowledge

This information can be collected through

  • Interviews with stakeholders
  • Questionnaires distributed and collected by e-mail, fax or personally in order to compile standardised data and perform a statistical analysis
  • Participation in focus group meetings (e.g. meetings on environmental education, biodiversity management, good governance and fisheries)
  • Literature search (including the local library)

Strategy development

A Sustainable Tourism Strategy is based on the information collected. It defines the priority issues, the stakeholder community, the potential objectives and a set of methodologies to reach these objectives. These include:

  • Conservation of specific coastal landscapes or habitats that make the area attractive or protected under nature conservation legislation
  • Development of regionally specific sectors of the economy that can be interlinked with the tourism sector (e.g. production of food specialities and handicrafts)
  • Maximising local revenues from tourism investments
  • Enabling self-determined cultural development in the region, etc.

Action plan

The Action Plan describes the steps needed to implement the strategy and addresses a number of practical questions such as: which organizations will take up which activities, over what time frame, by what means and with which resources? As the actions have to be considered on the basis of regional circumstances, there is no standard action plan for all. However, Action Plans usually include measures in the following fields:

  • Administration: e.g. promotion of co-operation between sectors and of cross-sectorial development models; involving local people in drafting tourism policy and decisions
  • Socio-economical sector: e.g. promoting local purchasing of food and building material; setting up networks of local producers for better marketing; development of new products to meet the needs of tourists, etc.
  • Environment: e.g. improving control and enforcement of environmental standards (noise, drinking water, bathing water, waste-water treatment, etc.); identification and protection of endangered habitats; creation of buffer zones around sensitive natural areas; prohibition of environmentally harmful sports in jeopardised regions; strict application of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment procedures on all tourism related projects and programs
  • Knowledge: training people involved in coastal tourism about the value of historical heritage; environmental management; training protected area management staff in nature interpretation; raising environmental awareness among the local population; introducing a visitors information programme (including environmental information)

Conclusions

During the last century, the role of beaches has completely reversed: they have become the driving force behind economic welfare instead of just being an inhospitable place. Demographic pressure, excessive land use and related factors, both in the hinterland (e.g. river dams, water diversion) and on the beach itself (e.g. hard coastal protection structures , sand/coral mining), have led to a general decrease in the contribution of sediments to the maintenance of the beaches and foreshores. It is hard to find a unique solution for all those problems. However, the following points are essential:

  • The implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management
  • A better dissemination of the existing information should be achieved. For that purpose, a better coordination of the existing governmental bodies that deal with coastal management is necessary
  • Improvement of environmental education is a precondition for sustainable development of the coast

External links

https://www.gstcouncil.org/ The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is managing the GSTC Criteria, global standards for sustainable travel and tourism; as well as providing international accreditation for sustainable tourism Certification Bodies.

Internal Links

  • Coastal pollution and impacts
  • Threats to the coastal zone
  • ↑ Dickhut, H. and Tenger, A. (eds.) 2022. Review and Analysis of Policies, Strategies and Instruments for Boosting Sustainable Tourism in Europe. European SME Going Green 2030 Report, p. 505
  • ↑ https://www.f-cca.com/downloads/2018-Cruise-Industry-Overview-and-Statistics.pdf 2018 Cruise Industry Overview]
  • ↑ Papathanassis, A. 2022. Cruise tourism. In D. Buhalis (ed), Encyclopedia of Tourism Management and Marketing. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 687–690
  • ↑ Moscovici, D. (2017) Environmental Impacts of Cruise Ships on Island Nations, Peace Review, 29: 366-373
  • ↑ Caric, H. and Mackelworth, P, (2014) Cruise tourism environmental impacts – The perspective from the Adriatic Sea. Ocean & Coastal Management. 102: 350-363
  • ↑ 7.0 7.1 Papathanassis, A. 2023. A decade of ‘blue tourism’ sustainability research: Exploring the impact of cruise tourism on coastal areas. Cambridge Prisms: Coastal Futures 1: 1–11
  • ↑ Walker, K. and Moscardo, G. 2016. Moving beyond sense of place to care of place: The role of indigenous values and interpretation in promoting transformative change in tourists’ place images and personal values. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 24: 1243–1261
  • ↑ International Tourism Highlights (2019) https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284421152
  • ↑ Ecorys (2016) Study on specific challenges for a sustainable development of coastal and maritime tourism in Europe EC Maritime Affairs
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Home Numéros 9-10 Integrating Sustainable Tourism D...

Integrating Sustainable Tourism Development in Coastal and Marine Zone Environment

Tourism in marine and coastal areas is a complex phenomenon. Tourism in coastal areas brings along both positive and negative effects on the environment as a result of activities exerted upon such areas by proponents and tourists. While tourism development results in the modification of coastal environments, it can also flourish where such environments are left unmodified as the pristine nature of the environments attract visitors. Alternatively, in order for marine and coastal tourism to develop and continue to attract tourists, there is the need for an integrated approach that can be translated into a sustainable coastal tourism development. The aim of this paper therefore, is to postulate and develop a framework and guideline to be addressed by decision-makers for coastal areas. Frameworks for sustainable coastal tourism development and coastal zone management (CZM) are suggested taking into account the multifaceted nature of the coastal environment. Although Hong Kong epitomizes a successful tourism destination, alternative tourism is attractive as the diversity of habitats and life forms makes the Hong Kong coastal area unique. For the ecological richness to continue to provide avenues for alternative tourism, it is argued that such frameworks should be adaptable and implemented for a sustainable coastal tourism policy.

La gestion des processus touristique dans des secteurs marins et côtiers est complexe. Les pratiques touristiques et récréatives s’accompagnent d’effets positifs et négatifs sur l'environnement. Le développement de tourisme peut s’épanouir sur des environnements faiblement modifiés mais il n’est pas sans conséquence sur la modification des environnements côtiers. Une gestion intégrée s’impose pour intégrer les pratiques touristiques dans un processus de développement côtier soutenable. Le but de cet article est de proposer un cadre et une orientation pour la gestion intégrée des secteurs côtiers. Des cadres pour le développement côtier soutenable de tourisme et la gestion côtière de zone (CZM) sont suggérés en tenant compte de la nature diversifiée des environnements côtiers. Bien que Hong Kong constitue destination touristique réussie, le tourisme littoral, avec des approches alternatives, est aussi un aspect à promouvoir tant autour de la diversité des habitats et que des formes de vie qui rendent le littoral d’Hong Kong unique.

Index terms

Keywords : , keywords: , geographical index: , introduction.

1 For long, tourism has been associated with sea, sand and sun, often referred to as the 3S. The 3S’s are attributable to the coastal and marine environment. As a result of this, tourism is also significantly associated with the coastal environment. It has been established that tourism is environmentally dependent (Wong, 1993). Indeed, the unique character of coastal environment gives to various types of tourism development. While tourism is a component of integrated approaches towards coastal and marine management, the natural environment and tourism are inextricably linked (Mason, 2003).

2 Although the rise in travel and the trend of tourism development particularly the notion of the 3S has given rise to mass tourism, the growing dissatisfaction with this trend has resulted in tourists seeking for alternative tourism. It was the recognition of the problems caused by conventional mass tourism activities that increased the interest of researchers, planners and decision makers in alternative forms of tourism. However, the concept of alternative tourism is broad and vague. But alternative tourism pays special attention to the environment and the needs of people coming to enjoy such environments. Furthermore, alternative tourism is said to be considerate, value conscious, qualitative, defensive, planned, locally controlled etc. (Jarviluoma, 1992).

3 The onset and promotion of alternative tourism has increasingly made the coastal environment attractive. The coastal area, particularly the interface of land and water is endowed with numerous aspects and opportunities for alternative tourism, specifically adventure, marine and ecotourism. Given the significance of coastal areas and the opportunities that they provide, their continuous use will hinge upon sustainable use as many coastal communities depend on healthy coastal ecosystems for sustenance, livelihood and quality of life. For this environment to be continuously maintained, researchers and decision makers should ensure that there is no over exploitation, no excessive pollution and that there is no irreversible damage resulting from over exploitation, overdevelopment as well as tourism activities.

4 Globally, coastal areas are densely populated making the environment (both core and peripheral) increasingly vulnerable. The vulnerability of such environments is a result of many sources of activities of which tourism is a key player. For these areas to continue to be useful and support such numerous activities, sustainable tourism and its derivatives need to be encouraged and promoted. Sustainable coastal tourism development and indeed numerous measures that will seek to integrate and manage the coastal areas may help resolve the imminent conflict of societal demands. Sustainable development and particularly sustainable tourism development when properly implemented can help create long-term opportunities for coastal tourism to prosper while enacting effective environmental protection policies. Indeed for tourism and livelihood to continue to flourish in the coastal areas, there has to be a continuous provision of good quality coastal ecosystems particularly coastal waters. Although as in sustainable development there is also a number of views on sustainable tourism (Mason, 2003), Swarbrooke (1999) suggested a number of perspectives in which it is clear that the environment is more, or less central in the concept of sustainable tourism.

5 In Hong Kong as in other coastal cities, tourism constitutes a significant factor in the transformation of the coastal environment. In fact, the transformation experienced by coastal cities of Asia (of which Hong Kong plays a leading role) centres in the coastal environmental areas themselves (Yeung, 2001). Top on the list of coastal resource is that they harbour beaches and backshore areas which provide amenity for recreation and tourism (Beatly et al ., 1994). Others include coastal scenery, habitats for flora and fauna, geological exposures and coastal landforms. Furthermore, the coastal environment provides a multifold of resources for water sports and a plethora of coastal habitats some of which are important components for the viable promotion of alternative tourism.

6 As most coastal areas are home to over 50% of the world population, the additional millions of tourists visiting these areas add to the growing environmental concern. The rapidly growing population in coastal areas and the increasing number of visitors deserves further attention than it currently receives. Coastal environments are under increasing pressure and their problems can no longer be avoided or deferred. For long, coastal tourism represents the interaction of human systems (tourism and relevant infrastructure development) and environmental systems (coastal and other processes) whose interactions result in a wide array of human and environmental aspects often resulting in many repercussions.

7 While there is increasing recognition of the (coastal) environment as a tourism resource, there is also the need to consider the sustainability of that environment as it continues to open up to the full gamut of tourism activities. This paper intends to focus attention on sustainable tourism development in coastal areas with Hong Kong as an example. The objective is to highlight the increasing vulnerability of coastal environment to tourism and attempt to recommend regulatory frameworks akin to the integrated coastal planning and management (ICPM) and integrated coastal zone planning (ICZP) models for possible adaptation as tools for sustainable coastal zone management with tourism as a backbone. The paper will categorize coastal resources and identify prospects for adopting them for ecotourism, alternative tourism and marine tourism.

1. Sustainable Tourism and Coastal tourism development

8 Although there are many studies on coastal tourism, they tend to emphasize on the tourism system rather than on the interaction of the tourism and environmental systems (Wong, 1993). As tourism is growing and diversifying into various forms of alternative tourism, there is the need to incorporate the concept of sustainable tourism in order to allow the tourist to enjoy the coastal environments that attracted them in the first place.

9 However, the coastal environment is complex and where tourism (in any form) constitutes a key player of the economy it fosters uncertain interactions between environmental and socio-economic processes. The complexity in interactions and the need for sustainability have increasingly become significant elements in the formulation and development frameworks all over the world (Gheorghe, 2001). Indeed complexity and uncertainty play important roles in the development of coastal tourism and its management. The integration of environmental and socio-economic processes where tourism flourishes will help “develop and maintain 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 (human and physical) in which it exists to such a degree that it prohibits the successful development and well-being of other activities and processes” (Butler, 1993, p. 29). It is thus clear that like sustainable development, sustainable tourism indeed evolved specifically as a result of concern for the environment.

10 Earlier, Timmerman and White (1997) had indicated that coastal cities consists of two separate and co-evolving ecosystems, one artificial and built centred on the part lived by people and the other natural that comes with its elements and resources. While tourism generates considerable socio-economic benefits, it can also be a source of irreversible damage to the environment. For tourism to continue to flourish in a coastal area, environment and tourism research need to be integrated in order to maintain environmental integrity leading to continuous benefits as a result of from tourism development.

11 Already, a framework for sustainable tourism development is seen as leading to the management of all resources in such a way that it can fulfill economic, social and aesthetic, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems (Swarbrooke, 1999; Ross and Wall, 2001). But sustainable tourism and its other derivatives need to be understood in the context of conceptualization, promotion and implementation especially in coastal areas.

12 Sustainable coastal development implies new respect for environmental and ecological limits, a goal of living off the ecological interest while protecting the principal, a new orientation toward the future and toward adopting a long-term planning and management timeframe. Indeed, sustainable coastal development implies an attempt to promote greater livability and an equitable and just distribution of resources and opportunities in the coastal zone (Beatley, et al., 1994). As tourism plays an important role in most communities, it needs to be refocused. Current trends need to be revisited, potentials need to be unraveled and alternatives need to be created and promoted. The onus is on academics, researchers, policy and decision makers as well as participants to make sustainable coastal tourism development adaptable and implementable.

13 Furthermore, for the successful implementation of tourism in the coastal and marine environment, the challenges are cross-sectoral and indeed multifaceted. For a prudent resource management, approaches have to be multidisciplinary. The bottom line of the policy that can enhance sustainability of coastal and marine resources for tourism activities is the need to ensure socio-economic values to the people, preservation of rich marine biodiversity and the enhancement of quality of life.

2. Coastal and Marine environment in Hong Kong: Parks and Reserves

14 Hong Kong is situated between latitudes 22 o 09’ and 22 o 37’N, and longitudes 113 o 52’ and 114 o 30’E, on the southern coast of China. The total area of Hong Kong is about 1100 sq Km and it accommodates over 260 Islands adding up to more than 800 km of coastline with its territorial waters extending over 1827 sq Km (Liu and Hills, 1997). Some of the islands found within Hong Kong waters, particularly where there is evidence of human habitation, can provide a wide array of attractions that can be based on their characteristic history, which is tied to the coastal area or seaward activities and scenic coastal environments.

15 In addition to the numerous structures that provide convenience for tourism, Hong Kong is endowed with natural coastal and marine resources that could be used for provision and development of alternative tourism including marine tourism and ecotourism. In addition to the availability of natural resources, the government had designed and developed marine parks and created reserves for the purposes of protection and conservation. Generally, protected coastal areas and by analogy marine protected areas are continuously used as mechanisms for conservation of habitats and ecosystems, research and education and increasingly for tourism and recreation. (Orams, 1999) While all these are applicable to the context of the Hong Kong coastal environment, in-depth studies on these resources and their contribution for sustainable tourism has not been adequately documented.

16 Sustainable tourism in its purest sense is an industry which attempts to exert low impact on the environment and culture of the hosting community, while helping them to generate income, employment, and conserve the local ecosystems and cultural heritage (Wall, 1997; Swarbrooke, 1999; UNEP, 2003) that constitutes attractions to visitors. While Hong Kong stands out as a modern megalopolis, it similarly has the necessary resource upon which alternative tourism can be developed that will function on the aegis of sustainable tourism. In addition, there are about four marine parks and one marine reserve. Although these resources are now open to the public and attract ecotourists, nature adventurists and those seeking different experiences, it is clear that a growing number of visitors are environmentally and ecologically conscious (Marafa, 2003).

17 More and more people are now able to access more and more of the marine world (Orams, 1997). As Orams indicated, increasing access mean increasing use which in turn implies increasing pressure on the quality of marine resources. Although this is the case, where marine environment falls within the ambit of protected area system, it might provoke curiosity and generate interest in visitation making such areas similarly vulnerable to degradation. Indeed it is this issue of deterioration of coastal and marine ecosystem that called for the designation of such areas as natural, protected and resource areas in Hong Kong. While bucolic rural marine environments are receiving attention, areas that are within the built environment are subjected to development of infrastructure for coastal and marine tourism. Projects that specifically target the occupied coastal areas include revitalization of water fronts (Photographies a and b), seasonal festivals and the concentration of water based activities leading to the enhancement of quality of life and increase in visitor numbers.

18 The Marine Parks Ordinance in Hong Kong was enacted in 1995 paving the way for the establishment of the marine protected areas. It was meant to protect and manage ecologically important parts of the marine environment for the purposes of conservation, education and recreation (Figure 1). Up till now, four marine parks and one marine reserve have been designated, covering areas ranging from 20 to over 1200 ha. The first batch of the marine parks and marine reserve were designated in July 1996 and include Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park, Yan Chau Tong Marine Park, Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park and the Cape D'Aguilar Marine Reserve (Table 1). In addition, 32 coastal SSSIs have since been identified (Liu and Hills 1997).

19 Although the primary reason for the creation of marine parks and reserves in Hong Kong was to enhance protection and conservation of biodiversity, growing interest and visitation has exposed them to marine and ecotourism activities. Indeed the establishment of the marine parks was needed to enhance the protection of marine habitats, maintain biodiversity and help increase the population of endangered plants and animals. In order for the marine parks to be sustainably managed and to continue to provide the various functions that they were designated to serve, a framework for multiple use approach can be adopted.

Photographies a and b.

Photographies a and b.

Figure 1. The protected area systeme : Marine Parks, Marine Reserve and Ramsar Site in Hong Kong

Figure 1. The protected area systeme : Marine Parks, Marine Reserve and Ramsar Site in Hong Kong

20 The marine parks are located in various areas of the territory with different geological structures. They cover areas that harbour marine life made up of coral communities that are distinct from tropical reef species. The coastal habitats in Hong Kong range from rocky shores, sandy beaches, mangrove-covered coastlines, coral-fringed islands and Chinese white dolphins among others. Indeed, more than 150 commercially important species of fish, crustaceans and mollusks, and some 50 species of corals have been recorded in Hong Kong territorial waters.

Table 1. The protected marine environment in Hong Kong

21 The variations and differences in hydrography, extensive and deeply incised coastline and a subtropical climate have all acted together and created an environment in which there exists a great diversity of marine flora and fauna (Liu and Hills, 1999). This is what is making these destinations attractive to visitors.

3. Integrated frameworks for development and management

22 Although there is no universally accepted model for sustainable coastal tourism development, it is clear that there is the need for adaptable frameworks to be put in place. While the coastal area is spatially variable and complex, it is these traits that signify the importance of designing and adopting a coastal zone management (CZM) framework. As most tourism development initiatives are economic in nature, they may push the coastal system beyond its resilience threshold as a result of interactions between environmental and socio-economic processes resulting from tourism activities. In fact where tourism has been a major issue in coastal areas and despite differences in locale and levels of economic development, there are strikingly similar evidences of environmental changes, mostly negative (Johnston et. al., 1991).

23 For tourism to continue to prosper in the context of coastal environments there has to be a framework for symbiosis between tourism and conservation that will basically help strike a balance between conservation and economic development both of which can be promoted by sustainable tourism development.

3.1. Framework for sustainable coastal tourism development

24 The concept of sustainable tourism came out as a result of debates surrounding issues on sustainable development. Since the debate on sustainable development became a global issue after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, it has gradually infiltrated the policy framework of many governments, organizations and agencies. While governments and agencies are seeking alternative frameworks for the maximum protection and utilization of coastal environment for tourism, it might have to be based on a framework that could embrace the concept of the 4C’s first postulated by Owen et al., (1993).

25 When slightly modified and suggested for implementation as is presented here, the four Cs will reflect the extent to which a government can 1) compromise (by striking a balance between tourism development and environmental conservation); 2) commitment (by recognizing that sustainable development and indeed sustainable tourism development requires action and less rhetoric); 3) control (by establishing a framework or plan for effective regulation of the scale and pattern of development), and 4) cooperation (by recognizing the need for partnership with both local and international dimension).

26 Along the same vein, sustainable tourism borrows heavily from the theme of sustainable development. Sustainable tourism if accepted and implemented should be along the premise that:

Tourism is firstly an economic activity which is desirable to most economies;

Whether tourism is implemented or not, the physical and cultural environments have intrinsic values which outweigh their values as tourism assets particularly where such environments support a population on coastal areas

The scale and character of tourism development should respect the character of the area;

Tourism development should be sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the host community, etc.

3.2. Framework for Coastal Zone Management (CZM)

27 Accepting the notion of sustainable tourism and with a growing need for success, researchers have been suggesting the need for further applying the integrated coastal planning and management (ICPM) and integrated coastal zone planning (ICZP) frameworks as ways of planning and managing coastal environments (Sorensen, 1993; Capobianco and Otter, 2000). As tourism is an environmental phenomenon, it stands to be boosted and sustained by adhering to the tenets of ICPM and ICZP, which together are referred to as coastal zone management (CZM) initiative in this paper.

28 Indeed, coastal management is highly complex straddling human and environmental systems resulting into conflicts in development as indicated earlier. The concept of CZM has developed from the struggle to find a mechanism to balance the demands on coastal resources, promote their sustainable use and manage individual activities including those associated with tourism. CZM is an embracing concept which encompasses aspects of resource management and the management of user enterprises and services especially when tourism plays an important aspect of the area. As there is increasing awareness of the wide range of issues facing the environment of the coastal areas, the elements of CZM are rooted in environmental concerns and have grown in parallel to calls for sustainable development.

29 As sustainable development is currently seen as a dynamic process and not a destination, management practices under the CZM are especially important for ensuing sustainable tourism development. They have the potential to succeed as they are based on a multifaceted integration of numerous frameworks capable of addressing various spheres of concern. Integrative practices and sustainable coastal tourism will include 1) provisions for the management of coastal development; 2) provisions to improve public access to the shoreline; and 3) provisions to protect (and where necessary, to restore/recreate) coastal environments. The need to work in harmony with the numerous agencies involved with the coast is therefore an important element of the task of coastal tourism managers which this framework explicitly unravels.

30 In order to resolve the growing conflicts in this zone, an integrated approach to coastal and marine management is needed to consider both current and future interests. Although many people have formulated and adapted various versions of CZM (Wong, 1998; Kohn and Gowdy, 1999; Shi et al ., 2001), an adoptable framework could be courted as follows:

31 All levels of government must be involved in coastal management plan (although the Hong Kong government has maintained a policy that recognizes the importance of the coastal environment, the Civic Exchange, a non governmental organization has recommended the formulation of an ICPM (Willmott, 2000).

32 The nature-synchronous approach to development is especially appropriate for the coastal environment (the recognition of protected areas along the wetland areas and indeed the construction of the wetland park in Hong Kong are good examples of this approach). Conservation for sustainable use is a major goal of coastal resources management. Multiple-use management is appropriate for most coastal resource systems. Multi-sector involvement is essential to sustainable use of coastal resources where civil societies, NGOs, academics and government could all work as partners.

33 This paper has highlighted the importance of the coastal area in developing sustainable tourism. Although these coastal and marine resources clearly provide amenities for tourism activities, there is the need to focus on practical concerns of environmental protection if the area will continue to serve as a viable resource for alternative tourism. Locally, although efforts have been made in designating pristine coastal areas as parks, reserves and sites of specific scientific interests (SSSIs), there has to be an enhanced framework for monitoring and management as suggested by highlighting the need for sustainable tourism development and CZM plan (Wong, 1998; Liu and Hills, 1999; Willmott, 2000).

34 The frameworks for sustainable coastal tourism development and CZM articulated and presented in this paper can be a starting point. Where this is not effective, negative environmental consequences could occur as a result of uncontrolled visitation and activities reminiscent of mass tourism. It is pertinent to note that simply getting “protected” status for an environmentally sensitive area without proper management offers little assurance of success (Johnston, et. al., 1991).

35 As many countries saw tourism as a panacea for development, many governments embraces tourism plans based simply on economic logic. Where this was done, it quickly produced negative long-term environmental impacts, destroying the resources that have attracted tourists. Although tourism is undeniably on of the pillars of Hong Kong economy, recent strategies have identified the environment as a core factor in strategic plans. As a component of alternative tourism, it is indeed the diversity of habitats and life forms especially endemic species that make Hong Kong coastal area unique. But the ecological richness is under threat from a combination of factors of which marine tourism and ecotourism are part of.

36 In Hong Kong, the designation of protected areas under the aegis of marine parks, country parks and reserves reflected a political clout with governments backing. Consequently conservation themes and management responses have similarly been initiated, albeit on site-specific areas. But there is need for further research as enumerated by the integration of coastal zone management plans and sustainable development themes. While this trend is set to continue to grow, people are now focusing more and more on ecotourism with sustainable development and sustainable tourism as ideal frameworks. But there is difficulty in finding a formula for sustainable tourism. The framework suggested here, when implemented and adhered to, could be a starting example.

Bibliography

Beatley T., Brower D.J. et al . 1994. An introduction to coastal zone management. Washington, DC. Island Press, p. 186.

Capobianco M. and Otter H. S. 2000. Uncertainty in Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Journal of Coastal Conservation , vol. 6, n° 1, p. 23-30.

Butler R. W. 1993. Tourism - an evolutionary perspective. In J. G. Nelson, R. Butler and G. Wall (Eds), Tourism and sustainable development: monitoring, planning, managing. Department of Geography Publication Series n°. 37, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, p. 27-43.

Gheorghe A.V. 2002. ASARA : As Sustainable As Reasonably Achievable. International Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 5, n°. 1/2, 2, 7.

Jarviluoma J. 1992. Alternative tourism and the evolution of tourist areas. Tourism Management. March, p. 118-120.

Johnston C., J. Liu and K. Din. 1991. Coastal and Marine Tourism. Annals of Tourism, vol. 18, n° 3, p. 523 -525.

Kohn J and J. Gowdy. 1999. Coping with complex and dynamic systems. An approach to a transdisciplinary understanding of coastal zone developments, Journal of Coastal Conservation , vol. 5, n° 2, p. 163.

Liu J. H., Hills P. 1999. Marine Protected Areas and Local Coastal Conservation and Management in Hong Kong. Local Environment , vol. 2, n°. 3, p. 275-297.

Marafa L. M. 2003. Sustainable tourism and ecotourism: searching for a niche in the Hong Kong tourism industry, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism , vol. 1, n°1, p. 127-144.

Mason P. 2003. Tourism Impacts, Planning and Management. Butterworth Heinemann. London.

Morton B. 1996. Protecting Hong Kong’s marine biodiversity: present proposals, future challenges. Environmental Conservation , n°23, p.55-65.

Orams M. 1997. 1996. World Congress on Coastal and Marine Tourism. Tourism Management, vol. 18, n°2, p. 115-119.

Orams M. 1999. Marine tourism : Development, impacts and management. Routledge Ltd. London.

Owen R. E., Witt S. F. et al . 1993. Sustainable Tourism Development in Wales : From Theory to Practice. Tourism Management, December, p. 463-474.

Ross S., Wall G. 2001. Ecotourism : a Theoretical framework and an Indonesian application. In : McCool, S. F. and Moisey, R. N. (eds). Tourism, recreation and sustainability: Linking culture and the environment , p. 271-288.

Shi C., Hutchinson S. M., et al. 2001. Towards a sustainable coast: an integrated coastal zone management framework for Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Ocean & Coastal Management, vol. 44, n° 5, 6, p. 411-427.

Sorensen J. 1993. The International Proliferation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Efforts. Ocean and Coastal management , , n° 21, p. 45-80.

Swarbrooke J. 1999. Sustainable Tourism Management . Sheffield: CABI Oxon England; New York: CABI Pub.

Timmerman P., White R. 1997. Megahydropolis: coastal cities in the context of global environment change, Global Environmental Change, vol. 7, n°3, p. 205-234.

UNEP. 2003. Tourism and Local Agenda 21 - The Role of Local Authorities in Sustainable Tourism : Case studies and first lessons.

Wall G. 1997. Is Ecotourism Sustainable ? Environmental Management , vol. 21, n° 4, p. 483 - 491.

Willmott E. 2000. A Comprehensive Review of Marine Policy in Hong Kong. Civic

Wong P.P. 1993. Tourism versus Environment: the case for coastal areas. Dordrecht, Boston. Kluwer Publishers.

Wong P.P. 1998. Coastal tourism development in Southeast Asia : relevance and lessons for coastal zone management, Ocean & Coastal Management, vol. 38, n° 2, p 89-109.

Yeung Y.M. 2001. Coastal mega-cities in Asia: transformation, sustainability and management. Ocean & Coastal Management, n°44, 319-333.

List of illustrations

Electronic reference.

Lawal Mohammed Marafa , “ Integrating Sustainable Tourism Development in Coastal and Marine Zone Environment ” ,  Études caribéennes [Online], 9-10 | Avril-Août 2008, Online since 15 August 2008 , connection on 20 March 2024 . URL : http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/1373; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/etudescaribeennes.1373

About the author

Lawal mohammed marafa.

Ph.D, Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

CC-BY-NC-4.0

The text only may be used under licence CC BY-NC 4.0 . All other elements (illustrations, imported files) are “All rights reserved”, unless otherwise stated.

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  • 56 | décembre 2023 Haiti's dilemma: from crisis to crisis? (Part 2)
  • 55 | Août 2023 The Maritimization: Diverse Perspectives
  • 54 | Avril 2023 Cuba and the United States: the Genesis of a Conflictual Relationship
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  • 52 | Août 2022 Haiti's dilemma: from crisis to crisis?
  • 51 | Avril 2022 Technologies and Smart Tourist Destinations: between Rhetoric and Experimentation
  • 50 | Décembre 2021 Anthropology of the Experience of Childbirth Around the World
  • 49 | Août 2021 The Caribbean against the Covid-19: A Global Crisis and Local Solutions
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  • 36 | Avril 2017 Yachting : Tourism Development vs Coastal Protection?
  • 35 | Décembre 2016 Entrepreneuriat : Quelle voie pour le développement d'Haïti?
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  • 31-32 | Août-Décembre 2015 Mass Tourism vs. Alternative Tourism
  • 30 | Avril 2015 Luxury in all its States: Foundations, Dynamic and Plurality
  • 29 | Décembre 2014 Social Movements, Here and There; from the Past and the Present
  • 27-28 | Avril-Août 2014 Island Worlds: Spaces, Temporalities, Resources
  • 26 | Décembre 2013 Marine Resources and Coastal Development: Vulnerability, Management and Adaptation to Global Change
  • 24-25 | Avril-Août 2013 Tourism and Fight against Poverty: Theoretical Approach and Case Studies
  • 23 | Décembre 2012 Insularity and Tourism: Territorial Project Matter
  • 22 | Août 2012 Globalization: different faces, different perspectives
  • 21 | Avril 2012 The Caribbean coast of Central America: fragmentation or regional integration
  • 20 | Décembre 2011 Tourism, culture(s) and Territorial Attractiveness
  • 19 | Août 2011 The changing world of coastal, island and tropical tourism
  • 18 | Avril 2011 Cruise Tourism: Territorialisation, Construction and Development Issues
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  • 16 | Août 2010 Protean Diaspora
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  • 8 | Décembre 2007 Migrations, Mobilities and Caribbean Identical Constructions
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  • 7 | Juillet 2021 Regards sur Cuba
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  • 3 | mars 2019 Écriture hors-pair d'André et de Simone Schwarz-Bart
  • 2 | Novembre 2018 Risques, résilience et pérennité des destinations touristiques
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4 Opportunities to Shore Up the World's Coastal Ecosystems and Communities

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  • Climate Resilience
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For the more than 3 billion people who live near the ocean, coastal ecosystems support jobs, industries and trade, as well as provide food and buffering against storms and other severe natural events. Yet, these vital areas are at risk as rising populations and growing urbanization spur significant loss and damage of coastal habitats — including saltmarshes, mangroves, coral reefs and shellfish reefs. These losses reduce coastal resilience, as well as our ability to recover and adapt to climate change and other human-caused threats.

To change this trajectory, a paper commissioned by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy proposes a new way forward with four opportunities for action to ensure sustainable and resilient coastal zones.

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1. Build Ecosystem Resilience

In addition to underpinning the global ocean economy and offering important social and cultural value, intact coastal ecosystems provide resources like food, energy, minerals and pharmaceuticals while contributing ecosystem services like flood protection and carbon storage. Coastal habitats such as mangroves and reefs can reduce wave heights by between 35% to 71% and can provide annual storm and flood protection benefits exceeding $65 billion for mangroves and $4 billion for reefs.

The last half century has seen significant, and in many cases abrupt and irreversible, changes across the world’s coast lines. Unless there is a change in current practices, the loss of these ecosystems is expected to continue.

Protecting these areas should be the first line of defense and involves strengthening regulations supporting community-based management models. In addition to preserving and restoring habitats, adapting and mitigating threats to critical coastal habitats can improve the resilience of ecosystems and communities that rely on them. Measures governments should take to enhance coastal resilience include:

  • Strengthening regulations and increasing area-based conservation.
  • Increasing the extent and improving the condition of critical coastal habitats through  restoration, ensuring the re-establishment of natural coastal and hydrological processes.

2. Enhance Community Resilience, Equity and Access

Local coastal communities, as well as Indigenous Peoples and artisanal fishers, often rely on coastal resources to support their livelihoods. As a result, they could face the greatest impacts from climate change and disasters. This interlinked relationship means that local communities are often environmental stewards, using their traditional and local knowledge to increase their resilience and help them manage crises. To successfully implement long-term ocean and coastal management plans, it is critical governments involve these communities in decision-making processes by:

  • Recognizing coastal communities’ resource users and stewards, and include the benefits they derive in the valuing and accounting of the ocean economy.
  • Incorporating Indigenous and local knowledge in planning and decision-making processes to ensure they are inclusive and equitable.
  • Prioritizing poverty reduction and social protection programs while promoting gender equality to build community resilience.

3. Mitigate Impacts of Terrestrial and Extractive Activities on Coastal Ecosystems

Diverting water before it gets to coastal areas can compromise the quantity and quality of surface water and groundwater. This alters the natural supply of sediment to the coast, leading to shoreline erosion and coastal vegetation loss. Asia’s six largest delta systems — Ganges Meghna-Brahmaputra, Indus, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Pearl and Yangtze — are all at risk from changes in flow, including from upstream dams, impoundments and the over-extraction of sand from rivers and coastal areas for concrete, glass and electronic manufacturing. This is causing coastal areas to sink and shrink.

To achieve coastal resilience, governments and others should:

  • Integrate ocean and coastal management into surrounding frameworks, such as urban, catchment and land-use planning.
  • Manage urban and agricultural water use, as well as upstream catchment diversions and dams, to ensure that freshwater flow and sediment supply are maintained to the coast.
  • Introduce or enhance multi-sector dialogues to ensure overlapping agendas and initiatives collaborate.

4. Advance Sustainable, Climate-ready Blue Infrastructure

Utilizing natural infrastructure and building with nature will be key to delivering coastal resilience. By shifting traditional infrastructure (known as “hard” or “grey” and made with concrete or steel) to blue infrastructure (made with natural/semi-natural approaches that mimic natural coastal areas), governments can increase resilience to changing climate conditions, support sustainable development of local communities and minimize the loss of ecosystem services.

To ensure this shift, governments should:

  • Restore and protect coastal ecosystems. Adapt and upgrade existing coastal infrastructure using nature-based approaches.
  • Develop and scale cost-effective sustainable designs while building the skills and capacity of governments to design and maintain sustainable coastal infrastructure.
  • Continue to shift institutional biases that favor traditional grey infrastructure while increasing financial instruments to encourage blue or hybrid infrastructure.

By harnessing the power of nature and using blue systems such as reefs, wetlands and mangroves to complement grey infrastructure, these services can be provided at a lower cost than grey infrastructure alone and with greater benefits. This is especially true for coastal zones where most people live and have businesses.

Protecting Coastal Ecosystems for Resilient Communities

While the complicated task of governance will differ from country to country, solutions must be backed by innovative science, research and integrated management through inclusive regional coordination and partnerships. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to build back bluer by protecting coastal ecosystems and coastal communities from further harm while supporting and preserving the natural systems that sustain them.

There are affordable, feasible solutions to the threats coastal ecosystems face that will enhance ecosystem resilience, restore coastal integrity and improve equity. Achieving this will require all elements of society to actively promote and implement these solutions.

Relevant Work

How blue carbon can tackle the climate, biodiversity and development crises, using the ocean as a tool for global economic recovery, 3 steps to scaling up nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, from mangroves to tin roofs: fiji uses built and natural infrastructure for climate adaptation, how you can help.

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Washington Daily News

Gearing up for Cycle NC 2024 Coastal Ride

Published 8:00 am Wednesday, March 20, 2024

By Ellen Brabo

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Washington, North Carolina is preparing to welcome an influx of cycling enthusiasts as the Cycle NC 2024 Coastal Ride sets its route through town next month. From April 26th to April 28th, the city expects to welcome around 1,500 cyclists, along with their families. Known for its scenic pathways and community engagement, the Coastal Ride is not just a sporting event but a significant economic booster.

“Lodging in Washington is booked solid, with overflow into neighboring areas such as Bath and Greenville,” said Paula Stephenson, the Tourism Development Director for the City of Washington, emphasizing the significant impact this event has had on local tourism and the economy in previous years. “Every time we host this event, our occupancy taxes for April are off the charts.”

From innkeepers to merchants and restaurants, the event promises a bustling weekend, potentially the best many have seen in years.

“These are great guests,” remarked Jeff Furst, owner of When Pigs Fly Inn, based on his experience with past cycle events. “They’re typically professionals, easy to host, low maintenance and they take care of your place like they would their own.”

In addition to bolstering the local economy, the event fosters a sense of community and showcases Washington’s rich history and scenic beauty to visitors. Stephenson encouraged locals to “put your welcome hat on” and support the event by offering accommodations or simply by being mindful of cyclists on the road.

The Coastal Ride is part of a larger effort organized by North Carolina Amateur Sports to promote physical fitness and health across different skill levels and age groups. Cyclists can choose from a variety of daily routes ranging from a leisurely five miles up to a challenging 100 miles.

With the city’s accommodations already at capacity, local residents are encouraged to consider renting out a room or property to support the attendance at this event. Those interested in doing so are advised to contact Stephenson directly at (252) 975-9316 to coordinate with Cycle NC.

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How social science helps us combat climate change

  • March 19, 2024

Meet three social scientist authors of the Fifth National Climate Assessment

One of the strengths of the Fifth National Climate Assessment is its expanded inclusion of social science across every part of the new report. We caught up with three NOAA authors of the climate assessment to hear how social science when combined with physical science can help our nation find and put to work solutions to the climate crisis with equity and effectiveness.

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Ariela Zycherman

Agency chapter lead for the social systems and justice chapter and chapter author for the overview chapter, from noaa’s climate program office, climate and societal interactions division..

Caption: Ariela Zycherman prepares for a kayak trip in the coastal waters off Stonington, Maine. Photo courtesy of Ariela Zycherman.

Why did you take on this role of a lead author?

Serving as an agency chapter lead for the  Social Systems and Justice chapter  and an author on the  Overview chapter  has been one of the most exciting moments of my career as a federal social scientist. I am trained as an environmental and applied anthropologist, and my interests are in understanding the complex ways communities and households engage with their environments and find meaning in them. These patterns are shaped both by internal cultural systems and by larger systems of economics, politics, society and environment.  Often, there is a dominance of physical data in climate assessments. This information is vital to understanding climatic hazards, but it is most impactful when combined with social data, which offers important contextual information on why and how these hazards create serious risks for communities, as well as how this information might be used with economic, political, or social knowledge to make practical, implementable and effective decisions. 

Focusing on just physical data can also mask inequalities in why impacts are more severe in one area than another, as often it is not just the risk of a storm, for example, but the investments or lack of investments in resilient infrastructures that can exacerbate the storm’s impacts. In the Fifth National Climate Assessment, there is a clear understanding that humans are at the center of climate change, this includes as drivers of it, recipients of its impacts, and creators of resilience building actions. For me, the incorporation of social sciences, like anthropology, across the NCA is a long awaited and celebrated step in thinking comprehensively about climate change and it opens up doors to have meaningful conversations about peoples’ experiences of climate change and how real, effective, equitable and lasting solutions can be developed.

What are the Main Messages of your Chapter?

  • Social systems are changing the climate and distributing its impacts inequitably. Social systems refers to the institutions, policies, programs, practices, values, behaviors and governance models that shape our assumptions and activities around climate change, these systems not only drive processes that create climate change, like the production of greenhouse gases and where, but also where risks to climate hazards are greatest because of processes of investment or disinvestment in communities over time. 
  • Social systems structure how people know and communicate about climate change. People’s experiences with climate change are guided by their educations, cultures, traditions, economies, values and uses of and changes to their environments. This diversity of approaches shapes how people interpret and/or drive the changes around them, as well as respond to climate change. To address climate change, processes that engage with multiple ways of knowing, like co-production, help create relevant and appropriate solutions.
  • Climate justice is possible if processes like migration and energy transitions are equitable. Climate justice recognizes that the inequitable distribution of resources and other social and political capital impacts the capacity for adaptation during the upheaval created by climate change. Adaptive and mitigative actions, like migration or using renewable energy technologies, have the potential to create co-benefits that not only address climate change, but also remediate past injustices.

Main Challenges?

Rather than focus on challenges, I would like to focus on my hope for a positive climate future. The chapter argues that a just transition is possible. A just transition refers to mitigating and adapting to climate change in a managed process that ensures equitable access to jobs, environmental goods and quality of life. The chapter highlights that we already have the tools to think through how justice can be applied to not only understanding how climate injustices have come about, but also to the creation of implementable adaptation and mitigation actions. By focusing on the complexities of governance models, including legal, political and decisional spaces, decision makers and communities can focus on the structural issues that create inequities and then identify approaches to incorporate multiple perspectives and ensure adequate resources are available to implement them.

tourism development coastal areas

Monica Grasso

Agency chapter lead for the economics chapter and noaa’s chief economist.

Caption: Monica Grasso enjoys a day of taking photos of waterfowl and marsh birds in Isle of Wight Park in Worcester County, Maryland.  Photo courtesy of Monica Grasso

Why did you take on this role of lead author?  

The opportunity to participate in the development of the first  Economics chapter  in the National Climate Assessment was a one of a kind opportunity to work with experts and show the state of our knowledge of the economic impacts from our changing environment. I have a passion for nature and the outdoors and this was the reason I decided to become an economist. Economics is a common language between individuals and businesses and I wanted to pursue the challenge of demonstrating how natural resources bring value to society.

Main messages of your chapter?

Extreme weather events affect the U.S. economy in many different ways, impacting transportation, agricultural production, tourism and many other economic activities. The increase in frequency and intensity of these events are expected to impose new costs to the U.S. economy and potentially slow our economic growth. We already see some markets and budgets responding to current and anticipated climate changes, and we expect stronger responses as climate change progresses. For example, as the risk of climate extremes grows, new costs and challenges will emerge in insurance systems and public budgets that were not originally designed to respond to climate change. Another important issue is that we expect that these impacts from climate extremes will be unequal across different communities, affecting certain regions, industries and socioeconomic groups more than others.The inequality comes from the fact that certain communities and individuals are more sensitive to climate, have more exposure to these events, and/or lack the resources to adapt and recover from the damages caused by these extreme events.

Main challenges?

One of the major challenges we identified during this process is how to deal with the uncertainty  related to the unknown trajectory of future greenhouse gas emissions and associated risks. The uncertainty caused by climate change is itself an economic burden since most individuals and businesses are generally risk averse. As the risk of climate extremes grows, we expect new costs and challenges to emerge in insurance systems, public budgets and other economic systems that were not originally designed to respond to climate change. For example: anticipation of future flood risks has begun to reduce the prices of vulnerable properties. But there are still barriers that prevent market prices from adjusting to reflect climate risks due to inaccurate information or incomplete understanding of the relevant climate risks. In addition, there are also broad research gaps remaining about unequal climate change impacts across demographics, people with differing health status, and socio-economic background.

Promising adaptation example

America’s energy transition will create new economic opportunities, as increased demand for clean energy and low-carbon technologies leads to long-term expansion in most states’ energy and decarbonization workforce. New job opportunities are anticipated to support new and emerging technologies, as well as increased demand for energy efficiency retrofits, clean energy, and resilience measures. For example, grid expansion and energy efficiency projects are already creating new jobs in a number of states.

tourism development coastal areas

Caitlin Simpson

Agency chapter lead for the adaptation chapter from noaa’s climate program office climate and societal interactions division.

Caption: Caitlin Simpson enjoys spending time with her dog along the East coast where she likes to let residents know about NOAA’s digital resources on sea level rise and climate change more broadly. Photo courtesy of Caitlin Simpson.

Why did you take on this role of lead author?

With a background in economics and human dimensions research, I have been working on climate adaptation issues for many decades and have been pushing for more transdisciplinary science that combines social, physical and other sciences with close community collaboration and input. I have thoroughly enjoyed contributing to the assessment of this field of practice and helping to highlight the importance of more transformative adaptation that is inclusive of community input.  I will continue to bring the Fifth National Climate Assessment findings into the adaptation and resilience dialogues at NOAA.

Adaptation efforts are occurring in every region of the U.S. but are insufficient in relation to the pace of climate change. Most of these efforts have been small in scale, incremental in approach, and lack sufficient investment and funding. They need to be transformative, meaning that system-wide changes are needed. For any adaptation activity to be effective, it needs to be both just and equitable. This will require addressing the uneven distribution of climate harms and collaborating with local communities.

Government, private industry and civil society are planning for climate adaptation in different ways, and each is focusing on a subset of climate vulnerability, such as disaster resilience, risk and liability, and equity and justice, respectively. They need to address compound and complex events instead of individual hazards such as sea level rise, flooding or heat. Climate services need to include community collaboration and ensure broad access for historically disinvested communities. Adaptation activities need to be coordinated and incorporate multiple voices. Transformative adaptation that involves persistent, novel, and significant changes to institutions, behaviors, values, and/or technology will be key. Finally, more and different funding/investment is needed for adaptation as is better financial and evaluation data to determine what adaptation is occurring, how well it is distributed, and the effectiveness of the adaptation solutions.  

Approximately 40% of US states have assessed their climate change risks, and a number of cities and localities have begun to take action. For example, the city of New York recently legislated  Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines , which include the city’s guidance to builders for the required height of flood protection needed in design standards; the requirements now  use climate projections from the New York City Panel on Climate Change.  Members of the NOAA-funded  Climate Adaptation Partnerships team in the Northeast  participate on this panel and have provided their latest findings on the social and physical ramifications of climate change for the city.

Additional resources:

  • Climate change impacts are increasing for Americans
  • Meet 5 NOAA authors of the National Climate Assessmen t
  • Fifth National Climate Assessment
  • NCA5 Webinars (upcoming)
  • NCA5 Webinars (past webinars recorded)
  • NCA5 Art X Climate Gallery

For more information, please contact Monica Allen, NOAA Communications, at [email protected], 202-379-6693  

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Scientists detail research to assess viability and risks of marine cloud brightening

tourism development coastal areas

Could drying the stratosphere help cool the planet?

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UNESCO celebrates Songkran with event on sustainable festival tourism in Pattaya

banner for webinar 4 in the series Sustainable ASEAN Waterways

UNESCO and partners’ ongoing project ‘Achieving Sustainable Tourism with Intangible Cultural Heritage and Creative City Network in Waterway Cities of ASEAN’—it has already convened three dynamic seminars benefitting thousands of tourism professionals since its launch in September 2023 — is pleased to announce its upcoming, fourth installment in its South-East Asia seminar series, ‘Pattaya & Sustainable Festival and Event Tourism: Exploring Strategies for Growth and Development’. The hybrid seminar, to be held 10 April 2024, will focus on Thailand’s coastal city of Pattaya as a special case study for the potential to be had in fostering dynamic networks of tourism businesses in the ASEAN sub-region. 

The project is supported by DASTA, ASEAN-Türkiye Cooperation, CRIHAP, K11, ONYX, The City Connext, and b.Consulting Cambodia. By promoting sustainable and inclusive tourism practices through this project, UNESCO and its partners together seek to contribute to the regional development of this growing industry, and its potentail to contribute to the well-being of local economies and comunities. The series also aims to provide exemplary models for application worldwide. 

Welcoming remarks for the upcoming seminar will be given by Mr Harold Olaya Leon, Senior Vice President and Head of Operations, ONYX Hospitality Group.

Webinar 4 on ASEAN waterways tile

The seminar’s keynote addresses will be delivered by: 

  • Ms Soohyun Kim, Director, UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok

‘Environmental, social and economic significance of Songkran, a UNESCO-recognized water festival heritage in ASEAN’

  • Mr Poramase Ngampiches, Pattaya Mayor

‘Pattaya’s vision to become a cultural zone and its environmental management policies toward becoming a sustainable tourism destination’

  • Mr Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)

‘TCEB policies and initiatives to sustainable festival and event tourism’

  • Mr Suphot Prakitjanuruk, Area General Manager, Eastern Thailand – Amari Pattaya

Following keynote presentations, a panel discussion will explore the cultural significance of Songkran as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; the role of hotels in driving sustainable festival and event tourism; and standards and efforts of various organisations in supporting sustainable events and festivals. 

Panellists include:

  • Dr Chumpol Musiganont, Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration-DASTA (Public Organization)
  • Mr Jongrak Rojpalasatean, Director of the Management System Certification Institute (MASCI)
  • Ms Urai Mukpradabthong, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand Office in Pattaya
  • Ms Alisa Phanthusak Kunpalin, Managing Director of Tiffany’s Show Pattaya

Webinar Details

Date: Wednesday, 10 April 2024

Time: 13.20–15.50, Bangkok time (GMT+7)

Location: Amari Pattaya Hotel

For on-site participation, please pre-register at:  https://bit.ly/SongkranICH  

For online participation, please pre-register at:  UNESCO’s Zoom

Further information about the preliminary agenda, please visit our  Project Portal , or scan the QR code below:

QR code for registration of webinar series on sustainable tourism in ASEAN waterside cities

About the Project

‘Enhancing Sustainable Tourism in ASEAN Waterside Cities’ is a pioneering initiative by UNESCO and partners expressly designed to leverage local communities' unique cultural and natural heritage towards fostering sustainable development and regional cooperation.

We look forward to seeing you at our remaining three webinars and collaborating with you further on sustainable tourism development in our ASEAN waterside communities!

Visit the project page.

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Anawit Jitmana: +66 65 895 6323

Thatsanvanh Banjong: +66 87 706 5030

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Launch of Addu Coastal Tourism Development Plan Marks a New Era for Maldives Tourism

Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal launched the Addu Coastal Tourism Development Plan on Thursday, aiming to add 6,000 tourist beds and a seaplane hub, aligning with President Mohamed Muizzu's Week 14 roadmap.

London, England, United Kingdom - March 15, 2024 —

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Crafted by CDC Consulting, this strategic blueprint aims to bolster Addu's allure as a prime destination within the southern Maldives by developing 6,000 new tourist beds and inaugurating a seaplane hub. These efforts are in direct alignment with the President's vision for the Maldives, including the creation of 10,000 jobs and the reactivation of the esteemed Shangri-La Resort.

The plan further proposes the creation of a cultural village, wellness zones, marine protected areas, and a pioneering hospitality school, all aimed at enriching the cultural and natural experiences for visitors to Addu. These initiatives underscore The Maldives' commitment to showcasing its rich heritage and pristine environments to the world.

The Ministry of Tourism views the Addu Coastal Tourism Development Plan as a pivotal advancement in The Maldives ' tourism sector. It signifies a commitment to fostering sustainable development and inclusive economic growth, promising a bright and thriving future for both Addu and the wider Maldivian community, and setting a precedent for innovative tourism development across the region.

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Wednesday, March 20, 2024 6:27 pm (Paris)

Downhill from here: French authorities halt tourism-focused development at ski resorts

Regional administrative courts have suspended projects to build hotels or extend ski areas.

By  Jessica Gourdon

Time to 3 min.

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The Alpe d'Huez ski resort, February 14, 2024.

Several years ago, projects such as building hotels or tourist residences, constructing roads to natural attractions, installing ski lifts, or expanding ski areas would have met little opposition in Alpine ski resorts. Today, they divide residents, between those who want to continue developing the mountains for skiing and tourism and those who would like to put a stop to this, which has brought prosperity to the whole region.

More and more organizations are challenging development projects backed by elected officials in court – and are succeeding. In the space of a month, the resorts of l'Alpe-d'Huez and Le Grand-Bornand, both in the French Alps, had their urban development plans rejected by the local administrative court, which also canceled a chairlift project at Aussois on March 5.

The Alpe-d'Huez plan included the construction of three hotels and two tourist residences (2,400 beds). The reasoning behind its cancelation was an "insufficient environmental assessment," "inconsistencies" regarding the need for new tourist beds and a lack of resources devoted to renovating existing accommodation. The Grand-Bornand project has only been suspended. The impact of tourism projects on water resources, in a resort heavily dependent on snow cannons, was questionned. "In the space of four years, water consumption linked to artificial snow alone has increased by 53%, and now exceeds drinking water consumption," said magistrate Emilie Akoun.

The tone was set in 2023 when one decision caused quite a stir: the cancelation, on May 30, 2023, of the territorial coherence plan for Maurienne, a document voted for by 62 Savoyard communes, including 24 resorts. This roadmap outlined the extension of ski areas and the construction of 22,800 tourist beds, including a 1,000-bed Club Med in Valloire, which sits on the border with Switzerland.

'Tipping point'

These decisions call into question an entire philosophy based on the expansion of ski areas and the growth of tourist construction. This comes as a shock to these resorts, which believe they need this construction to finance an increasingly expensive system (declining skier numbers, rising energy costs, growing use of snow cannons), and to offset the growing proportion of their "cold beds" – apartments occupied for less than four weeks a year.

"We've reached a tipping point," said Philippe Bourdeau, a researcher at the Université Grenoble-Alpes specializing in mountain economics. "Senior civil servants are increasingly sensitive to environmental issues, and to public spending that fails to take them into account. The recent report by the French Court of Auditors bears witness to this. There is less benevolence towards this ski economy."

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The impact of tourism on coastal areas

  • Published: May 1997
  • Volume 42 , pages 39–54, ( 1997 )

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  • Erdmann Gormsen 1  

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The manifold influences of tourism on coastal areas are analysed from three different angles: (1) The development of seaside tourism including the changes of socio-economic and settlement patterns; (2) its cultural impact on the local population; (3) its environmental aspects. Point 1 is described with the help of a model showing four peripheries in space and time: (I) the North Sea and Baltic coasts since the 18th century; (II) Southern Europe during the 19th century; (III) the North African shores around 1950; (IV) the tropical oceans after 1965. Within every periphery, several phases (pioneer, domestic, international) can be distinguished according to the origin of tourists, the investment, the know-how etc. While the beginning of every phase is dominated from abroad, later-on national actors play an increasing role. This applies also to point 2, which refers mainly to developing countries. As for point 3, mass tourism may result detrimentally on water supply, sensitive coastal landscapes, socio-cultural identity etc. Among the questions to be raised are: How far are industrial societies responsible for any negative impacts of tourism, and what are the chances for, and a general consciousness on, a sustainable tourism development?

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    The socioeconomics of the Anthropocene is exposing coastal regions to multiple pressures, including climate change hazards, resource degradation, urban development and inequality. Tourism is often raised as either a panacea to, or exacerbator of, such threats to ecosystems and sustainable livelihoods. To better understand the impacts of tourism ...

  2. Impact of tourism in coastal areas: Need of sustainable tourism

    How does tourism damage coastal environment. Massive influxes of tourists, often to a relatively small area, have a huge impact. They add to the pollution, waste, and water needs of the local population, putting local infrastructure and habitats under enormous pressure. For example, 85% of the 1.8 million people who visit Australia's Great Barrier Reef are concentrated in two small areas ...

  3. Tourism and Coastal Development

    Coastal tourism planning is often integrated with other resource analyses in the development of coastal area or region. Planners take into account not only visitation rates and statistics, but also the fact that tourists increasingly insist that destinations be high-quality and pollution-free, as well as inherently interesting.

  4. With These Actions, Coastal and Marine Tourism can have a Bright Future

    About 80% of all tourism is concentrated in coastal areas, beach holidays and activities like diving, sports fishing, and cruising make up a significant part of the blue economy worldwide. Here in Asia and the Pacific, they are major sources of employment in most Small Island Development States, two-thirds of which rely on tourism for more than ...

  5. Building a Sustainable Coastal and Marine Tourism Economy

    The new realities have awakened a new approach to tourism, particularly from island and coastal nations. In 2020 the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel) set a goal of a sustainable tourism economy by 2030: "Coastal and ocean-based tourism is sustainable, resilient, addresses climate change, reduces pollution ...

  6. Vision Setting: A Sustainable Coastal and Marine Tourism Sector: Part

    This is part one of a series that explores what sustainable coastal and marine tourism will look like in 2030 and 2050, and identifies the three key shifts needed by 2025 to achieve this ambitious vision. As pandemic restrictions are being lifted gradually in most coastal regions, millions of tourists will be swarming to their favorite beach destinations this summer.

  7. PDF Global Trends in Coastal Tourism

    1.0 Executive Summary: Key Findings. The Center for Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD), a policy oriented research institute committed to providing analysis and tools for sustainable tourism development, was commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to assess the current trends and drivers behind coastal and cruise tourism. This ...

  8. Full article: Climate change, coastal tourism, and impact chains

    tourism. literature review. meta-evaluation. 1. Introduction. The main goal of this paper is to gather and critically examine empirical evidence on how Climate Change (CC) impacts coastal and maritime tourism. This is done through a review and meta-evaluation of the literature of the last twenty years (2000-2019).

  9. Sustainable Coastal and Marine Ecotourism: Opportunities and ...

    Marine ecotourism is a subsector of ecotourism and conforms to the core criteria of sustainable tourism, implying a responsible travel to natural areas that helps in conserving the environment, sustaining the well-being of the local people, and imparting an educational experience. Marine ecotourism can be land-based in coastal areas or in the sea and can achieve the sustainability objectives ...

  10. Development Challenges in Coastal and Marine Tourism

    The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect a set of contributions on coastal and marine tourism that includes a wide variety of subjects within the environmental, economic, and social realms of coastal and marine tourism. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not ...

  11. PDF Opportunities for Transforming Coastal and Marine Tourism

    Coastal and marine tourism constitutes approximately 50 percent of all global tourism, equal to US$4.6 trillion or 5.2 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP). It is a vital component of the economy of small islands and coastal communities.

  12. Integrating Sustainable Tourism Development in Coastal and Marine Zone

    Tourism in marine and coastal areas is a complex phenomenon. Tourism in coastal areas brings along both positive and negative effects on the environment as a result of activities exerted upon such areas by proponents and tourists. While tourism development results in the modification of coastal environments, it can also flourish where such environments are left unmodified as the pristine ...

  13. Understanding coastal and marine tourism sustainability

    1. Introduction. Coastal and marine tourism is one of the fastest increasing segments of the global tourism industry (Leposa, 2020) and the EU has recognized its potential to foster sustainable development in the EU Blue Growth Agenda (ECORYS, 2018) and the EU Blue Economy studies (e.g. European Commission, 2019).The International Coastal and Marine Tourism Society defines coastal and marine ...

  14. (PDF) Impacts of Tourism on Coastal Areas

    To better understand the impacts of tourism on coastal areas, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched for the top 100 cited papers on coastal tourism. Web of Science suggested 'highly ...

  15. 4 Opportunities to Shore Up the World's Coastal Ecosystems and

    Coastal areas are at risk as rising populations and growing urbanization prompt significant losses and damages to coastal habitats, impacting coastal and climate resilience. A new paper by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy explores four opportunities to ensure sustainable and resilient coastal zones.

  16. (PDF) Coastal Tourism: Opportunity and Sustainability

    The devastating impact of mass tourism on coastal areas and coastal communities is a foregone conclusion [67]. In particular, the pressure of 3S (sun, sea, and sand) tourism on coastal zones and ...

  17. Framework for Sustainable Tourism Development on Coastal and Marine

    Tourism in marine and coastal areas is a complex phenomenon. Tourism in coastal areas brings along both positive and negative effects on the environment as a result of activities exerted upon such areas by proponents and tourists. While tourism development results in the modification of coastal environments, it can also flourish where such environments are left unmodified as the pristine ...

  18. The coastal tourism industry in the Mediterranean: A critical review of

    1. Introduction. Blue Growth (BG) is a new concept that includes all socio-economic, cultural and environmental sectors related to the marine and maritime environment (Kathijotes, 2013).The focus areas of the blue growth include aquaculture, marine biotechnology, desalination, deep-sea mining, marine renewable energy, maritime transport and trade and coastal tourism.

  19. Coastal and Ocean Tourism

    Tourism is one of the most important economic activities in coastal areas, and also one of the fastest growth sectors of the global economy (Hall 2001).International tourist arrivals have almost reached 1.2 billion per year (UNWTO 2016), and about four times this volume in domestic tourism arrivals (UNWTO-UNEP-WMO 2008).A large share of tourism is focused on coastal areas, with the ...

  20. Sustainable coastal tourism

    Introduction -- Tourism in coastal areas -- Tourism planning frameworks -- The ICZM approach to sustainable tourism development -- Strategic planning for sustainable tourism development in coastal areas -- Expectations, rights and responsibilities -- The way forward -- Bibliography -- Annex: The implementation guide.

  21. Gearing up for Cycle NC 2024 Coastal Ride

    Gearing up for Cycle NC 2024 Coastal Ride. ... as cyclists participating in the Cycle NC Coastal Ride make camp amidst limited lodging options in the area. (Photo from NC Cycle Website) ... the Tourism Development Director for the City of Washington, emphasizing the significant impact this event has had on local tourism and the economy in ...

  22. Full article: International development and tourism geographies

    Past research on tourism and international development. While in the 1950s tourism was identified as a modernisation strategy that could help newly-independent countries to create jobs and earn foreign exchange, in the 1970s and 1980s tourism was widely critiqued by social scientists as an industry dominated by large corporations which exploit the labour and resources of 'Third World ...

  23. How social science helps us combat climate change

    Extreme weather events affect the U.S. economy in many different ways, impacting transportation, agricultural production, tourism and many other economic activities. The increase in frequency and intensity of these events are expected to impose new costs to the U.S. economy and potentially slow our economic growth.

  24. UNESCO celebrates Songkran with event on sustainable festival tourism

    UNESCO and partners' ongoing project 'Achieving Sustainable Tourism with Intangible Cultural Heritage and Creative City Network in Waterway Cities of ASEAN'—it has already convened three dynamic seminars benefitting thousands of tourism professionals since its launch in September 2023 — is pleased to announce its upcoming, fourth ...

  25. Launch of Addu Coastal Tourism Development Plan Marks a New Era for

    Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal launched the Addu Coastal Tourism Development Plan on Thursday, aiming to add 6,000 tourist beds and a seaplane hub, aligning with President Mohamed Muizzu's Week 14 roadmap. London, ... The plan further proposes the creation of a cultural village, wellness zones, marine protected areas, and a pioneering ...

  26. NYC retail boosted by tourism growth and residential development

    In the fourth quarter of 2023, Times Square reported 180 retail business openings, surpassing the 179 business closures that resulted from the pandemic.

  27. Strong sustainability in coastal areas: a conceptual interpretation of

    Humans derive many tangible and intangible benefits from coastal areas, providing essential components for social and economic development especially of less developed coastal states and island states. At the same time, growing human and environmental pressures in coastal areas have significant impacts on coastal systems, requiring urgent attention in many coastal areas globally. Sustainable ...

  28. Downhill from here: French authorities halt tourism-focused development

    This roadmap outlined the extension of ski areas and the construction of 22,800 tourist beds, including a 1,000-bed Club Med in Valloire, which sits on the border with Switzerland.

  29. Tourism and Coastal Development

    Coastal tourism planning is often integrated with other resource analyses in the development of coastal area or region. Planners take into account not only visitation rates and statistics, but also the fact that tourists increasingly insist that destinations be high-quality and pollutionfree, as well as inherently interesting.

  30. The impact of tourism on coastal areas

    The manifold influences of tourism on coastal areas are analysed from three different angles: (1) The development of seaside tourism including the changes of socio-economic and settlement patterns; (2) its cultural impact on the local population; (3) its environmental aspects. Point 1 is described with the help of a model showing four peripheries in space and time: (I) the North Sea and Baltic ...