How Tourism Effects Environment

  • How Tourism Effects the Environment

     Functional English

     Research Report Instructor: Dr. Saira Asad

    Submitted by: Muhammad Badr, Ayesha Zaman, Hamaeel Ahmad, Malaika Irshad & Farhad Shoaib.

    Abstract

       Tourism plays an important part to boost the economy of a country. Tourism is the biggest means to portray one’s country’s beauty to the outside world. But there are some factors that can make tourism have a bad impact on the economy of a country. Some of these include pollution, erosion, mass tourism and sports, etc. effect the environment and there is a need to tackle these problems.

    1. Introduction

      Tourism is an important variable that needs to be considered when talking about the economy of a country. Tourism in Pakistan has grown rapidly over the past couple of years. But there has also been a few setbacks that have hindered the reputation of tourism in our country. We need to be aware that there are many factors contribute to this. The pollution caused by transportation whether it is on land, air, or sea has put the destinations at risk. As tourism expands so, does the need for other essential things. In 2013, Pakistan received over 500,000 tourists which contributed $298 million, while in 2018, Pakistan received over 6.6 million tourists.

    1.1 Environmental Effects of Tourism Transport Pollution

       Large scale tourist movement means the use of mass transportation either by sea, air, or land. As the planes are now capable of big flights that increases the revenue. In 2010, PIA had revenue of $309 million and in 2019, the revenue skyrocketed to $790 million. But, the planes emit carbondioxide and that contributes to environmental changes. By the means of land, Murree gets 20,000 tourists daily, which even though increases the revenue but also causes pollution by the motor vehicles.

    1.2 Noise Pollution by Transport

      All forms of transport whether air, land, or sea can disturb the resort’s calmness by raising noise levels. Noise pollution is not taken seriously but plays a very crucial part in the environment. The noise of aircraftlanding and taking off or the loud exhausts of cars have a loud noise co-efficient. In Pakistan, there has not been any progress when it comes to noise pollution. In lakes and rivers, jet skies and small boats produce a lot of noise but usually are neglected. There should be measures taken to decrease noise pollution.

    1.3 Pollution at Tourist Destination

      Further, the pollution caused by tourists can also harm the environment as well as the industry. Often the wilderness is hugely affected by tourists in such a way that the natural sound of the environment is hard to appreciate. The monkeys of Margalla Hills, for example, have lost their home to the stretch of road or the construction of hotels on top. Even the fireworks and festivals also contribute to higher noise pollution. Physical pollution also poses a threat to tourism, the best example of that is the widespread contamination of sea water and the garbage on the beaches. Most of the European countries have a very strict policy for sea-water contamination and keeping the beaches tidy.

    1.4 Visual Pollution

      Clean and tidy places are what attract the tourists the most, along with the scenic views but the visual pollution hinders that tourist attraction. The scenic views are not left scenic as the landscapes are lost to development to accommodate tourists. Then, the tourists find another beautiful location and that place suffers the same fate. Such is the example of Murree, Nathiagali, and Naran where visual pollution is growing exponentially. Another form of visual pollution is the unappealing look of the buildings. What tourists want to see the most is the cultural designs of buildings.

    2.1 Problem of Congestion and Erosion

       As time goes on and more tourists come to visit these sites, the more overcrowded these spots become and that leads to congestion. It is necessary to account for the over-crowdedness, or else it could lead to disaster, a perfect example of that is the situation of Murree at the start of 2022, When there came a snow storm and people rushed there to see snow fall. Later that changed into disaster due to over crowding. There was only space for 4000 vehicles and close to 50,000 cars entered the premises of Murree, and caused a catastrophe for the entire country.

    2.2 Carrying Capacity

      Congestion is a very big problem that needs to be dealt properly. Every tourist spot has a limited number of places for the tourists to stay and park their vehicles. Most agencies are focusing on expanding their capacity. But the Pakistani government has done nothing so far. At the start of 2022 Murree and Nathiagali experienced heavy rainfall. The organizers had not expected such heavy traffic with a parking spot for 5000 Murree receiveing 50,000 tourists, causing mile-long traffic jams resulting in the death of 22 people including children. Carrying capacity is a big concern that needs to be looked after but unfortunately is neglected by our authorities.

    2.3 Erosion

       Some places are very frial such examples are deserts, sand dunes being destroyed due to ATVs and buggies. Even global warming plays a part in erosion like rising sea levels.

    2.4 Erosion of Constructed Sites by Tourists

      Even though constructed sites are very durable as compared to natural ones but they too can suffer erosion from different factors such as constant crowdedness and weather. Such are the cases of old castles that have eroded due to neglect. An example of that is Baltit fort in Hunza which has undergone renovations to keep its structural integrity.

    3. The Danger of Tourism to Flaura and Fauna

       Wildlife is a must-see attraction for many tourists. Like the famous kangaroos of Australia and pandas in China. But tourism causes many problems such as harming the same wildlife they came to see. The construction of hotels, restaurants, and aquariums can shorten the free-roam space for animals. Construction around the animals habitat to shift/migrates from their home. Animals also go through trash because of bad waste management. Such as the big problem of fishing lines and plastic waste interfering with marine wildlife. The noise pollution caused by the construction and the air pollution caused by motor vehicles either used by construction or the tourists. Tourism can effects the breeding pattern of animals also and these animals also get defensive as tourism goes further and further into their homes leading to a decrease in the number of animals.

    3.1 Other Environmental Consequences of Mass Tourism

       One of the main concerns is a high level of traffic in narrow streets that cause traffic jams. The vibrations from these cars running weaken the foundation of the buildings. Also, the tour guide busses damage the buildings, while navigating through these narrow streets. In many European countries, there are rules forbidding such vehicles from going through these narrow streets. They have implemented laws to limit the number of tourists allowed. Water shortage is also a big concern as big as hotels use a high amount of water. The inappropriate use of water supplies and contamination of freshwater due to sewages. There are around 30,000 golf courses in the world, some places such as Dubai discourages the construction due to water shortage but the courses are built either way. A study shows that a large size golf course uses nearly 2 billion gallons of water a day. Apart from water use issues, the loss of natural scenery and wildlife habitats also needs to be considered.

    3.2 The Enviromental Impacts of Sports Toursim

       Sports also have an impact on the environment such examples are the construction of sports stadiums like the Football World Cup is set to play in Qatar in 2022, but Qatar at the moment does not have the stadiums to host this event and the Qatar government is rushing the construction of these football stadiums. A human rights group also accused Qatar of forced labor. And a city where world-Cup is set to be played does not even exist yet. This project threatens the country because building an entirely new city requires a lot of space and money.

    4. Positive Impacts of Tourism

      Although we have only discussed the negative impacts of tourism that doesn’t necessarily mean that tourism only has bad effects. Tourism can also play a role in saving the environment. Many tourist spots have entry fees to pay for the maintenance of the site which also help the national treasury. Some of these include parks and old structures turned museums. The money accumulated through tourism helps in the maintenance of landscapes.

    5. Conclusion

      The wide range of adverse consequences of the travel industry is presently very much announced, prompting consciousness of the two sightseers and organizations. Endeavors to diminish the harm brought about by the travel industry have prompted numerous ecological projects being presented, albeit these are frequently on a nearby scale. Critically, a few positive effects of the travel industry on the climate do exist, and this has assisted with guaranteeing that structures and scenes are secured and kept up with. There is still suspicion among numerous reporters concerning the degree to which supportable exercises can be seen as a veritable reaction to the danger of our current circumstance instead of an advertising exercise intended to win a public blessing. Numerous organizations decided to scale back their feasible venture when confronted with troublesome exchanging conditions in the post-2001 time, and there is little uncertainty that a number will keep on offering something like empty talk to the idea except if it tends to be demonstrated to be to their greatest advantage to do as such, in light of interest from their clients. While, certain sightseers are accepted to effectively consider supportability issues while considering their itinerary items, there is still uncertainty about most of the going public's readiness to pay something else for their days off assuming they are intended to be more practical. In any case, what will have begun for some organizations as something like a promoting ploy may later transform into a real obligation to work on the climate as campaigning by ecological interests produces results and public familiarity with the issues spreads.