Impacts of tourism

The impacts of tourism include the effects of tourism on the environment and on the communities involved, and its economic contributions. It has been part off the tourism discourse since the 1970s, with attention growing in recent years due to debates on overtourism. Impacts are not easily categorized, having direct and indirect components. Tourism is also often seasonal, and impacts only become apparent over time, with varying effects, and at different stages of development. The impacts of tourism include the effects of tourism on the environment and on the communities involved, and its economic contributions. It has been part off the tourism discourse since the 1970s, with attention growing in recent years due to debates on overtourism. Impacts are not easily categorized, having direct and indirect components. Tourism is also often seasonal, and impacts only become apparent over time, with varying effects, and at different stages of development. Tourism impacts fall into three main categories. Environmental impacts affect the carrying capacity of the area, vegetation, air quality, bodies of water, the water table, wildlife, and natural phenomena. Sociocultural impacts are associated with interactions between people with differing cultural backgrounds, attitudes and behaviors, and relationships to material goods. The introduction of tourists to sensitive areas can be detrimental, cause a loss of culture, or, alternatively, contribute to the preservation of culture and cultural sites through increased resources. Economic impacts are usually seen as positive, contributing to employment, better services, and social stability. Cultural education may also be improved, which can be overlooked. Yet these impacts can also contribute to high living costs within the community, pushing out local businesses, and raising costs for local residents. Ecotourism, nature tourism, wildlife tourism, and adventure tourism take place in environments such as rain forests, high alpine, wilderness, lakes and rivers, coastlines and marine environments, as well as rural villages and coastline resorts. Peoples' desire for more authentic and challenging experiences results in their destinations becoming more remote, to the few remaining pristine and natural environments left on the planet. The positive impact of this can be an increased awareness of environmental stewardship. The negative impact can be a destruction of the very experience that people are seeking. There are direct and indirect impacts, immediate and long-term impacts, and there are impacts that are both proximal and distal to the tourist destination. These impacts can be separated into three categories: facility impacts, tourist activities, and the transit effect. Facility impacts occur when a regional area evolves from 'exploration' to 'involvement' and then into the 'development' stage of the tourist area life cycle. During the latter phase there can be both direct and indirect environmental impacts through the construction of superstructure such as hotels, restaurants, and shops, and infrastructure such as roads and power supply. As the destination develops, more tourists seek out the experience. Their impacts increase accordingly. The requirement for water for washing, waste disposal, and drinking increases. Rivers can be altered, excessively extracted, and polluted by the demands of tourists. Noise pollution has the capacity to disturb wildlife and alter behavior, and light pollution can disrupt the feeding and reproductive behaviour of many creatures. When power is supplied by diesel or gasoline generators there is additional noise and pollution. General waste and garbage are also a result of the facilities. As more tourists arrive there is an increase in food and beverages consumed, which in turn creates waste plastic and non-biodegradable products. Practically all tourist activities have an ecological impact on the host destination. In rural destinations activities, such as hiking, trekking, kayaking, bird watching, wildlife safaris, surfing, snorkelling, and scuba-diving mostly affect the local ecology.There are a range of impacts from hiking, trekking, and camping that directly affect the activity area. The most obvious is the erosion and compaction of the trail itself. The daily use of the trail by hikers wears it down and compacts it. If there are any obstacles such as fallen trees or puddles of mud, then the trail becomes widened or informal trails are created to bypass the obstacle. There are a number of other direct impacts on the treaded area, such as damage or removal of vegetation, loss of vegetation height, reduction in foliage cover, exposure of tree root systems, migration of trampled vegetation, and introduction of non-native species. As well as the direct impacts, there are indirect impacts on the trails, such as a change in soil porosity, changes to microflora composition, problems with seed dispersion and germination, and degradation of soil nutrient composition. As many hikers and trekkers take multi-day trips, a large number will camp overnight either in formal or random campgrounds. There are similar impacts on campgrounds such as soil compaction, erosion and composition, loss of vegetation and foliage, plus the additional issues of campfires for cooking and warmth. Informal trails are created around the campsite in order to collect firewood and water, and trees and saplings can be trampled, damaged, or cut-down for fuel. The heat of campfires may damage tree-root systems. In formal campgrounds, tent pad areas are normally devoid of any vegetation while random camping can damage sensitive plants and grasses during a single overnight stay.