Perspectives of leisure operators and tourists on the environmental impacts of coastal tourism activities: a case study of Mauritius

Mauritius is a popular destination for tourists who visit the island for the sun, sea and sand in addition to tourism activities. Although the consumption of tourism activities brings various benefits to the island, there have been concerns over the adverse impacts of such activities on the marine and coastal environment, such as loss of biodiversity and disturbances caused to marine plants and animals. In order to reduce the impacts of these activities on the environment, actions from both the providers and consumers of such activities, notably leisure operators and tourists, are necessary. This paper investigates and presents findings on the perspectives of leisure operators and tourists on the environmental impacts of coastal recreational tourism activities, through answering four research questions. Following a survey conducted within the island, findings revealed a significant negative overall linear relationship between tourism activities and the negative impacts on the environment. The survey provided a means to rank the tourism activities in terms of the harms caused to the environment along with the significance of their adverse impacts. In addition, for engaging leisure operators and tourists towards sustainably minimizing the environmental impacts of tourism-related activities, a framework has been proposed within this paper.