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Sustainable tourism can be termed as tourism with low impact on the Resources which forms the
main basis of their existence. These resources can be either man-made or natural. Their well-being and
continued existence is best determined by the way they are used. If their continued use leads to negative
impacts on the attraction itself and the destination at large, then sustainability is not achieved and this
poses threat to their continued existence.
Modern day tourist operators have developed responsible tourism as a mitigation to the threats
posed by tourism activities in various world attractions whereby their main aim is to conserve these
attractions using their tour packages that are not only meant to create awareness about them but to educate
the tourists on the importance of their conservation and responsible usage (Jeong and Faulkner, p.162).
They have incorporated education as part of Tourism product in order to create the much needed
awareness about the need to conserve these attractions they greatly depend on for their economic
activities. This is a responsibility that has been taken up by the tourists, tour operators and the host
communities in these tourist attractions. Some of the initiatives and products undertaken by the tour
operators, local authorities and the host communities in the destinations to create awareness include:

Eco-Tourism - This is responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improves
the welfare of the local communities. This form of travel takes into consideration the carrying capacity of
the environment whereby it is undertaken, the well-being of the natural resources which comprises the
attractions and the host communities welfare in that particular destination where the attractions are
located. The emphasis in this form of Tourism is conservation the environment and the Resources in it
(Hitchcock et. al, p 193)
Low Impact Tourism - This is a form of Tourism that leads to minimum change in the environment and
the culture of the local societies. It is tourism that seeks novelty in culture and nature by being culturally,
socially and environmentally responsible (Wood, p. 73)
Community based conservation initiatives
In any tourist attraction there are always host communities that share the same resources that are
found in these attraction sites like the rivers, lakes, forests and land. The developments of human
activities in these attractions pose threat to the resources in the following ways:
Human-Wildlife Conflict - This is a situation whereby human developments have encroached into
wildlife parks and reserves leading to interaction between wildlife, domestic animals and humans. This
often leads to conflict whereby there is competition for scarce resources. Wildlife in most cases tend to
attack domestic animals and people or cultivated fields resulting to communities killing the wildlife when
they stray into human occupied regions in the attractions
Changes of wildlife migratory corridors - Wildlife usually have a specific pattern they follow with
different seasons when looking for fresh pasture, breeding or looking for water. With increased need for
land for human development in-terms of housing and agricultural activities, these have resulted to
disruption of wildlife migratory routes resulting to disruption of migratory patterns.

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Pollution and degradation of the environment - Pollution is a major threat to any environment; it may take
place in form of discharge of raw sewage into bodies of water like lakes and rivers being polluted by the
lodges and the hotels that are located in the attractions. Disposal of solid waste material in the parks and
reserves which may be through littering by tourists while in the parks and reserves result to environment
pollution. The demand for accommodation in the parks and the reserves have also led to boom in
construction activities inside these attractions leading to noise pollution whereby a lot of noise results
from drilling, moving of earth by heavy machinery, fumes from the exhaust of these machines also
produce poisonous gases that are dangerous to the wildlife that habit these attractions. Change of
landscapes is also experienced as the use of explosives to break rocks.
Deforestation - Deforestation is the cutting down of trees and vegetation in the environment. This result to
change in climate patterns resulting is abnormal climate patterns that are severe and unpredictable
(Cohen, p.198). Forests and Vegetation are habitats to wildlife which rely on them for food and are their
natural habitat. They are also a perfect camouflage for animals which depend on them for predation. Their
depletion by logging for firewood and timber leads to their depletion resulting to soil erosion as the top
soil is carried away by rain water in heavy downpour due to the lack of vegetation to hold it together
when there is flow of water.
Soil erosion - Soil erosion is the removal of the top fertile soil in the environment in this case through
human activities they include; having a large population of tourists in these attractions than their carrying
capacity due to demand. This results in many tour vehicles accessing the attraction and once wildlife is
spotted, there is frequent off-road driving resulting to soil erosion by the tires of these vehicles. Mass
tourism also causes soil erosion as it results to creation of footpaths in the attractions due to large
movements of tourists in the parks and reserves.

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Wildlife Behavior change - Changes in wildlife behavior in the attractions are as a result of wildlife being
overwhelmed by the human activities in these attraction. When Tourists feed wildlife they become
dependent on handouts and forego their natural behavior in feeding like hunting or scavenging. This is
also experienced in areas around these attractions where the local communities have dumped heaps of
trash. It is not usual to find wildlife and domestic animals sifting through trash for food. This change of
behavior affects the wildlife as they feed on chemical food and may swallow harmful substances like
polythene
Human-Wildlife interaction has also led in some countries like Rwanda, spread of diseases from human to
wildlife. It was found that the population of Gorillas in Rwanda had contracted human diseases which
were believed to have been transmitted by sick Tourists or feeding on contaminated food from the tourists
(Groonros, p. 64)
Community based initiatives have started as a joint initiative with the local authorities,
association of tour operators and hospitality service providers to address the negative impacts of tourism
which they depend on for their economic activities to obtain positive growth and development. These
include:
Educating the Host Communities on the importance of the natural resources - The host
communities in any given attraction own and rely on the resources for food, fuel and water. They however
need to be educated on the importance of conserving these resources and using them responsibly. This has
been achieved through local sensitization and incorporating the local communities in the efforts to
conserve and protect the natural resources through active participation in Afforestation, Clearing of solid
wastes, reporting poaching activities and illegal trade of wildlife products. Revenue sharing has been
introduced whereby the communities are assigned a percentage of the revenue obtained through tourism
activities in their natural resources. The revenue is used to construct boreholes outside the attraction sites
and invest in alternative fuel for domestic use.

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In Kenya, around the Maasai Mara National Park, the revenues obtained from the tourism activities have
brought the development of local communities through educational bursaries and construction of
infrastructure. They have also set up curricular in schools to educate children on natural resources and
their importance. In other regions, Conservancy and other protected areas have been set up whereby the
communities own these resources (Cohen, p.95).
This form of collective responsibility by hospitality establishments, local authorities and
communities to protect the resources have led to businesses developing tourist packages and products that
support these efforts and are aligned to environment conservation and community empowerment.
However, this has not been sustainable as there are challenges that are associated with it and they include:
Culture Shock and erosion - Culture shock is brought about by the continued use and adoption of foreign
culture leading to the eroding of indigenous culture by the local communities living in attractions. They
aspire to be like the tourists and behave like them thus abandoning their own traditional norms in pursuit
wealth. This results in non-ethical behaviors like prostitution along the Kenyan Coast due to it being a
major Tourism hub in the country (Gitundu, p. 21). Local men have abandoned their families to marry old
white Tourists, Children have adopted use of drugs at early age and abandoning their traditional economic
Development of informal settlements near attractions - As many youth move to urban centers and near the
tourist sites attempting to get tourism related jobs, they leave behind the young and the elderly who
cannot tend to farms. Their income is not adequate to cater for all their needs and send some home forcing
them to forego some expenses like rent. They resort to informal settlement near the tourism
establishments where they work so as to ease their transport and reduce their cost. This has led to a boom
of informal settlements often located near Hotels, Beaches, Parks and Reserves (Madden, p. 193)
Local communities and Tourists conflicts - Some local communities are conservative and are not open or
free to foreigners thus not allow them in their Land as they fear that they may bring with them negative
impacts as the history of colonization is still embedded in them. Seeing the Tourists to them is often

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similar to seeing a foreigner and they are not welcomed and in extreme cases it may result to conflict
(Mwathe, p. 207)
Environmental pollution - Parks and Reserves, it is not surprising to come across litter in several
countries. This clearly indicates that littering has not been fully addresses although there are efforts to fine
those caught but there is lack of adequate warders to monitor the tourists and the tour guides may fail to
notice such behavior as they travel with large group of Tourists thus making it difficult to monitor their
activities.
Commodification of Culture - This is a scenario whereby the occurrences of cultural activities in terms of
period and frequency are changed to meet the demand to see them (Madden, p.73). In the Maasai mara
Game Reserve, Maasai cultural activities have been frequently induced to meet the demand by tourists to
see them. Traditional practices that used to occur once in a year are now often carried out to satisfy
Tourists.
Impacts of Tourism operations in Destinations
Tourism and tourism related operations have had different positive and negative impacts to the attractions
and destinations. Some products and packages in Tourism designed by tourism operators have facilitated
responsible tourism while others have not and in some cases have had both positive and negative impacts.
They include:
Eco-Tourism This form of tourism has led to development of tourism as a tool for knowledge creation
and personal development with the emphasis in environmental conservation and all the resources in it.
Several Tourist attractions have emerged as eco-tourism sites and this has led to responsible travelling and
much importantly, awareness creation. Tourists have participated in tree planting, land reclamation and
wildlife conservation through funding. This has also led to the emergence of eco-friendly attractions
which only use the name as a marketing tool but there is no practice.

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Mass Tourism This is a form of Tourism whereby Tourists travel in a large group to save on costs when.
Though it is a cheap way to travel but it results to noise pollution in the attractions as tourists tend to talk
and surprised when something unique is presented to them. It also leads to soil erosion in Parks and
Reserves as a large tourist group using the same route over and over destroys the vegetation cover on it
resulting to footpaths (Hall and Habbard, p. 98). In Egypt, this form of Tourism in the Pyramids has led to
development of moisture on the walls of the pyramids that results to the ancient drawings being destroyed
as many people move together, sweating due to the heat associated with the desert country resulting to
destruction. Cultural Tourism Commodification is the packaging of cultures for Tourism and Tourists
and presenting it to tourists. It involves the absorption of the object into the image. It is the process of
making available for purchase or barter cultural products which include material objects, events and
performances or even people and the way of life or the whole cultural village. In tourism, the term has not
just been used for items which are ordinary for sale but particularly for the sale of items which are not
originally designed for trade like traditional attires, beadworks and ceremonies (Linnekin, p. 47)
Marine Tourism This form of tourism comprises travel to marine attractions to see aquatic life. Tourists
travel by boats to islands especially in coastal areas to see this marine life. The boats used are owned by
locals becoming a source of income for them and making them part of the product thus they conserve and
report destruction to the authorities. However this has not solved all the problems arising from this form
of Tourism as the boats dock on coral reefs and destroy them and numerous development of beach hotels
and lodges that have failed to dispose raw sewage efficiently resulting to others discharging it in the water
bodies which destroy marine life and it is also the result of bleaching effect of corals.
Wildlife Tourism This is the most common single form of tourism in Africa due to diversity of wildlife.
Millions of tourists travel to see wildlife and their migration like in the Maasai Mara in Kenya and the
Serengeti in Tanzania. However, the crowding in the parks has resulted to disruption of breeding patterns
as there is noise from vehicle engines and fumes pollute the air. In most cases, predation by some animals
has been affected (Cohen, p.95)

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Summary
Tourism is a people driven industry where promises are made through travel guides, travel brochures and
online marketing efforts which create the need and want to travel to attractions to see what is offered and
experience the services that go along with the product.
It is however the role of the tour operators, tour guides, destination management organization and
local authorities to communicate to the tourists the reality on the ground. This should be done to create
awareness of the expected conduct and behavior in these natural and man-made attractions. Laws should
be clearly stipulated and adhered to in any time of peak or low tourism season. These attractions should
not be strained past their carrying capacity to meet demand. Destination managers should see these
attractions as unique heritage that not all countries possess thus the need to have them in good condition
through conservation and effective laws to control the population in them at all time. Tour operators
should exercise responsibility by communicating to the tourists the expected mode of conduct when
interacting with the host communities and in the national parks, reserves and sanctuaries as they are the
closest to the tourists than any other parties in the Tourism industry.
Tour operators should be realistic and only communicate what is possible to tourists who
purchase their products as it should be noted that it is not a guarantee that when in the Parks and Reserves
that they will see what they expected as this is uncontrollable factor of the service. Sustainable Tourism
should be as a result of effective planning and coordination of different tourism organs in the different
countries that include hospitality providers, transport and security (Cohen, p.85). It is also important to
consider that tourists share services and resources with local communities thus need to be prepared early
through planning so as not to overwhelm them. Tourism requires the performance of other industries for it
to thrive too as a multi-faceted industry. Sustainable tourism should be put into practice as opposed to just
being a topic of discussion. Tourists should come, enjoy, see and learn a lot but leave the resources unaltered as they are still required after they have left.

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