The are now, perhaps more than ever, ever increasing economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts of major sporting and cultural events on the people and industries that both contribute and particpate in the events industries.
To gain an appreciation of the framework and background to this social phenomena it is important to include the study of tourism and travel industries.
Travel and tourism has been the subject of academic interest for well over fifty years. since the 1970's academics have formed several frameworks and models for tourism and travel. Sharpley (2006.p.5) writes that "Travel and tourism is often claimed to be the worlds largest industry. Although it is debateable whether the term industry is appropriate, there is no doubting the enormous global economic value of travel and tourism. It is a major social phenomena. As ever-increasing numbers of people become tourists, it is important to understand why and how people travel".
Sharpley (2006 p.7), also states that "Travel and tourism has significant economic, environmental and socio-cultural consequences for destinations. Not only must these be understood and managed, but also they should be considered within broader global change and development. More generally, travel and tourism is an integral part of modern life and, therefore, deserving of academic study".
Tourism is, "essentially, a social acivity; it is about people travelling, for whatever reason, to destinations away from the place where they normally live and work and their activities during their stay in these destinations. The starting point for the study of travel and tourism is the tourist, or the social activity of tourism"(Sharpley 2006). As the word implies, the action of 'Tour -ism'. (Kind of like what Tiger Woods did in coming to Australia and playing this year).
The impact of events like sporting, cultural and political, all have a dollar value to the destination hosts, their staff and communities. There are many benefits that countries, towns and cities gain from the production of events and tourism attractions. Sharpley 2006 expresses that "it is the through the process of travelling and staying in destinations that, collectively, tourists spend huge sums of money, making travel and tourism one of the world's largest economic sectors and for many countries, a vital industry, it is through that process that tourists interact with local people and impact on the local environment, it is through that process that tourists seek satisfying experiences.
The relationship between host and guest is an important factor in the process of travel and tourism. The study of travel and tourism is concerned with exploring how, why and where people travel as tourists. Sharpley (2006.p6), points out that "it is through studying and understanding that process that those who cater for tourists - the travel and tourism industry can better (and profitably!) meet tourists' needs, that the widely publicised problems or impacts of tourism can be better managed, and that destinations can optimise the benefits from tourism.
On the other hand, " as international tourism grew in both scale and scope, so too did awareness of its negative consequences or impacts. As a result, academic attention turned increasingly towards the study of social, cultural and environmental impacts of travel and tourism. Sharpley adds that "travel and tourism is an environmentally dependent activity. In other words, the environment is the very basis of travel and tourism. As tourist we seek out different and distinctive environments, and our overall tourism experience very much depends on our interaction with the destination environment. He also implies a "word of warning, when studying tourism and the environment. It is all to easy to just list and give examples of the negative and positive impacts on the environment. However, not only is it a complex topic, but it is also better to focus on ways of managing the impacts of travel and tourism. The topic is not as straightforward as you might first imagine because:
It is not always clear whether environmental change has been directly caused by tourism or by other human activities.
The environmental impacts of tourism may not always be immediate or obvious.
Tourism development may result in indirect or induced environmental impacts, sometimes in locations other than the destination.
Frequently, baselines for measuring the environmental consequences of travel and tourism do not exist.
Moreover, it is also important to recognise the extent to which particular environments are perceived differently by different stakeholders. That is, local communities may view their environment as a resource in very different light from visitors, while visitors themselves may have varying attitudes towards the destination environment, from a place to be exploited to a place to be conserved. It is, of course, necessary to be aware of the positive and negative impacts of travel and tourism on the environment. These impacts include;
depletion of natural resources,particularly water.
physical damage; errosion of footpaths, sand dunes and ecologically fragile areas
damage caused by inappropraite/illegal activities
disfigurment or damage to historical sites or monuments through graffiti or theft
infrastructural development on sensitive sites(i.e ski-lifts)
Impact on wildlife; disruption of feeding or migration patterns. hunting and fishing.
Pollution; physical pollution, noise pollution, architectural pollution
"Tourism is frequently used as a scapegoat, being blamed for a variety of environmental and other impacts. The environmental consequences of travel and tourism have long been in evidence, as have proposals and policies for their management. Some solutions have been more radical than others while, more recently, approaches such as sustainable tourism development have attempted to balance the needs of all stake holders. However, such 'blueprint' schemes have been criticised for not recognising the individual characteristics of destination environments or the needs of local people who understand and depend on those environments. Perhaps there is a need, therefore, for local communities to decide how their environment should be managed".
Posted on by Carlos Negrete
(Richard Sharpley, 2006. Travel and Tourism, Sage publications London)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment