1. 1
Three Dimensions of Sustainable Tourism
1.Environmental
2.Economic
3.Social
Environmental Dimension
 Sustainability is about environment, both man made and natural but fact needs to be
recognized that ecosystems are an essential part of this environment along with mankind.
 Five types of environment are:
- The Natural Environment: Mountains, seas ,rivers and lakes, beaches, forests, caves
- The Farmed Environment : Agricultural Landscapes, man made forests ,fish farms
- The Built Environment : Individual buildings and structures ,villages and townscapes,
transport and infrastructure, dams and reservoirs
- Natural Resources : Climate, water, air
- Wildlife : Flora and fauna
The Natural Environment
 Some major potential impacts of tourism on the natural environment are in terms of flora and
fauna species , pollution, erosion, affect on natural resources, bad visual impact
Students to give examples
 Few natural areas left in the world and are affected by actions of mankind
 The natural areas represent the core of tourism product
The Farmed Environment
 Includes diverse ways of farming such as intensive crop rearing, traditional mixed farming such
as growing of crops along with livestock rearing, nomadic livestock rearing, fish farming
 Tourists can trample crops, light fires. Tourism can eat up farmlands as part of developments,
employment in tourism can take people away from farming
 On the positive side, tourism can provide extra revenue to farming

2. 2
Wildlife
 Includes big game reserves such as Kenya, bird life, marine life, fishing trips, zoos, aquariums,
traditional events such as bull fighting
 Tourism can harm wildlife by destruction of habitats, affecting feeding habits, disrupting
breeding patterns, forest fires etc
 Tourism can benefit wildlife by providing the economic value for its conservation
The Built Environment
 Includes individual buildings and structures, small scale settlements such as villages, large scale
settlements eg: towns and cities
 Some major potential impacts of tourism on the built environment include changes in character
of urban areas, overload of infrastructure, visual impact, restoration, erosion, pollution
Points Towards a More Sustainable Relationship Between Tourism and The Environment
 Holistic thinking – in terms of the concept of ecosystems
 Regulation of negative impacts
 Encouraging good practice in terms of developments
 Raising awareness amongst tourists and industry
 Prices paid by industry and tourists should be high enough to cover the environmental costs of
tourism
 Maintaining a balance between conservation and development

3. 3
Economic Dimension
 Tourism is an economic phenomenon because:
- It is a major industry and forex earner in developed and developing countries
- Is a basis of growth of many transnational corporations
- Is responsible for public sector infrastructure investment
 Economic benefits of tourism
- Job creation
- Injection of income into economy through the multiplier effect
- Helps keep local businesses going
- Regeneration and restructuring of economies of towns and cities where other industrial
activities are in decline
- Stimulates inwards investment
 Economic Costs of Tourism
- Many jobs are low paid or seasonal
- Wastage of money by investment in expensive infrastructure
- Over- dependence on tourism
- Money invested in tourism cannot be used in any other purpose
 Sustainability in Tourism can be achieved more in economic terms by:
- Developing forms of tourism which help in achieving economic benefits of tourism while
minimizing economic costs
- Ensuring benefits of tourism are spread widely amongst host community
- Making sure tourists pay a fair price for their holiday experience
- Protecting local businesses from unfair competition from larger, externally owned
enterprises
- Reducing leakages from local economy
- Private and public sector should share costs fairly of attracting and meeting the needs of
tourists

4. 4
The Social Dimension
 Social dimension of tourism has been given less importance in sustainable tourism over
environmental dimension.
 Because usually socio-cultural impacts occur over a period of time, are invisible and intangible
and are permanent in nature with no chance of reversibility.
 Scope of social dimension of sustainable tourism consists of:
- The Tourist: Who can afford or not afford a holiday, pay a fair price, exploit host
community, attitude towards staff, need to feel safe and secure,
- Foreign Tourist Operators: Relation with host community and local tourism industry,
exploiting low cost economies, images and expectation created by their promotional
activities, lack of long term commitment to host communities
- Destination Government : Restrictions on tourists from particular countries and
cultures, Devoting resources to tourism that could be allocated to other sectors in the
country and vice versa, creating images for tourists through promotional activities,
deciding on how tax revenues from tourists will be used , attitudes to traditional
cultures and people in the destination
- Local Tourism Industry : Human resource issues including pay and working condition,
VFM offered to tourists, representations of local cultures for tourists
- Host Community : Attitudes towards and relations with tourists, Level of involvement
and influence in decision making in relation to tourism, impact of tourism on society and
culture, commitment towards conserving society and culture
 Sustainability can be achieved more in social dimension as below:
- All stakeholders in tourism being given fair treatment
- Equal employment opportunities for all
- Increasing opportunities for everyone in the world who wants to take a holiday
- Local people and staff being treated equal
- Managing tourism in a way that local people maintain their dignity and sense of pride of
their communities
- Development of concept of fair trade where tourists pay a fair price for the holiday they
take
- Benefits of tourism are widely distributed amongst the host community