24.+Sustainable+Tourism

Authors: Michael Moe, Megan Welsh, Ammon Brown and Crystal Orantes

**Introduction **
Continual development and growth throughout the world is creating more affluence, especially in places such as China and India. Increased travel and tourism are a natural complement to such an increase and less developed countries are often desirable destinations, while many established tourism areas are in need of redevelopment to avoid stagnation. As the number of people engaging in tourism increases, there is and will be a need for infrastructure development which is carried out in a sustainable manner on all fronts. Well planned development should not only generate revenue, but should maintain or improve the natural environment while improving and sustaining the community within which it occurs. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), tourism is the largest industry in the world, accounting for 10% of employment and 11% of worldwide GDP (Guidelines For Community Based Ecotoursim Development, 2001). With an industry that produces such a large footprint there is certainly a need for sustainable development within that industry. Butler developed a life cycle model for tourism in 1980 in which he proposed that tourist destinations undergo seven stages: 1) Exploration, 2) Involvement, 3) Development, 4) Consolidation, 5) Stagnation, 6) Decline and 7) Rejuvenation. Proper planning and development in the early stages of tourism development should greatly increase the life cycle of any tourist destination, innately creating a more sustainable destination. By giving consideration to the area and environment in which development or restoration is to occur, the community that development will affect, and the economic implications of that development, a long lasting, productive and restorative tourist destination should result.

The goal of this chapter is to discuss the integrated planning necessary to achieve sustainable tourism development, specifically, ecotoursim development, through the framework of the triple bottom line. The triple bottom line is a means of analysis that encompasses not only the economic impacts of a project, but also the social and environmental implications of that project.



Ecotourism was chosen as the focus for this chapter due to the inherent sensitivities of the environments and communities which it usually affects and in an effort to focus the scope of the work. Ecotourism is defined by ecotourism.org as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the natural environment and improves the well being of the local people." This, by definition, meets the tenets of the triple bottom line, the question is, how is this best accomplished? The chapter will begin with an exploration of issues regarding planning with a focus on integrating disciplines involved in the entire process to create synergistic and comprehensive solutions sensitive to the context in which they are to be implemented. Within this section, subsections will address the regulatory concerns, site analysis, framework and goals for the project, and design options. Following this, each aspect of the triple bottom line will be illustrated with a case study from a different part of the world in order to show practical applications and results of sustainable tourism development. While each case study was selected for an individual aspect of the triple bottom line which it meets especially well, the other two components will also be discussed for completeness.

**Planning For Sustainable Tourism Development**
Development of any site for tourism will necessarily alter the environment and community within which it occurs. The goal of sustainable tourism should be to improve those aspects and at a minimum to minimize the impact of such development. The World Tourism Organization has defined the major threats to tourism as 1) global warming, 2) loss of biological diversity and 3) degradation of climate, soil, air and water. The integration and cooperation of the various constituents involved in planning, while more difficult logistically, should produce positive benefits in the long term effectiveness of tourism infrastructure to combat these threats. By establishing a framework through which the project should progress and the ultimate goals of the development, the collaboration of government officials, community representatives, site planners, architects, engineers, biologists and other affected constituents should yield more productive and sustainable results. Sustainable infrastructure design is defined by Sarte as "the art of taking a systems approach to ecology, engineering, and culture; realizing these are interconnected realms; and seeking solutions that address them with coordinated, rather than separate, strategies" (Sarte, 2010), and this definition holds for sustainable tourism development.

Regional standards for tourism development have in some cases been explicitly established and cognizance of these standards and other codes must be the first step toward effective planning of infrastructure. In Asia the Plan of Action for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Asian and Pacific Region (PASTA) was established in order to coordinate tourism policy making and planning in an integrated way from the national to the local level. The focus of PASTA centers around six aspects of tourism, human resources development, economic impact, environmental impact, infrastructure development and investment, facilitation of travel and regional and subregional cooperation (United Nations, 2001). In determining the correct development path to follow, it is very important to implement context sensitive solutions, rather than follow a broad regional plan that misses some of the finer details associated with specific sites. PASTA, significantly, was designed to be flexible and accomodating based on the needs of each country, despite its regional umbrella.

Following identification of regulations and regionally established goals, thorough analysis of the proposed development site is required to identify areas of impact, economically, environmentally and socially. An inventory of locally available resources allows for more efficient design of energy production, construction and operational parameters. Are there resources nearby that allow for renewable energy production, such as streams, wind or geothermal hot spots? There are many design options that can greatly reduce the impact tourism can have. A number of these will be illustrated in examples further in the text. Does the area in which the development is desired require increased infrastructure to accomodate larger numbers of visitors? If the tourism is based on a cultural experience, that experience may be degraded by added infrastructure and the goal of tourism development may not be how many visitors, but the quality and impression of the visit. If infrastructure is necessary, how can it be constructed so as to have a minimal impact on the surrounding area and community while still generating income for those involved? This planning and implementation process is shown symbolically below.



Thorough analysis of the proposed site includes study of the soil for runoff characteristics and stability while the prevailing weather patterns can be monitored to most effectively take advantage of natural cooling, heating, lighting and seasonal variations in water. Identification of locally available building materials and food supplies helps to create a more sustainable project while simultaneously boosting the local economy before visitors even begin arriving. This has the added benefit of establishing good relationships among local business owners and those creating the tourist site. The local style of architecture should also be carefully observed to create a congruous feel to the area with designs that also complement their natural surroundings. Perhaps most importantly, the values of the local community and what role they expect to play in developing and sustaining tourism should be thoroughly evaluated. An unengaged local population can cause great harm to tourism through resentment and lack of care, while a population that is vested and behind an endeavor can create a thriving experience for all interested parties.

Case Studies
The following examples are case studies in which sustainable tourism development has been effectively carried out. Each addresses all aspects of the triple bottom line in some fashion, but does particularly well in one of the areas. An example of a tourist destination that is thriving economically is the Maui Eco Retreat on the island of Maui in Hawaii. The resort consists of a central house with 4 rooms and two cottages. The prices for these various accomodations range from $165-$250 per night. Two of the accomodations are shown below. With the capacity to bring in over $1000 per day, the owners of the resort are running an



economically viable business. Much of the staffing needs are carried out by WWOOFers, who are travelers who work for their lodging and food, thus reducing staffing costs. The other aspects of the triple bottom line are well met too. Environmentally, the resort is off the grid, with electricity provided by solar power and rainwater providing for the water needs of the resort. It is located in one of the wetter areas of Maui, Haiku, which makes rainwater a reliable source for water. Paper and food waste are composted in worm bins and the compost is used as fertilizer. The cottages and rooms are constructed of predominantly renewable and recycled materials, specifically bamboo, teak, recycled plastic and coconut. Seven chickens provide eggs for the retreat as well as a source of fertilizer. Efforts are made to educate the guests through signage and reminders to turn lights off, use minimal water and shop at the local farmer's market when purchasing items. The site itself was bought in 1988 and was raw and undeveloped and the resort has minimally developed the land since. The arhitecture is fitting for the area with one of the cottages being the first permitted bamboo structure in the United States (shown above). Socially, the Eco Resort does as much as it can to educate it guests concerning conservation and being connected to the environment in which we all live. As was mentioned before, the owners always recommend shopping in the local community rather than in the many nation/worldwide brands found throughout Maui and they encourage travelers to come be educated in sustainable practices at their resort while receiving room and board for labor.

A case study of Rancho Margot near Arenal in Costa Rica provides an effective example of environmental conservation. While the scale is relatively small, it provides innovative and practical examples of using locally available resources to create a thriving tourist destination. The ranch is situated on 400 acres of land and currently has the capacity to accommodate 100 guests and 50 employee/volunteers. It was previously cleared land used for cattle and has since been reforested and developed for the purposes of the ranch. The ranch grows most of the food it serves on site in the form of vegetables, fruit and livestock. The electricity is provided by two microhydro installations which provide a total of 48 kW. The hydro installations are minimally invasive in the river ecosystem, diverting water for usage and then returning that water, unheated, a short time later. The gas for the kitchen is created by an anaerobic digester that processes the liquid waste from the animals in the form of methane. The hot water is provided through an extensive piping network that coils through a large composting system. The compost is very active being composed of animal waste, leaf litter from the property and organic waste from the kitchen, and operates at a temperature around 150-160° F. The kitchen waste oil is separated and purified for use in production of soap for the rooms while leftover soap from the rooms are blended together for use in laundry services. While aspects of the operation, such as the soap, are small and not overly significant, this sort of practice could have larger impacts on a larger scale and therein lies the value of such ideas. Shown below are pictures of various interconnected aspects of operation at Rancho Margot. The environmental impact of Rancho Margot is extremely low, both on a local level and a world level. They consume very few resources that are not produced on site emission free.



Rancho Margot not only implements practices that avoid degradation of its surroundings, but has been actively restoring the land in which it resides for many years. Their efforts at reforestation have restored much of a previously deforested area and has led to a return of native wildlife species, including pumas, ocelots and many snakes. The beauty of the ranch and the harmony with which it fits into its surroundings can be seen below in Figure?



In conjunction with the low environmental impact which Rancho Margot has, it also benefits the local and extended community through education of workers and guests. Many of the workers at the ranch come specifically to learn about sustainability and many of them come from areas of Costa Rica or even different countries. A few days spent here enlivens a passion for sustainable practices, a few months or more certainly would build a foundation of knowledge from which to facilitate integration of these practices into to the places in which the workers are from, benefitting distant communities. The local community, which is comprised in large part of other tourism operations, benefits through job creation as well as being shown a model for sustainable and often profitable practices. The community also benefits from the runs the Rancho Margot staff makes to the local recycle and waste disposal center. They pick up other community residents trash and recyclables and bring them to the proper facility where the practice prior to this was to burn the trash. Economically, Rancho Margot also functions at a high level. Bungalows are fairly expensive, at $115 per person per night and bunkhouse rooms are $75 per night. This price includes all meals and services, however as nearly all the food is produced on site and some of the workers at the ranch are volunteers, the operating costs of the ranch should be quite low allowing for a fairly profitable operation. Rancho Margot is a great example of sustainable tourism and meets all three measures of the triple bottom line.

An example of an ecotourism destination which meets the community aspect of the triple bottom line particularly well, and simultaneously fulfills the other two, is the Karen village of Baan Huay Hee in the province of Mae Hong Son in northwestern Thailand. The Karen are one of a number of small ethnic tribes that reside in northern Thailand and are known for their unique culture in which women's necks are elongated with rings as shown below. This culture has been prone to tourism practices which have not been overly beneficial to the villagers and have been more exploitative in nature rather than wholistically benefitting those villagers involved. Through a collaborative effort among local villagers and a couple of NGO's, the Project for Recovery of Life and Culture, and the Thai Volunteer Service-Responsible Ecological Social Tours, the Huay Hee village has become a model for many subsequent tourism developments in the region. As of 2001, over 60 villages had adopted this form of tourism development, which came to be known as Community Based Sustainable Tourism (CBST). Tourism in this village is based on the goals of 1) improving the quality of villager's lives, 2) preserving and reinforcing the importance of Karen culture, 3) empowering villagers to make their own decisions regarding their way of life and 4) conserving natural resources and the environment. These goals have been accomplished by establishing and understanding the desires of tourists, centered around experiencing the natural beauty of the area coupled with exposure to a unique and rare culture, and then deciding upon ways in which these desires can be met while increasing the quality of life of the villagers and preserving the environment in which they reside. By working with government officials who oversee and manage a nearby national park the villagers have been able to utilize the park for tourism purposes while becoming more aware of its value and the threat that unmanaged or poorly managed tourism poses to it. An effort was made to establish expectations for tourists and to then educate them regarding those expectations, improving communication and respect for the culture and environment. The village bases its tourism around homestays and the responsibility of providing tourism services and the resulting profits are rotated among villagers who want to do so, thus providing equitable access to the resource. The village is centered around an agrarian subsistence lifestyle and while tourism has not replaced this, it has become a supplemental form of income and a means of diversification and preservation of culture. Demand for traditional clothing and textiles has allowed for increased production of such items and people are able to take breaks from agriculture and provide services as guides. In conjunction with the development of sustainable tourism, efforts have been made to curb drug abuse and the spread of HIV in the community by providing youth with education and a role to play in their community.

This community based sustainable tourism bolsters the community that provides it and allows tourists a responsible and authentic cultural experience while improving the economic conditions of the village and improving the conditions of the environment around it.



Summary
The population of the earth is contiually increasing and globaliziation has created an environment in which the lines between cultures are being muddled and lost. These factors, among others, are straining the natural environment all over the world and also speeding the demise of many cultures and traditions. Sustainable tourism, especially ecotourism provides a means for addressing these issues on a small scale. Ecotourism allows for not only preservation of the environment but, as has been seen at Rancho Margot, the improvement of an area. It also brings the possibility of preserving unique and isolated cultures while allowing people from around the world to experience first hand those cultures, hopefully creating greater understanding and relations between people. Wherever ecotourism might occur, it brings with it economic opportunity that may otherwise be lacking. There are many factors that lead to effective ecotourism; among them are diligent planning, collaboration between interested parties, and perhaps most importantly, having a clear understanding of the context in which the tourism is to be carried out and the ultimate goals of those involved. By using the above information and case studies as guides, an ecotourism development should be on the right path towards economic viability, environmental stewardship and social responsibility.