Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts of Tourism

Analysis 2

Throughout the documentary, Gringo Trails, there were several different destinations that highlighted the effects of increased quantities of travellers. These travellers come from all over the world to some of the most remote locations. These travellers believe that they are, what the documentary calls, “invisible travellers” (Gringo Trails, 2014). This means that they believe they have no effect whatsoever on the destinations which they decide to travel to. This is far from reality as highlighted in Gringo Trails as there has been environmental decline and changes in attitude from the locals. There are, however, several things that can be done to correct the situation for all parties involved.

As a tourism consultant, I am fully aware and completely understand the roles that the tourist, tourism planners, and the local communities have in creating a better environment for the locals and tourists. Tourists have an obligation to respect the destination to which they are travelling. The tourism planners must focus on promoting only ecological and sustainable activities that do not harm the environment or the culture. The local communities have an obligation to ensure that they are prepared to handle the influx of travellers and to ensure they have planned and built accordingly. One of the things that can be implemented is some type of urban planning. As highlighted by the Thailand example in Gringo Trails, there was a severe lack of urban planning by the Thailand government, which was a direct cause of the environmental and socio-cultural damage created on the islands there. This option would work as it would give time to plan out things like which buildings to build, infrastructure, and waste management, making it much easier to manage any drastic influx of tourists.

Secondly, we can institute a system similar to what Bhutan did, which was to institute what they call a “high value, low impact” system (Gringo Trails, 2014). This calls for tourists to pay $250/day to visit their country. These funds will go towards implementing and sustaining what they call “Gross National Happiness” (Gringo Trails, 2014), which focuses on sustainable development, preservation and promotion of the environment, preservation and promotion of culture, and establishment of good governance. I believe that this would work because it would encourage only serious travellers that wish to actually see the country for what it has to offer, instead of just going there for a quick story they can share with people; only respectful travellers will come.