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Economic aspects of tourism and the environment

Though leisure activities are now the world’s biggest industry, with international tourism expected to account for US$ 5 billion in spending a day within 20 years – tourism is usually not managed well from an environmental perspective. Development often takes place as near to favourite spots as possible, no matter what the impact, while visitors usually produce more sewage and garbage than local people.

In addition, though tourism can encourage preservation of natural environments, and environmental concerns no longer seem to be a niche market, it can be questioned whether increasingly popular maritime tourism brings countries enough revenues to meet the costs of maintaining their ecosystems.

A UNEP study on managing the impact of tourism on small islands concluded: "Overall, tourism tends to be a mixed blessing in its benefits and impacts on the island environment. If it is allowed to grow unplanned, it can have serious social and environmental impacts while providing little real economic benefit. If developed with care, it can bring many advantages to small island communities with few other resources."