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Tourism and the environment: a complex relationship

Tourism's relationship with the environment is complex. Given the scale and global extent, it is inevitable that tourism has important environmental impacts. These impacts are related to resource consumption, as well as to pollution and waste generated by tourism activities, including impacts from transport.

At the same time, beaches, mountains, rivers, forests and biodiversity make the environment a basic resource upon which the tourism
industry depends in order to thrive and grow, and threats to the environment therefore threaten the viability of the tourism industry. Lastly, tourism can contribute to environmental protection.