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Impacts of tourism

Wastes, litter, eutrophication, and pathogens

A tourist produces an average of about 1 kg of wastes each day. This can lead to pollution from land-based hotels and marinas; and waste and litter linked with marine sports and cruises. For example, in 1995 it was estimated that cruise ships in the Caribbean alone produced more than 70,000 tonnes of waste each year.

In islands and coastal areas, the main types of pollution in coastal waters resulting from tourism include sediment run-off, sewage, solid waste, high nutrient loads, synthetic organic chemicals, oil, and pathogens. These result in eutrophication, and deterioration of water quality, which have adverse effects on coastal ecosystems and their living resources, and so impair their value for tourism as well as other uses. This is in particular the case of coral reefs that are at high risk world-wide.