Environment

Tourism, Terrorism and Tomorrow

2001-12-20, Issue 47

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/4869

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Before September 11th, travel and tourism was the world's largest industry, accounting for one in every 12 jobs. When the massive $3.6 trillion industry almost ground to a halt after the terrorist attacks, the ripple effects extended well beyond the United States, exposing the vulnerability of countries too dependent on international tourism, reports the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, DC based environmental research organization.




NEWS FROM THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 13, 2001

Listen to the Traveling Light press conference (December 13, 2001)
on-line and watch an interview with author, Lisa Mastny at
www.worldwatch.org/alerts/011213.html

TOURISM, TERRORISM, AND TOMORROW
As fewer overseas travelers pack their bags this holiday season,
millions of tourism industry workers worldwide are losing their jobs.
Before September 11th, travel and tourism was the world's largest
industry, accounting for one in every 12 jobs. When the massive $3.6
trillion industry almost ground to a halt after the terrorist attacks,
the ripple effects extended well beyond the United States, exposing the
vulnerability of countries too dependent on international tourism,
reports the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, DC-based environmental
research organization.

"The aftermath of September 11 has shown us how important travel and
tourism are to the global economy, but also how over-dependence on
tourism can devastate lives and derail economies," says Worldwatch Staff
Researcher Lisa Mastny, author of Traveling Light: New Paths for
International Tourism. "Now, more than ever, it is time to put issues
of sustainability at the top of the global tourism agenda."

In the paper, Mastny discusses ways that countries can redirect their
tourism activities to make them more socially beneficial and
environmentally sound. She highlights a wide range of positive efforts
underway to minimize tourism's negative impacts and to boost its
benefits for local communities and the environment.

Revenues from tourism have been especially important in the developing
world,
which stands to suffer severe economic losses from the slowdown.
"Tourism is the only economic sector where developing countries
consistently run a trade surplus," says Mastny. "It's especially
significant in poorer countries that have few other options: for the
world's 49 so-called least developed countries, tourism is the second
largest source of foreign exchange after oil."

Businesses in the developing world are particularly worried about the
sharp drop
in bookings as the winter high season nears:

- India and Nepal, which are close to Afghanistan, are already
feeling the effects of a drop in demand.

- In October, resort company Club Méditerranée was forced to
close 15 of its holiday villages in the Caribbean, Central America, the
Middle East, Europe, an Asia.

- Operators in Costa Rica report a 30 percent decline in
bookings from last year.

- International tourism is now expected to grow by only 1.5 to
2 percent in 2001, compared with the robust 7.4 percent rise in 2000.

- The International Labour Organization estimates that as many
as 9 million of the world's 200 million hotel and tourism workers could
lose their jobs in the wake of the attacks. Nearly three quarters of
these positions are outside the United States and Europe, many in
countries with weak social safety nets.
.

Even in the best of times, the consequences of tourism's rapid growth
have not always been positive. On average, as much as 50 percent of
tourism earnings ultimately "leak" out of the developing world-in the
form of profits earned by foreign-owned businesses, promotional spending
abroad, or payments for imported goods and labor. And uncontrolled
tourism development-on mountaintops, along coastlines, or in remote
jungle areas-stresses many fragile ecosystems and cultures.

"Tourism does not have to have such negative impacts," Mastny says.
"Many governments and businesses, local communities, and tourists
themselves are already paying more attention to the social, cultural,
and environmental impacts of their activities."

Such changes can save money as well. Some hotels, tour operators, and
other businesses are taking formal steps to restructure their management
and operations along environmental lines-often at considerable cost
savings. Between 1988 and 1995, for example, Inter-Continental Hotels
reduced its overall energy costs by 27 percent, saving $3.7 million in
1995 alone. The Green Hotels Association reports that hotels that have
adopted such conservation measures and green practices have been better
able to weather the revenue loss, falling occupancies, and higher energy
costs in the aftermath of the September attacks.

In the paper, Mastny also examines the role of ecotourism, or
responsible tourism in natural settings, in protecting and enhancing
environmentally fragile areas. If done well, ecotourism can bring
benefits to both local communities and conservation. The ecotourism
sector had been growing even faster than the tourism industry as a whole
(20% vs. 7%). But Mastny cautions that some businesses are
"greenwashing" their operations, slapping on the ecotourism label
without actually changing their practices.
-END-

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Leanne Mitchell, Public Relations Specialist: 202-452-1992, x 527, or
lmitchell@worldwatch.org <mailto:lmitchell@worldwatch.org>

Lisa Mastny, Staff Researcher: 202-452-1992, x 533, or
lmastny@worldwatch.org <mailto:lmastny@worldwatch.org>

Purchasing Information: Traveling Light costs $5.00 and can be purchased
through the Worldwatch website: www.worldwatch.org
<http://www.worldwatch.org> or by calling 1-800-555-2028 in the U.S. and
1-301-567-9522 from anywhere else.

Worldwatch Email list: To receive Worldwatch press advisories and
advance releases by email, send a message to majordomo@crest.org
<mailto:majordomo@crest.org>. In the first line of text, type:
"subscribe Worldwatch".





QUICK FACTS: Worldwatch Paper 159 Traveling Light

* Between 1950 and 2000, international tourist arrivals
increased nearly 28-fold, to 698 million. They are expected to reach 1.6
billion by 2020.

* The number of people taking cruises worldwide nearly
doubled between 1990 and 1999, to 9 million passengers annually. In 2001
some 53 new vessels were on the order books.

* Each year, up to 5,000 hectares of the Earth's land
surface-an area half the size of Paris-is cleared for golf courses. One
18-hole course can consume more than 2.3 million liters of water daily.

* The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan practices a policy of
"high-value, low-volume" tourism and accepted only 7,500 visitors in
2000, at a cost of $250 each per day.

* Nearly 80 percent of international tourists come from
Europe and the Americas, while only 15 percent originate in East Asia
and the Pacific and 5 percent in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia
combined.

* The share of international tourists traveling to Asia
and the Pacific rose from just 1 percent in 1950 to 16 percent in 2000.
By 2020, Asia will be the most popular destination after Europe,
attracting a quarter of world tourist traffic. China is expected to
unseat France as the most visited country and to become the fourth
largest source of tourists.

* In 1999, international tourist spending abroad accounted
for nearly 8 percent of world exports of goods and services, surpassing
trade in such items as food, textiles, and chemicals. Tourism is also
the most rapidly growing export in the services sector, representing
more than 40 percent of world services exports.

* In some small island nations in the Caribbean and
Pacific, tourism generates more than 40 percent of GDP.

* On average, women account for 46 percent of workers in
the hotel, catering, and restaurant sectors-a much higher share than in
labor markets overall.

* The passenger jet is overtaking the automobile as the
primary means of tourist travel. An estimated 43 percent of
international tourists now fly to their destinations, while 42 percent
travel by road and 15 percent use either rail or ship.

* In 1992, aircraft emissions contributed roughly 3.5
percent of human-generated greenhouse gases-and this share is expected
to rise steadily as air travel increases.

* A 1997 study found that roughly 83 percent of the
American public supported green travel services, and that people were
willing to spend 6 percent more on average for travel services and
products provided by environmentally responsible companies.


Leanne Mitchell
Public Relations Specialist
----------------------------------------------
Worldwatch Institute
1776 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington DC 20036
Tel: (202) 452-1992 ext.527
Fax: (202) 296-7365
Email: lmitchell@worldwatch.org
Web: www.worldwatch.org



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