A concomitant problem is the increasing number and kinds of stakeholder groups that populate the tourism industry. In addition to airlines, which require larger airports to accommodate increasing numbers of flights, the tourism industry is comprised of multinational real estate magnates, hotel developers, ground and maritime transportation operators, and tourists themselves. Each of these stakeholder groups has competing desires and needs, and most will not have to confront any problems that are caused by environmental damage because they are temporary, transitory visitors in the environment (Apostolopoulos & Gayle, 2002). Once a contractor has built a new airport runway, stripping a mangrove of its plant life and paving over it, or once a developer has constructed a resort hotel on a fragile beachfront, it gathers its profits and moves on to the next project. Developers are highly unlikely to be affected directly by any negative consequences sustained by the environment (Apostolopoulos & Gayle, 2002). Even tourists are increasingly less likely to confront the environmental damage to which their vacation pleasure contributes. All-inclusive resort hotels provide tourists with lodging, food, recreation, and entertainment in a contained space; it is not uncommon for guests at these resorts to stay on the property for their entire visit (Apostolopoulos & Gayle, 2002). Tourists in this type of setting are never exposed to the surrounding environment, and are never compelled to witness the effects of its degradation.

The third factor that has contributed to the practice of circumventing environmental standards in the tourism industry is the issue of poor regulatory oversight (Sofield, 2003). Sofield (2003) explained the dynamics contributing to tourism sectors where regulation is substandard or non-existent. Many developing countries are popular destinations for tourists from developed countries, he noted. The developing country becomes dependent upon tourism as a principal or exclusive source of revenue, and is willing to make concessions to developers in order to secure the promise of continued investments that will perpetuate and expand the tourism industry. Just as developers and tourists make long-term environmental trade-offs in order to fulfill short-term desires, local government and business authorities sacrifice the longevity and survival of the very features that make their region attractive in order to meet immediate cash and subsistence needs (Sofield, 2003). This type of dynamic is especially common on islands, as islands tend to be small, isolated, dependent upon imports, and lacking in the infrastructures and capital that are necessary to generate other income streams (Apostolopoulos & Gayle, 2002; Sofield, 2003). As Apostolopoulos and Gayle (2002) observed, “Nearly four decades of restructuring… formerly moribund island economies toward mass commercial exploitation of their unique natural and cultural assets has produced dramatic results,” and few of those results are positive with respect to the natural environment (p. 15).

One place that exemplifies all three of these variables that interact to produce formidable obstacles against sustainable tourism is the Galapagos Islands, located off the coast of Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands, made famous by Darwin in his On the Origin of Species, is considered by biologists and environmentalists to be one of the most unique ecosystems and habitats on the planet; in fact, some of the species that call the Galapagos home live nowhere else on Earth (The Galapagos Conservancy, 2007). It is because of the uniqueness of the Galapagos that tourists the world over want to visit; tourism has more than doubled since 1990 (The Galapagos Conservancy, 2007). Although government and wildlife conservancy officials have tried to cooperate and develop a sustainability plan with tour operators and other tourism industry stakeholders, the carrying capacity of the islands has been exceeded and the environmental effects are visible. Some of these effects include burdens on the islands’ sewage and trash collection systems, irreversible soil and rock erosion, and habitat intrusions that have been so profound that some species are now classified as endangered (The Galapagos Conservancy, 2007).

While some of the diffuse and divergent stakeholder groups have been attempting to work together to ensure that tourism can continue, but that it occurs in a responsible manner and does not result in more development, other stakeholder groups have resisted such efforts. The growing population of local residents near the Galapagos Islands, who have migrated from mainland Ecuador for jobs, have rejected or thwarted some of the environmentally responsible initiatives intended to mitigate the negative impacts of tourism (The Galapagos Conservancy, 2007). Although they realize that their economic survival depends upon the sustenance of the natural environment of the Galapagos,their acute personal economic needs compel them to sacrifice long-term concerns for the satisfaction of short-term obligations and desires. The government of Ecuador, for its part, has been all too willing to overlook violations of environmental policies intended to safeguard the islands; the islands are several hundred miles from the mainland, and the country has its own pressing and immediate needs to address (The Galapagos Conservancy, 2007). Thus, one sees that even when people know and allegedly care about the environment and recognize its long-term benefit for business, it is possible for them to forego industry standards with respect to responsible development.

While a certain segment of the tourism industry expands to embrace the philosophy and practice of environmentally responsible travel, and although more consumers are expressing interest in ecotourism options for their travels, the factors that stand in the way of environmental responsibility are formidable. The increasing number of people interested in and able to travel, coupled with the various tourist industry groups that wish to profit from consumers’ desire to travel, has resulted in the common practice of circumventing environmentally responsible practices. Regulatory bodies overlook violations because local economies need the cash that tourism provides. It is important for these divergent stakeholders, all of which exert considerable influence in tourism development, to recognize that the trade-off between short-term desires and long-term needs is a dangerous one, not only for the environment, but ultimately for business.

References

Apostolopoulos, Y., & Gayle, D.J. (2002). Island tourism and sustainable development Caribbean, Pacific, and Mediterranean experiences. Westport, CT: Praeger

Buckley, R., Pickering, C., & Weaver, D.B (2003). Nature-based tourism, environment and land management. Oxfordshire: CABI Publishing.

Galapagos Conservancy. (2007). Conservation challenges. Retrieved on March 16, 2008 from http://www.galapagos.org/conservation/challenges.html

Smith, V.L., & Eadington, W.R. (1992). Tourism alternatives: Potentials and problems in the development of tourism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Sofield, T. (2003). Empowerment for sustainable tourism. Bradford, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.