The problem we’re trying to solve

Humans have made more of an impact on the world than any other species. We have a powerful role to play in the shaping of the world and, whilst human impact is not always harmful, our ‘footprint’ is growing ever larger: human industries have created emissions that have fundamentally altered the Earth’s ecosystems; oceans and rivers have been polluted and overfished; and animals’ habitats have been degraded and destroyed.

As one of the world’s largest industries, tourism has a huge global impact. For many countries, tourism provides employment and wealth, stimulating economic growth. However, because the tourism industry relies on supply of finite resources, when tourists flock to an area in their masses not all of the impacts are positive…

Let’s take water as an example. A tourist in the Mediterranean can use up to 440 litres of water per day, nearly double what a regular Spanish city-dweller would use. Staggeringly, an average golf course in Thailand uses as much water as 60,000 rural villagers.

Economically, the impact of tourism can be hugely uneven. On average, over 80% of the money travellers pay for an all-inclusive package holiday goes to airlines, tour operators and other international companies, rather than to local workers and businesses. Imagine how much is left for in-country staff wages…

There are also socio-cultural implications. Local cultures can become degraded, turned into commodities for tourists’ consumption. For example, a traditional ethnic festival might be reduced or ‘sanitised’ in order to conform to tourists’ expectations. This can lead to sacred rituals, sites and objects becoming perceived as commodities to be bought and sold. There are ethical issues too; it is estimated that between 13 and 19 million children are employed in the tourism industry worldwide… Mass tourism is damaging and totally unsustainable. One journalist has likened the industry to ‘a high-speed train, crammed with passengers with cheap tickets, racing toward a cliff edge’. So maybe it’s time to slam the brakes on, disembark, and look for an alternative.