Running head: MASS TOURISM VS AULTERNATIVE TOURISM .

Mass Tourism Vs Alternative Tourism

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Introduction

Over the last five decades, tourism all over the globe has grown tremendously to a level

that it is currently identified as the world’s largest industry and reputable for the realization of

worthwhile economic benefits (6 trillion US dollars in the year 2011). The industry is equally the

largest employer in the world as it has generated about 260 million jobs in the year 2011 that

means out of 12 jobs that came up globally, was as a result of tourism. (WorldTravel and

Tourism Council,2011). The huge scale of tourism has led to the need to make the activity more

sustainable and progressive thus the increased use and adherence to alternative tourism.

Alternative tourism is an activity that covers the process of tours of adventure, thematic tours,

eco-tourism as well as other ventures of tourism that are smaller in scale. The world is embracing

alternative tourism as a substitute to mass tourism that is unsustainable due to its larger scale of

operation and the laying of emphasis on factors such as travel agencies, entertainment, food

services among other activities with little regard paid to the maintenance and [preservation of the

natural environment. Mass tourism is thus more characterized by larger scale operation levels in

the consideration of activities such as management and planning (Bricker et al.,2013). The key

difference however in the comparison of alternative tourism and mass tourism is of surrounding

environmental impact that the two approaches to tourism have. Mass tourism is characterized by

the involvement of people in mass amounts thus translating to the production of trash in mass

amounts and the mass distraction of the environment to create standard fertilities that would

sufficiently accommodate the high demand for leisure fertilities required by tourists (Wearing, et

al.,2013). It is however noteworthy to point out that while the world has noted the needs to

embrace more sustainable alternative tourism measures, the huge production of capital resources

in mass tourism destination areas show the presence of additional potential for initiatives like the
MASS TOURISM VS AULTERNATIVE TOURISM .3

cleanup of destinations, through the hiring of teams of sustainability management focused groups

that can assist in the mitigation against environmental mitigation. There is equally need for the

upscaling of alternative tourism ventures so as to allow the achievement of worthwhile levels of

impact on the environment. This text aims to dwell on analyzing the impact mass tourism has

had on the environment and additionally focus on the various measures being taken by the world

in the promotion of sustainable tourism.

Body

While back in 1950 the world had about 25.3 million tourists, the number has inflated to

1,133,000,000 by the year 2014.The practice has now become a new dimension of leisure

dimension. Not only has tourism assumed the economic enrichment comparable to the societies

of industrialization but it has also assimilated other features like working time reduction and

social progress that are synonymous of industrialization. Advancements in technology have

allowed for the development of cheaper and more convenient modes of transport and as a

consequence opening all parts of the world to tourism (Buckley, 2015). Some of the features that

have grown to be unique to mass tourism include an extreme tourist concentration I a single

locality e.g. the traffic of tourist that is characteristic of the Greek Island of Santorini. The

consequences of massification are saturation of places, the degradation of such a place, loss of

attractiveness as well as. A comparison of a destination's local population density and the

volume of tourist transit to that particular region clearly reveal the hazardous environment

impact that is the consequence of mass tourism. While the humble scale of tourism activity in

Caribbean Island that is twice less than the activity in Northern Europe (less than 25 million

tourists staying over). The considerably small size of the islands C235000KM squared) as well

as the islands’ local population of about 37 million persons extremely strain the limited resources
MASS TOURISM VS AULTERNATIVE TOURISM .4

the region has e.g. fresh water. The coral reefs that are the host environment in the region that are

considerably fragile are equally strained. The huge growth of selective tourism equally has

overwhelming levels of pressure on micro territories on an island like Startle that is only 23

square Kilometers, yet the population of tourists it hosts is over 120, 000 and its local population

is merely 9000,000 persons.

Mass tourism, however, has the benefit of a mammoth volume of revenue that is

instrumental in the growth and support of the economy. The numerous visitors that arrive at

various destinations as a result of tourism are aggressive consumers thus offering hope for the

realization of profits through entrepreneurship tourism and revenues that the host country

benefits from. Not only does tourism provide huge benefits for small investors but it equally

helps in the provision of a wide variety of jobs in businesses like taxis, restaurants, and hotels

(Coria, 2012).

Mass tourism leads in the production of products that are perishable and thus time-based

and thus impossible to stock. In the occurrence that capacity goes up then, demand declines to

the discount of prices becomes the only adaptive tactic that becomes resorted to. Such a move

has huge disadvantageous effects on the industry as there are huge losses incurred as well as the

losing of jobs by employees who have to be laid off when profit margins fall. Economies that

heavily depend on mass tourism are therefore faced with shocks in such durations when to say a

travel advisory that results from terror threat or disease outbreak result. Price comparison tools

and advancement in technology of connectivity have been so effective in the shifting of

purchasing power to consumers through mass tourism engines. Through repeated

discounting(Ghimire,2013). Consumers are more and more convinced of to make purchases and

get cheap travels. While the(too) cheap traveling programs are becoming loved by the low-end
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market increase the scale of those who get access to the service. The degradation of prices is not

sufficiently word hunter as cutting of prices at all stages become a priority and the resultant

downward pressure on prices result in the reduction of yields realized from mass tourism

ventures (Weaver, 2012).

In spite of the benefits mentioned above that arise from mass tourism, there are numerous

negative impacts that have the effect on the host economy. Speculations and overvaluation of

land are such negative impacts that result from mass tourism. Economic logic thus subsequently

results in the exclusion of land uses that are deemed to be less profitable e.g. agriculture,

gardening, and fishing. Mass tourism thus results in the breakdown of local economies that are

fragile, exclusion and inflation. Leakages is another problem that results from tourism. While it

is true that tourism causes significant money flow, local economies usually realized sparingly

limited benefits in a system that is largely globalized. The reason for this is that mass tourism has

resulted in the development of an international economic market that is not only informal but

also parallel or underground in the form of social exclusion as the affluent privately go side by

side with public squalors (i Baidal et al.,2013). Such an evolution that was a consequence of

mass tourism has resulted in the subsistence production deteriorating yet it is this production that

is the foundation of lives at a local level thus allowing the linking of the social fabric that more

or less impact relation in the social relationships. Mass tourism is thus associated with

ecological, social and cultural dilemmas that opened research into the prospective consideration

of alternative tourism. While the revenue volume that may be realized from this type of venture

may be less, the model has less stress on the environment and result in more direct local benefit

to local economies.
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Alternative tourism uses a variety of approaches namely ethical tourism, ecotourism,

agrotourism, community tourism among others. These approaches that fall under alternative

tourism model closely consider the cultural and social dimensions, the participation of host

communication and the establishment of a proactive relationship with the environment. The

alternative business model also allows the development of tourism strategies that are sustainable

and the creation of room for host countries to realize considerable economic benefits. Other

terms that are normally used for alternative tourism include ecotourism, sustainable tourism, and

green tourism. While the term green tourism is used in association to ecotourism it is not

sufficiently defined (Molz, 2013). Alternative tourism, on the other hand, is a term officially

used in the demonstration of alternatives of main/ mass tourism. It is indeed a well-distinguished

form of tourism that in not only centered on small markets in an exclusive manner but is also

focused on the production of products that are not distributed by contemporary travel agencies.

Responsible tourism is used concerning an analogy with care and responsibility with regards to

social considerations. Sustainable tourism poorly defined but widely used. It, however, means

tourism that takes into account sustainable concerns.

Ecotourism is thus the alternative approach that is most unifying (Pons,2016). As it is a

panacea that is considered to be capable of achieving reconciliation for economic development

the protection of communities wellbeing as well as the environment. Ecotourism’s concept is

gradually granting significance to the human dimension at an increasing rate as it focuses on

cultural heritage (Nunkoo, & Gursoy, 2016). The approach thus creates room for the integration

of communities in host localities in a sustainable manner. The impact of ecotourism on the

cultural and physical environment should be low. It is concept is fast integrating into resource
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conservation dimension in consideration of community’s sustainable development. Ecotourism

thus focuses on six main areas namely

• The preservation of culture and nature through the financing of the protection of tourism

environment

• Enhancing the living conditions as well as the diversification of the economies of host

communities

• Enlighten tourists to be responsible for respecting the environments they visit and have a

desire to discover other cultures

• Encourage host societies participation through accounting for their involvement in decision-

making

• Encouraging sustainability by regulating the volume of consumption of tourists thus preserve

resources

• Enhance the art of encountering magnificence and beauty by tourists so that both the tourists

and host countries develop a relationship that is supportive.

Conclusion

In the current age, it is important that countries all over the world put in place policies

that would effectively mitigate against the negative effects caused by mass tourism (Vainikka,

2013). Mass tourism is focusing on the realization of economic benefits at the expense of the

development of the local host environments that are the global social heritage. The

unsustainability of mass tourism makes it necessary to come up with alternative tourism that

would see to it that tourism remains maintainable (Pons, 2016).

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