Environmental Impacts Caused by Tourism

For this post, I will be focusing on how each hotspot's environment is affected by tourism.

Jamaica

 Jamaica is a Caribbean country that relies heavily on its tourism. Due to this the country has built infrastructure to host more tourists than the island can hold. This over-tourism has created many negative impacts to the island's geography and environment. A major problem that is created is beach erosion and reef destruction. Coral reefs are vital ecosystems and the destruction of them leads to millions of marine animals losing their habitats. Another major effect is an increase in pollution. Over the years Jamaica has tried to implement sustainable waste practices, however they are still struggling to effectively reduce the sufficient amount of waste that comes with tourism. The pollution is especially harmful to the ocean that surrounds the country. Hotels, restaurants, and resorts that are over crowded by tourism will dispose of their garbage and waste into the ocean. Cruise ships will also dispose of their waste and sewage into the ocean. This severely pollutes the water and damages the habitats of most of the surrounding marine ecosystem. 

Italy(Venice)

 Venice, Italy has gained extreme popularity due to the fact that the city is sinking. The high tourism has brought along both positive and negative environmental impacts. Some negative impacts include deforestation, pollution, loss of habitats, and increased toxins. Untreated waste is dumped into the seas, surrounding forest areas are chopped down to create room for new infrastructure, and increases in vehicle use pollutes the air and surrounding areas further. All of these effects have destroyed the ecological balance of the area. While there are many negative impacts that tourism leaves on the environment, a positive impact is that the community of Venice has acknowledged the issue. Tourism provides a significant source of income to the Venice community, this has brought the locals to become aware of the environmental issues that tourism brings. If Venice does not provide a clean environment, less people would be drawn to visit. This awareness has caused locals to enforce environmental protection practices, in order to preserve their environment and keep a constant source of tourism. 

Indonesia(Bali) 

At the moment Bali is currently overrun with tourists. So much so that the environment of Bali can not handle all the visitors they receive each year. With tourists sunbathing on coral reefs, leaving piles of trash along beaches, and dumping their waste into the oceans, tourists are destroying the natural wonders of Bali. Not only are they overwhelming Bali’s sanitation systems and polluting their waterways, they are ruining the lives of the locals and animals that reside there. This over-tourism is also spreading and affecting Bali’s neighboring islands and countries. 

Peru (Machu Picchu)

Machu Picchu is a top spot that many tourists flock to when they are visiting Peru. But along with overcrowded areas, tourism also brings severe environmental damage. With visitors littering the areas with trash and running off the trails, rare plants, animals, and even the rivers of Peru have taken a serious hit. This pollution has also damaged the Incan ruins and harmed the Incan-city. However, the Peruvian government has taken control. By working with UNESCO, they have limited the amount of tourists able to visit Machu Picchu each day and have created sustainable tourists methods to lessen the environmental impacts that the surrounding area receives. 

Kenya 

Kenya is widely recognized for its wildlife. This has led to an overcrowding of tourists in popular wildlife sites, which has significantly affected the wildlife that inhabits these areas. By creating soil erosion and desertification tourism has put a strain on resources for wildlife. Increased human activity near wildlife has also disrupted animal lifestyles and has put unnecessary stress on them. This disrupts their ecosystems and the circle of life. Tourism has also caused a depletion in resources for the locals of Kenya. With already limited clean water resources and a high demand for natural goods, tourism has taken away necessities that the locals of Kenya need to survive.