What is Sustainable Tourism?

Sustainable tourism, as the name suggests; is to protect the sustainability, permanence and continuity of tourism. In this form of tourism, it is aimed to protect the local economy, natural and cultural heritage and the lives of the people of the region. The concept of sustainable tourism is related to the concept of sustainable development. We can say that sustainable development means creating a bridge between human and nature, ensuring that natural resources are used without consuming them, and also planning the development of today and the future by acting in accordance with their use in future generations. If we use the concept of sustainable tourism in this context, we see that it means a concept that meets the needs of both local people and tourists and pays attention to the protection of the natural environment while meeting these needs, enriching these regions by preventing the destruction of these regions and transferring them to the next generations. Sustainable tourism has 10 main objectives: Eco-friendly transportation Protection of social and cultural values Supporting the local economy and fair trade Supporting local businesses Conservation of biodiversity Accessibility for all Waste management and waste reduction Efficient use of energy Reducing water consumption job creation Thanks to sustainable tourism, the negative effects of tourism on society and the environment are minimized. Tourism can be considered as one of the most important sources of employment and economic gain. By providing locality, the tourists are accepted as one of the citizens of the host country, and the tourist is given the chance to experience what any other citizen has experienced in that country without any discrimination.

Environmental Impact of Sustainable Tourism

In today’s world, environmental problems can be considered as one of the common problems of all countries. As technology, science and industry progress, the damage we do to nature increases. This is where the concept of sustainability comes into play. The concept of sustainability; It is the use of natural and human resources, which have the task of meeting the needs of current and future generations, without being completely consumed, without deteriorating their structures, by further developing them. There has been some tourist dissatisfaction in the tourism sector in the 20th century. These dissatisfactions have arisen due to the pollution of the environment by tourism. In order to eliminate these problems, some businesses have started to make themselves environmentally friendly. These projects, which were carried out for the purpose of protecting nature, have been important steps both in protecting the environment and in the continuation of tourism. In short, in the old tourism model, it is aimed to prevent the damage to the environment and to protect the environment with sustainable tourism.

Aims of Sustainable Tourism

Many items can be included among the objectives of sustainable tourism, but the most important of them is to ensure the continuation of the benefits of tourism to the country. The objectives of this tourism model can be listed as follows: Businesses in tourism regions should be operational for long periods and contribute to tourism, maximize tourist expenditures in tourism regions, employ workers in these regions under equal conditions without any discrimination, meet all expectations of visitors as much as possible. , to protect all historical, natural and human structures and locality in touristic areas… Many more reasons can be counted among these reasons. The World Tourism Organization has identified three main objectives for sustainable tourism. These; protecting and protecting ecological and biological diversity, preserving the original socio-cultural values ​​of host societies, and increasing social living standards by providing job opportunities to local people in the tourism sector.