Sustainable Tourism Development

Introduction

There are many factors and activities which have put immense pressure on the environment. Some include the energy consumption that is on the rise environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity and many other issues. There has also been loss of values especially in tourism where the hosts indulge in financial, sexual and other forms of exploitation. Therefore, the use of sustainable development in the tourism and the hotel industry is being adopted to ensure continued success. Most organizations in these two industries are actively engaging in corporate social responsibilities. These factors and many others have been widely discussed in the essay.

Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility

Sustainable development is an economic growth pattern that uses resources to meet human necessities while preserving the environment at the same time. This is done to make sure that the future generation also benefits from the same environment. Corporate social responsibility is whereby companies voluntarily bring their social and environmental concerns in their business, as well as in relations with their stake holders. Beautiful landscape, cultural heritage, sound infrastructure and unsullied nature are some of the factors that attract tourists to any nation. However, all these are factors that are on the way to get lost unless something is done (Azilah 2006). The use of sustainable development makes sure that the resources are preserved for use by the future generations.

The hotel industry depends on tourism. Therefore, when tourism goes down, it goes with the hotel industry. They move hand in hand. This is because tourists are the principal stakeholders in the hotel industry. Therefore, if the land looses its previous value, it would mean loss of beauty, wildlife and many other attractions to the tourists. This would mean that the number of tourists goes down by a large margin. The result of this is poor progress by hotels. Most of customers in the hotel industry are tourists. Therefore, this is the reason as to why members of the hotel industry are also adopting sustainable development (Healy 1994). Their industry might not be directly affected. However, the effect on the industry is the same as the one in the tourism industry. This sustainable development does not only deal with the environmental factors. It also deals with the social factors. The erosion of cultures can be as disastrous as loss of the environment to negligence. This is because rich culture is a prime tourist attraction. On the social perspective, there is also the issue of loss of values. The people in the host countries of tourism have shown loss of values in the recent past. Activities like theft and many forms of exploitation are common issues (Bowen 1953). This can scare away the potential tourists. Therefore, its continuity can cause enormous losses in the future of both the tourism and the hotel industry. This is why most countries have taken the initiative to adopt CRS. CSR is in the vision 2020 of Europe’s strategy for inclusive and sustainable growth.

The Triple-Bottom Line

There are three main factors that form the base of the idea of sustainable development. The first one is global warming. This is the situation whereby the earth is getting heat up. This is because of the irresponsible exploitation of the environment and release of toxic substances to the environment. The effects of global warming are experienced by most countries in the world. In some parts, it causes conditions which cannot favor farming. In some areas, it has constantly caused floods. This is as a result of melting of ice at the mountain tops. This has been devastating for tourism and hotel industry. The hotels in which tourists are expected occasionally get flooded with water. These harsh conditions caused by global warming have triggered the action of most organizations. It is a problem that requires to be addressed for the sake of the future of the industry, as well as the future generations.

The second factor that has triggered this response is social labor. Social labor is the activities by human beings to satisfy the economic needs of the society. This is labor that is provided to the people who require guidance, advice and other services in the society. The society needs to have such people. However, that is not the case in some countries. People have become less helpful and more self centered. They have lost the values that used to attract tourists to their countries. This has led to reduction of profit margins by organizations in both the hotel and the tourism industry. Therefore, this has formed a basis for the members of both industries to join these initiatives.

The last but most influential factor is resource. The basic factor responsible for the attraction of tourists is the availability of resources. This mainly constitutes natural resources. The irresponsible use of resources in a country causes real destruction. For example, when many trees are cut down by the members of a nation, the environment keeps deteriorating. The land looses its beauty and all the other factors associated with a healthy environment (Carroll 1991). This leads to the region being less and less attractive to tourists. This is terrible news for members of both the hotel and tourism industry. For example, the sale of ivory can earn a country a lot of cash. However, poaching of elephants would mean that no such income is due for the future. On the other hand, if the country chooses to get the money from tourists who come to see the elephants, this is a sustainable method. The country grows through the elephants in the tourism industry while the elephants are conserved. Therefore, companies and organizations have seen the need to conserve and preserve resources in the environment to ensure that they are used by generations to come. However, they cannot achieve their goals individually. Therefore, they have chosen to come together in order to achieve the set objectives.

Strategic

There are various strategies that can be adopted by these firms in their quest for sustainable development. First, use of environmentally friendly sources of energy is vital. There have been many countries investing in clean energy. This is energy that does not affect the environment in any way. For example, the production of hydroelectricity is environmentally friendly. This is because this kind of energy has no negative impact on the environment. Therefore, this electricity can be used to substitute environmentally unfriendly means. These involved organizations should also seek for support from the government. This is with regard to the people who may be irresponsibly exploiting the environment. Serious steps should be taken on them. This can help to reduce the misuse of the readily available resources (UNEP 1995).  

Waste disposal should also be dealt with in the right way. The wasted produced by firms should be treated before being released to the water bodies. This can help to reduce the loss of bio diversity. Alternatively, this waste should be recycled to come up with other products (Jacobs 1997). This can be go hand in hand with the emergence of subsidiary industries. This is whereby some industries depend on the waste products of others. These waste products act as the raw materials for the subsidiary industries. This would make sure that waste is not disposed to areas that might cause serious effects on the environment.

Water consumption should also be carried out strategically. Every drop of water should be considered essential for the survival of the next generation. Water should not be misused. Prospects predict that, in the coming years, water might be a disturbing issue in the world. Water is a necessity for the existence of all human beings. Therefore, it should be conserved at all cost. Therefore, these organizations should launch campaigns against the irresponsible use of water. They should educate people on the importance of conserving the little water that is available. Through the campaigns, they can ensure the large scale conservation of water. Last but not least of the strategies, there should be a global code of ethics for tourism (Ruggie 2002). Firms and organizations in the tourism sector should uphold certain standards if the sustainable development is to be achieved. This code of ethics can serve as a guiding path fro these firms towards achieving their goals. These ethics should be in line with what is planned. This way, the securing of a better future can be guaranteed by these methods.

Example of the Hotel Industry

There are various hotels in the world, that have adopted sustainable development and are gaining a lot from it. The hotels in Estonia and Germany have shown increased willingness in adopting sustainable development. For example, Viabono in Germany is one hotel that has truly adopted sustainable energy. The hotel has invested in experts to advice them of ways of reducing pollution. This is because the hospitality industry leads in pollution of the environment. According to research any normal hotel releases a60-200kg of carbon IV oxide per square meter of room. Therefore, this hotel has adopted new methods and sources of energy which do not pollute the environment. This is in response to the quest of firms to reduce global warming. The good intentions of the management of this hotel have earned it more customers. In the past one year, the tourists visiting the hotel were more than in any other year. This is because people placed trust in the hotel. The benefits of this will also be seen in the long run. Conservation of the environment will keep tourists coming back. This means more business and more profits.

The Opera hotel in Estonia is also another example of a hotel that is committed to the aim of adopting sustainable development. It has mainly focused on the management of wastes. In the hotels, there is a lot of waste that is released (Kasim 2006). This hotel has taken the initiative to making sure that their waste does not impact negatively on the environment. They take their waste and transport it to a recycling company. This recycling company comes up with better equipment and products from this waste. Unlike many organizations, which dispose their wastes irresponsibly, this hotel uses it to come up with other products. These are just but a few examples. There are many other hotels which have adopted the sustainable development strategy. With time, many other people will join it, and in a short time, it can be a global activity in the mind of every person.

Conclusion

From the essay above, it is clear that sustainable development is the best strategy for tourism and hotel industry. It creates a future for these industries. However, the firms cannot function individually. They cannot achieve all these objectives on their own. They merge in corporate social responsibility to make sure that they achieve these goals bit by bit. Therefore, all the organizations in these two industries should join these initiatives in a bid to secure themselves a future. Apart from the financial gain, these firms will have conserved the environment and made it better for everyone.