What is sustainable tourism?

When we go on holiday, we all leave footprints – on the environment, the local community and the economy.

The UN World Tourism Organisation states that sustainable tourism “takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”.

Some of the impacts of tourism are positive (such as job creation, and preservation of cultural heritage and wildlife), others are negative. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council emphasises that sustainable tourism should minimise the negative impacts while maximising the positive ones.

Put simply, sustainable tourism is about ensuring that future generations can enjoy the same beautiful scenery and monuments, the same sandy beaches, the same encounters with wildlife.

Being specialists in walking holidays, let’s take footpaths as an example.

Going on a holiday that uses a network of ancient mule tracks is sustainable as it means that these trails, which were used by locals for centuries but which have fallen into disuse with the advent of motorised vehicles, do not get overgrown and forgotten.

On the other hand, walking along a badly eroded path for the sake of reaching an ‘unmissable’ viewpoint is unsustainable, as there will come a point where it becomes impassable and no one will be able to admire the view.