Responsibility &

Ethics in Tourism &

Hospitality
(M3N822518)

Student Name: Samuel da Silva Costa

Matriculation Number: S1522896
Essay Question: Tourists share the responsibility for unsustainable destinations.

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The piece of coursework that I am submitting is my own original work, and has
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Student Signature: Samuel Da Silva Costa Date: 16/11/2016

Word Count: 2,285

The tourism industry entails the involvement of numerous sub-sectors and

many stakeholders (Lebel, et al., 2010), including the government, nongovernmental organisations, tour operators and tourism professionals,
tourists and the local residents (UNWTO, 2005). Bearing in mind the
multiplicity of players in this industry, the main focus of this paper is to
discuss and determine the responsibility that tourists share for unsustainable
destinations. From the literature reviewed, it was not possible to draw a
definition of unsustainable destination. Consequently, to better understand
what unsustainable destination stands for, it may be relevant to look at the
definition of sustainable tourism. Sustainable Tourism has been receiving
academic attention over the years. It was defined by Swarbrooke (1998) as
forms of tourism which meet the needs of tourists, the tourism industry, and
host communities without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs. More recently, Sustainable Tourism was defined by
the World Tourism Organization as: Tourism that 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
(UNWTO, 2005). A more comprehensive notion, known as responsible
tourism has also been discussed in the literature. Beyond the notion of
achieving sustainability through the same three pillars of environmental
preservation, social fairness and economic benefit to the local economy,
responsible tourism asks all stakeholders to take responsibility for their
actions and their impacts, where everyone involved must be responsible for
sustainability (Spenceley, 2008). These definitions suggest that any tourist
destination which fails to address the needs of all stakeholders in the tourism
industry the impacts on the environment and local economy may be
considered an unsustainable destination. Moreover, any tourism stakeholder
and any tourist in particular, who fails to acknowledge the impact of their
actions and behave responsibly when undertaking any tourism activities may
be defined as irresponsible tourist or unsustainable tourist. Specifically,
this essay outlines the responsibility tourists share for unsustainable tourism

at Mediterranean coastal areas. To do so, it firstly considers how mass

tourism has contributed to an exponential increase of water usage levels,
which is a scarce resource in these areas during peak visitor periods. Next,
responsible tourism awareness levels, as well as the gap between tourists
awareness and their behaviours, are examined. In the last section, the
discussion focuses on the lack of adoption of responsible tourism measures
by tourism businesses and inadequate government policy.
A first key problem identified when establishing the tourists responsibility for
unsustainable destinations was the pressure applied by mass tourism
activities on water resources at Mediterranean coastal destinations. This
section examines the impacts of tourist involvement in mass tourism at
destinations such as the Balearic Islands and the island of Cyprus. In line
with key literature on this topic, some of the most relevant environmental
impacts of tourism are the consequences of the tourist water demand, which
often translates into overexploitation, in particular at coastal and small island
destinations (Tortella & Tirado, 2011). Studies comparing the tourist water
consumption with the local demand and have estimated it accounts for
between two and three times local consumption in developed countries, as
most Mediterranean destinations. In order to offset the increasing demand in
water consumption in islands such as Mallorca, the Balearic Hydrological Plan
adopted by the Balearic Islands Government in 1999 implemented policies
intended for better water management and conservation. This plan was
revised in 2008 and a deadline of 2015 was set to ensure sustainable water
usage and the restoration of aquatic ecosystems (Tortella & Tirado, 2011).
The main criticism around this hydrological plan is that it is predominantly
focused on improvements in the water supply infrastructure, instead of water
demand management (Hof & Schmitt, 2011). Regardless the governments
efforts towards sustainability, the pressure on water supplies from the high
volume of visitors and their higher demand of water usage seems to be
increasing yearly in the island of Mallorca. On top of the increasing visitor

numbers, due to a growth in package holidays sales and mass tourism from
markets in western and northern Europe, tourism in the island has
experienced diversification since the 1990s (Essex, et al., 2010). Activities
such as golf, which relies on concerning water consumption levels, started to
be implemented. Lastly, the Mallorcan climate has become warmer and drier
over the last century in accordance with climatological data. This tendency is
expected to continue and even observe an accentuation as a result of global
warming, which indicates that various Mediterranean resort destinations may
experience water supply constraints over the next 25 years (Essex, et al.,
2010). Another example of a mass tourism Mediterranean where water
supply might become a future problem if water consumption management
policies are not put into practice is the island of Cyprus. Here, 4.8 percent of
the national water use is being used for international tourism activities,
which is a much higher amount than the typical 1 percent observed in most
countries (Gssling, et al., 2012). The water demand from tourism in some
destinations is already not being fulfilled during summer periods for basic
needs such as drinking water or recreational activities such as swimming
pools and golf courses (Lemesios, et al., 2016). A study conducted in Bafra
region, North Cyprus assessed the environmental impact of tourism
developments in this region. In keeping with Altinay & Hussain (2005), the
region was being affected by water supply constraints already in 2005 and
the situation was expected to worsen as a result of new developments.
Furthermore, Cyprus witnessed severe water scarcity for residents during the
summer of 2008 (Farmaki, et al., 2014). From this discussion, it is possible to
argue that tourists who purchase holidays which consist of travelling to mass
tourism Mediterranean destinations share responsibility for the negative
impacts of tourism in this areas, particularly, the pressure on freshwater
supply; simply by being involved in mass tourism activities, tourists are often
contributing to the demand for unsustainable developments in the tourism
industry. As an example, British holidaymakers still choose package holidays
as their first option when going abroad with 53% of respondents admitting to

having booked one over the last 12 months, which translates to an increase
of 6% when compared to 2015. (ABTA, 2016).
All-inclusive holidays are still in high demand for most tourists, whose main
concern is the expenditure budget (Farmaki, et al., 2014). In addition to their
involvement in mass tourism, literature shows that tourists tend to behave
less responsibly while going on holidays, even when often they do not have
the intention of damaging the environment (Juvan, et al., 2016). Accordingly,
tourists seem to differentiate the importance of taking responsibility for their
environmental impacts between everyday routine and tourism activities,
giving it a lot more emphasis to the first (Hares, et al., 2010). Several studies
have also identified a divergence between peoples attitudes and their
behaviour whilst on holidays. This divergence is known as the attitudebehaviour gap and represents the missing link between peoples beliefs and
their pro-environmental behaviours (Hares, et al., 2010). Juvan et al. (2016)
mention several studies that have mainly been steered towards the context
of air travel and tried to explain the gap between tourists intentions and their
behaviours. Some of the justifications given by tourists include: lack of
understanding and awareness of their impacts; denial of involvement in
climate change; denial of responsibility, blaming governments and tourism
providers or other entities; lack of alternatives or time; lack of infrastructure
at destinations; emphasizing hedonic experiences over the environment; and
the idea of freedom when on holidays and compensation with responsible
behaviours when at home. Based on the Goal-Framing Theory (Lindenberg &
Steg, 2007), Miao & Wei (2013) tried to identify the causes behind the lack of
pro-environmental behaviour, discussing the three main reasons linked to it,
known as normative, hedonic and gain. First, normative motivations relate to
the moral obligations of behaving correctly and are usually the main factors
contributing to responsible behaviours. Next, hedonic motivations are
associated with short-term personal enjoyment, working many times as
barriers to the adoption of environmentally responsible actions through the

perception that these will reduce comfort. Third, gain motivations are
concerned with the upkeep of peoples resources, for instance, financial
savings. People who share these motivations are happy to behave
responsibly given that they are benefiting from those behaviours. The main
problem with tourists is that their choices seem to be influenced by hedonic
and gain motivations, such as reluctance to pay extra for environmental
conservation (Budeanu, 2007) instead of normative motivations, usually
more recurring when they are at home. Therefore, from this analysis, it may
be argued that tourists share the responsibility for unsustainable destinations
not only because of their choice of destination or involvement with
unsustainable tourism activities and developments but also because of their
behaviour changes, negatively affecting the environment while they are
abroad.
Another relevant issue to discuss is the responsibility other stakeholders
share for unsustainable destinations. It is important to examine if the correct
policies towards sustainable tourism are being implemented by government
bodies and tourism businesses. To fully consider the question, it is also
necessary to explore how efficient the current policies are and the impacts
they have. Photojournalist Martin Parr once said: The thing about tourism is
that the reality of a place is quite different from the mythology of it. Martin
Parrs thought highlights the importance of in-depth knowledge when
considering mass tourist destinations. Typically, the promoted image mass
tourist destinations by the government bodies and tourism businesses do not
represent the reality of these places. As government tourism agencies and
large businesses are usually the main tourism policy makers, the main focus
of tourism policy is to increase the number of visitors, rather than addressing
the harmful impacts such as natural resources degradation and pollution,
weakening of local incomes and deterioration of service quality (Lebel, et al.,
2010). Thus, while there is strong evidence in favour of an increased interest
in responsible tourism by organisations, generally trying to invest in positive

practices that benefit the environment and local communities (DEAT, 2002),
recent studies have identified challenges to this. Research on unsustainable
destinations shows that mass tourist destinations are often related to
unsustainable developments and environmental damage (Kim, 2002).
Notably, Yasarata et al. (2010) highlight the paradox between the hazards of
environmental

destruction

(essential

for

tourism)

and

the

economic

objectives, which are focused on return generation for investors and

maximisation of tax revenues for governments. Subsequently, Farmaki et al.
(2014) argue that not enough time and money are being invested by tourism
business in the development of better management practices. Accordingly,
Spenceley (2008) calculated that responsible tourism practices are only
being put into practice by two percent of businesses across the globe. The
same author defends that there are several challenges limiting the adoption
of responsible tourism measures by businesses, such as lack of adequate
government aid, a competitive environment restricting sustainable practices
and the impression of higher costs associated with these. The recognition of
issues like these in the island of Cyprus led to the creation of an organisation
responsible for promoting sustainability within the tourism industry through
environmental conservation campaigns. Established in 2006, it is known as
the Cyprus Sustainable Tourism Initiative (CSTI). In a partnership with the
Travel Foundation, a project with the goal of reducing water and energy
exploitation within the hotel industry was introduced by the CSTI in 2008
(Farmaki, et al., 2014), the same year when water supply shortage was
observed. Regardless of the CSTIs efforts, only a few hotels have engaged
with responsible tourism practices. On top of this, hotels seemed to be
adopting responsible practices mainly as short-term marketing strategies
instead

of

seeing

these

as

long-term

core

competencies,

lacking

commitment to the true intentions of sustainability (Farmaki, et al., 2014).

The main problem appears to be that organisations such as the CSTI do not
hold enough power when it comes to decision-making in regards to tourism
developments (Farmaki, et al., 2015), remaining restricted to sustainable

tourism promotion campaigns. As this debate suggests, tourism business

owners are failing to see the permanent implementation of correct practices
towards sustainability as an essential need for the environment. Besides, the
local governments are failing to provide enough support and correct policies,
which is also seen as a barrier to implementation. Therefore, it is possible to
conclude that both tourism businesses and local governments also share the
responsibility for unsustainable destinations.
In summary, the responsibility tourists share for unsustainable destinations
depends on various factors and the interaction of different tourism industry
stakeholders. It is possible to conclude that tourists are indeed responsible
for unsustainable destinations primarily because of their involvement with
unsustainable developments and practices, with the example of the water
consumption

issues

in

Mediterranean

destinations.

Secondly,

their

responsibility lies in the lack of adoption of responsible behaviours, despite

their environmental awareness. Assuming that tourists are responsible for
unsustainable destinations, it is also important to establish that there are
other stakeholders such as the government, NGOs and tourism businesses
that share the same amount of or more responsibility for unsustainable
destinations. As literature has shown, not enough efforts are being put into
place to ensure that responsible tourism practices are actually being
implemented. This highlights the need for changes within the tourism
industry. In order to put an end to unsustainable destinations, all
stakeholders involved in tourism must work together and make the
implementation of responsible tourism a reality. In addition to increasing
awareness about the issues, enough policy should be established to
encourage responsible procedures and limit harmful ones. This could be done
for example by providing monetary incentives to businesses or individuals
adopting pro-environmental behaviours or by creating or increasing taxes in
destinations where tourism activities are overexploiting the environment.

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