Environmentally Sustainable Tourism: International and Hungarian Relations

Environmentally sustainable tourism: international and Hungarian relations

DÁVID , LÓRÁNT – B AROS , ZOLTÁN

Keywords: tourism, sustainable development, environment.

SUMMARY FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS

Compliance with the principles of sustainability is now a general requirement with respect to any tourism strategy, tourism policy or management. Much has been written about the issue of sustainability and its relationship to tourism manage - ment and development. Still, their actual relationship is not always clear, and whilst a number of methodologies profess to be sustainable, there is no clear statement as to how that can be achieved. It is generally accepted, irrespective of the sustainability model used, that there are three key components or strands to sustainability: economic, social and envi - ronmental. It is in working towards a balance between the competing demands of all three components that progress towards sustainability can be achieved. One should never forget that in the field of tourism, visitors also have a significant impact on all three strands. For destination management to be sustainable, it needs to address all the econo - mic, social and environmental issues of a particular area. A number of methodologi - es have been put forward in an attempt to ensure that tourism-related activities are carried out in a sustainable manner. Destination management that follows an accepted process and/or deals effecti - vely with a majority of the key components can be considered sustainable. An action plan or process that does not clearly address the core components of economic, social and environmental well-being or does not pursue a majority of the process components identified in the process framework document presented on the website is unlikely to have sustainability as a core principle.

‘ENVIRONMENTALISM’ ric and biological components. This geog- IN THE SCIENCES raphical environment can be investigated AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT from several aspects - in the biological (ecological) approach In the past few decades interest in the emphasis is put on the biotic factors of the environment has reached a peak as popu- lar opinion has become aware of the extent environment or on the structure itself; of the human impact on natural systems. A - in the geographical approach resear- proliferation of degrees has followed this ch concentrates on the abiotic factors and wave of ‘environmentalism’, their focus functions; has been on natural areas and the damage - the technological or planning trend fo- caused by human impacts. Environmen- cuses the analysis on the economical-tech- tal science is the study of the interaction of nical background of impacts. humans with all elements of their environ- To distinguish between the first two ment, its physical/geological, atmosphe- trends and the related disciplines, the gazdálkodás V OL . 53. S PECIAL EDITION NO. 23 81 terms (bio)ecology and geoecology are in terconnected by causal relationships, the use. The two concepts differ in handling solutions are justified, to be sought in the the role of abiogenic and biogenic factors. framework where the complex interrela- In the past decade there was an intention tionships of the human environment can to define geoecology as the study of abiotic be revealed in an integrated manner. All factors and of issues concerning the func- these, of course, do not mean to give up the tioning of the physical environment, while investigation into the individual compo- landscape ecology investigates the bioge- nents of the environment, but these should nic factors and problems of spatial orga- be coordinated by one or several program- nisation, structure. The far-reaching de- mes which guarantee the study of the inner velopments in the past one or two decades unity and multifarious nature of environ- made landscape ecology become a wide mental factors and the detection of their theorethical-practical field of research, so interactions and development trends. The the adaptation of international research resulting environmental models may pro- results and educational experience is ine- vide a uniform framework for basic (the- vitable here too. Tourism is one of the fas- oretical) and practical purpose research. test growing ‘industry’ in the world and we We are convinced that any of the partical have to investigate it continuously. For ins- factors can only be studied in entirety and tance, the emerging science of landscape successfully if its relationships are known ecology is a tool for such studies and will in the environmental systems. Tourism be the cradle for advanced studies in the is a new challenge for researchers, since future. Since the 1970s in the research of environmental problems have an effect on the physical environment two, frequently several branches of science. We teach tou- intertwining trends are prominent. One of rism as an activity system, therefore, we them investigates the changes in the natu- believe in the equality ranks among the ral environment induced by human econo- various fields of science in environmental mic intervention (which are often undesi- sciences and we assign an important part rable) along with their counter effects. The to sustainable tourism development in the other aims at the quantitative and quali- structure of our education. tative survey of the resources and potentials of the physical environment and the SUSTAINABILITY: ROOTS evaluation of also regionally varying geog- AND DEVELOPMENT raphical potentials. The demand for complex environmental research has grown, In contemporary terms the term ‘susta- since this is the only way to determine the inable development’ is usually credited to loadibility of nature and the consequence the Brundtland Report, officially the rep - of loading, to maintain the stable equilib- ort of the World Commission on Envi- rium of landscape, to preserve and develop ronment and Development. It was due to the quality of life, and to give a long-term the increasing concern in the 1980s over prognosis for the purposeful exploitation the effects of the pace of the rapid econo- of environmental resources and potenti- mic growth on the environment since the als. Applying new methods and theories, 1950s. The key environmental concerns the geography of today attempts to elabo- of the United Nations were the high levels rate concepts and methods primarily novel of unsustainable resource usage associa- in attitude to match the complex problems. ted with development, and the role of pol- As most of the problems of environmen- lution in major environmental problems tal management are, by their essence, in- such as global warming and depletion of 82 the ozone layer, which threatened human the physical components of sustainability, well-being. and it is now recognised that the concept Accompanying the heightened aware- of sustainability addresses three equally ness of environmental problems was also important issues: environment, economy a realisation that the environment and de- and society. velopment are inexorably linked. The term ‘sustainable development’ not TYPES OF SUSTAINABILITY only gained popularity following the pub- IN TOURISM lishing of the Brundtland Report but gai- As a consequence of the wide range of ned greater attention following the Uni- interpretation of sustainability mentioned ted Nations Conference on Environment earlier, in terms of the application of the and Development (held in Rio de Janei- concept to tourism, varying perspectives ro in June 1992). In the last decade of the have been adopted. As far as ‘sustainable 20 th century, it became widely used by go- tourism’ is concerned, there the emphasis vernments, international lending agen- is placed on the customer and marketing cies, non-governmental organisations, considerations of tourism to sustain the the private sector and academia, thus a tourism sector (Fig. 1). variety of perspectives is to be taken on Other authors identify a form of susta- sustainability. inable tourism which is oriented toward Many people associate sustainable deve- the viability of tourism industry, referred lopment with issues like energy use, pol- to as ‘economic sustainability of tourism’ lution and waste. However, these are only or ‘tourism imperative’. Figure 1 Relationship between mass and alternative tourism

Source: Weaver, 2003

The aim of development is primarily con- sm sector (‘product-led tourism’). A third cerned with satisfying the needs of touri- concept called ‘environmentally led tour- sts and players in the industry. However, ism’ can also be mentioned where types of in some cases, the environmental resour- tourism would be promoted that are reli- ces for tourism receive consideration, but ant upon a high-quality environment. In are secondary to the growth of the touri- this respect, the main would be to make gazdálkodás V OL . 53. S PECIAL EDITION NO. 23 83 the link between the success of the touri- - The relationship between tourism sm industry and eenvironmental conser- and the environment must be managed vation so obvious to all the stakeholders so that the environment is sustainable in that stewardship of the environment is a long-term. priority. - In any location, harmony must be The focus is, in a number of work, the sought between the needs of the visitor, physical environment. The concept of sus- the place and the host community. tainability should, however, be broadened - The tourism industry, local authoriti- to include cultural, political and economic es and environmental agencies all have a dimensions. duty to respect the above principles and In Britain, the guiding priciples for the to work together to achieve their practical sustainable development of tourism were realisation. developed in the early 1990s, some of Types of sustainability within the tour- which are as follows: ism agenda is an emerging concept of dis- - The environment has an intrinsic va- cussion. As illustrated below, four diffe- luewhich outweighs its value as a tourism rent approaches to sustainable develop- asset. ment are introduced, based on the four - Tourism should be recognised as a po- types of sustainability, i.e. from the very sitive factor with the potential to beneﬁt weak to strong sustainability type scena- the community and the place as well as the visitor. rios (Table 1). Table 1 Types of sustainability in tourism

Types Characteristics

Status: Tourism at its early stages Very weak Criteria: Tourism activities do not generate more degradation Benefits: Tourism is an alternative form of development Tourism Creates more employment imperative Increase environmental protection scenario Costs: Creates certain antagonistic impacts Status: Tourism is developed Weak Criteria: Sustain tourism activities and develop new products Benefits: Improvement of the local economy and employment Product-led Assist preservation practices of surrounding destinations tourism Expansion and diversification of tourism planning scenario Costs: Conserve only existing infrastructure and products Status: Tourism at its early stages Strong Criteria: Environmental management utilization Benefits: Environmental quality Environmental- Economic and employment growth led tourism Specialized tourism destination scenario Costs: Only in circumstances lacking focus and commitment Status: Tourism at its exploitation and involvement stages Criteria: Absolute preservation of resources Very strong Benefits: Protection of renewable and non-renewable resources Long-term environmental attractivity Neotenous Costs: Tourism growth is limited tourism Tourism development is abolished to minimize generation of scenario negative environmental impacts Tourism development is sacrificed in cases where other sectors employ better environmental practices

Source: Knowles – Diamantis – El-Mourhabi, 2001 84

THE POSITION al differentiation has become increasingly OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM prevalent in western society. PRODUCTS When illustrating the current state of the sustainable tourism products and the The concept of consumption surpasses importance of ecotourism as a core ele- the idea of merely buying something to ment of sustainable tourism, it is seen that meet basic physiological needs. Using so- ecotourism is treated both as a sub-com- cial and human physiological perspectives ponent of alternative tourism and as na- associated with consumer behaviour stu- ture-based tourism, being mainly part of dies, it is recognised that by purchasing a the concept of sustainability. In addition, certain good or service, a range of needs other forms of sustainable tourism clai- may be met that go beyond our most basic med to have similarities with ecotourism biological requirements. These include so- as well as being part of both nature-based cial needs, the need for self-development, travel and alternative system. etc. At the other end of the spectrum, both Sociologists emphasise that through mass tourism and other forms of tourism the process of consumption it is possib- such as conference and business tourism le to differentiate oneself from the crowd, are searching for sustainability in their and subsequently gain a sense of identity. practices and as such are placed outside Using tourism as a means to achieve soci- the sustainability borders (Fig. 2). Figure 2 The position of sustainable tourism and ecotourism products

Source: Knowles – Diamantis – El-Mourhabi, 2001 gazdálkodás V OL . 53. S PECIAL EDITION NO. 23 85

EXAMPLE OF POSSIBLE ventional economic indicators that are INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABLE relevant to the environment (e.g. environ- TOURISM DEVELOPMENT mental protection expenditure as a per- centage of GDP), social, environmental As sustainability can not be precisely ones must also be included. defined, it is difficult to evaluate different According to a critical review, the use- project in this respect. fulness, i.e. the ability to secure a more There are many examples of the idea sustainable future of any development in of using indicators as an environmental the field of indicators on environmental management tool. The main weakness of management systems, the general envi- these is that they are environmental asses- ronment and tourism will ultimately be sment tools that do not address sustaina- determined by the political views and the bility in its full sense. In addition to con- wills of those in power (Table 2). Table 2 Example of possible indicators of sustainable tourism development

Component Topic Indicator Critical value or target Population dynamics If there is a continuous and major migration of Preserving the the working population Population population’s Unemployment rate If greater than national average and/or prosperity increasing long term Per capita income If lower than the national average Persistent and/or significant criticism of destination’s condition with special reference Retaining to: quality of accommodation , restaurants, satisfaction Maintenance service, leisure infrastructure; Tourism of guests of quality and overcrowding of transport, beaches and and tour monitoring ecology sights; ecological condition of nature, the operators landscape and amounts of waste; aesthetics of townscape, landscape and cultural assets. Airport If maximum capacity exceeded Tourist attractions If roads and parking lots are continuously overcrowded at peak times Drinking water If there is: supplies - water shortage in peak season - long term danger of salinity, floods, forest fires and other ecological damage Sewage If European Union Standards for sewage disposal are mostly neglected Carrying Ecology Protection of If, due to exploitation by tourists, flora capacity species, use of and fauna is becoming imperilled or being protected areas destroyed Pollution and If due to tourist use: emission - water - soil - air - health are continuously being threatened by pollution and/or noise Effective tourism and Existence of ecologically oriented quality Politics ecologically Not applicable standards oriented legislation

Source: abridged and adapted from IFTO, 1994; Holden, 2000 86

THE FUTURE: TYPES OF physical environment of the destinations TOURIST, BASED UPON THEIR they visit will vary. LEVEL OF INTEREST IN THE This individual behaviour has an impact ENVIRONMENT on the tourists’ relationship with the envi- Given the complexity of what moti- ronment, according to which 4 typologies vates people to become tourists, it is of tourists can be distinguished: lounger, unsurprising that tourists choose to visit user, eco-aware and special ecotourists. different types of destinations and disp- This order indicates the increasing level of lay different types of behaviour within interest in the environment, with the last the destination environment. Differences two categories showing a high level of in- in behaviour are compounded by a range terest or commitment not for how they can of interrelated factors, such as demog- use the environment but also for its own raphics, culture, lifestyle, level of educati- sake. In the last case, tourist want to action, and beliefs and attitudes. This means vely protect the environment by e.g. parti- that their interaction with the cultural and cipation in a conservation holiday (Fig. 3).

Figure 3 Types of tourist, based upon their level of interest in the environment

Source: Cleverdon, 1999; Holden, 2000

GREENING TOURISM associated with tourism and the environment, attitudes towards the environment Green tourists are not a homogeneous in their life. group; there are various ‘shades of green’. Darker shades, in general, reflect major They suggest how the level of environmen- sacrifices by the tourists made because of tal commitment of tourist will be influen - their views as well as deep interest in all ced by different factors, including their green issues, possibly very deep interest in awareness and knowledge of the issues one issue especially. However, this catego- gazdálkodás V OL . 53. S PECIAL EDITION NO. 23 87 ry includes only a small proportion of the education, and are also willing to spend population. more than the normal tourists. They pos- Studies on ecotourists are rather limi- sess an environmental ethic, and are bio- ted. One suggests that ecotourists have centric rather than anthropogenic in ori- higher than average incomes and level of entation (Table 3). Table 3 Shades of green in tourism

Not at Light Dark green Totally green all green green

Read what Think about Consciously Use public Boycott ho- Pay to go Not take holi- brochures green issues seek to ﬁnd transport tels and re- on a holi- days away say about and try to out more to get to sorts which day to from green issues re-duce about a des-tinations have a poor work on home at all and sustain- normal particular and to travel reputation a conser- so as not to able water con- issue and to around, on vation harm the tourism sumption become while environmen- project environ-ment in destina- more actively on holiday tal issues in any way, as a tions where involved in the tourist water is issue, by join- scarce, for ing a pressure example group, for example

Source: Swarbrooke – Horner, 1999; Holden, 2000 TOWARDS THE NEW ation a variety of niches either represen- SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM ting products, forms of development or DEVELOPMENT consumers (Fig. 4). At present, in general terms, what seems The theme of sustainable tourism is still to be occurring within the application of an evolutionary paradigm that is seen as sustainability within tourism is the cre- a goal to be achieved for small-scale deve- Figure 4 Natural area tourism and sustainability

Source: Newsome – Moore – Dowling, 2002 88 lopment in the supply environment and re- teristics in the demand and supply sides of search enhancement on the niche charac- the tourism system (Fig. 5 and 6).

Figure 5 Dimensions of ecotourism

Source: Weaver, 2003

Figure 6 The continuum of ecotourism types

Source: Orams, 1995

APPLYING A SUSTAINABILITY rian authors which deal with sustainable VALUE MAP IN HUNGARY tourism, indicators and rural areas rela- ting to sustainable development. There are some books ( Puczkó – Rátz, In this paper we try to apply a special 2002; Dávid – Jancsik – Rátz, 2007; method to tourism projects. In order to se- Szabó – Könyves – Tikász, 2008 ) and lect an adequate method of integrated ap- papers ( Szlávik – Csete M., 2005; Csete M., proach of planning, a useful tool would be 2006; Baros – Dávid, 2007 ) from Hunga- the Sustainability Value Map (SVM), deve- gazdálkodás V OL . 53. S PECIAL EDITION NO. 23 89 loped by Chris Butters, originally for buil- complete qualitative and quantitative pic- dings and urban development projects, ture of the condition of a project. Visuali- although it can also be applied to the eva- sation is further promoted by having the luation of any other sustainable produc- mean value of indicators all three areas ts. The SVM visualises the three core ele- calculated, and also added to the original ments of sustainability and the degree of version of SVM. what any product fulfils its goal. A sum - mary of the main features of SVM (Urban SELECTING THE RIGHT SET OF INDICATORS Ecology: Projects in Europe – visions for Oslo?) is as follows. For each of the three As pointed out by Newsome and Moore main areas, eight parameters are defined, (2002) , the degree and extent of any ne- thus a product is benchmarked by 24 pa- gative impacts, however, will depend on rameters in a complex way. The scale is set where the development is located, building from 0 to 5 where 5 means what is seen as design and adaptation to existing natural fully sustainable today. The values are sca- conditions, waste treatment systems, re- led so that the outer rim, corresponding to cycling and pattern of resource consump- a “horizon” of full sustainability, is clearly tion as well as approaches to the recreati- shown to be off. onal activities that take place in associati- The selection of parameters is, though on with the development. Due to both the provisional, systematic. Considering that great variety of tourism activities and that sustainability is a dynamic process, the of the local endowments, questions may be model can be used in relation to time, to raised on the relevance and general app- assess how the sustainability of the pro- licability of a given indicator. One might duct develops from year to year. Also, by be used restricted only for certain local applying the same indicators, it can be a or regional issues. Furthermore, there is tool for comparing different projects. Ho- a necessity to distinguish qualitative and wever, as pointed out earlier in this paper, quantitative parameters; and finally two impacts may vary locally, it is important to more questions are raised as (a) whet- bear it in mind that the indicators used can her the selected indicator can be quanti- and should vary to some extent depending fied, and (b) selecting the right set of in - on local conditions and on project scale. dicators is possible at all ( Puczkó – Rátz, Also, as some of the components are rather 2002 ). For the latter one, an integrated ap- complex, for a full assessment most will proach of planning is required that takes need a more detailed breakdown. App- the project scale and local endowments lying the Value Map for tourism develop- and the variables created on the basis of ment projects may be relevant from the these into consideration. In a full assess- point of view of key elements often asso- ment most variables also need a more de- ciated with sustainable tourism, i.e. pre- tailed breakdown. servation of the current resource basis for EXAMPLES future generations, maintaining the pro- ductivity of the resource basis, maintai- As a first step, the SVM is used to evalua - ning biodiversity and avoiding irreversib- te the environmental aspects of tourism le environmental changes. In its simplified development. Taken as an example, envi- form, it provides a checklist and frame- ronmental impacts of a fictitious hotel de - work for designers, and for discussion velopment are discussed hereby and the amongst participants in a planning pro- SVM is applied in Fig. 7. The average con- cess. In its detailed form, ideally, it gives a ditions of the receiving environment are 90 well-indicated in the figure and can be of recycling, waste prevention strategi- marked as ‘average’ ( with a sustainabili- es and the nature of the receiving envi- ty value of 3125). It can also be seen, ho- ronment here, it is an unsolved problem. wever, that waste management, being a On the other hand, demands for further major issue elsewhere too, is the main development in fields such as noise pre - problem source. Due to the large amo- vention or soil prevention can now be unt of volumes proceeded (average tou- held back as probably adequate mea- rists tend to produce more waste than sures have already been taken to fulfil local people), the low application level these goals. Figure 7 Environmental impacts of infrastructure and support facilities in the development of tourism (Urban Ecology, after Butters)

Source: Baros – Dávid, 2007

In cases when the goals of sustainability outcome of this project is rather doubtful. are neither accomplishable from the point From the point of view of tourists, it can of view of the society nor reasonable from be considered to be on a somewhat average the point of view of the economy these is- level. On the one hand, certain aspects (ac- sues must receive more attention. At this cessibility) indicate a higher level of deve- stage, this development does not meet the lopment whereas on the other, most of the demand of the local population at all. Wit- components (aesthetics, security, variety) hout public involvement and the support of are just average (Fig. 8). This method will the local economy by fundamental ﬁnan - be applied for tourism projects in the near cing for infrastructure among others, the future in Hungary. gazdálkodás V OL . 53. S PECIAL EDITION NO. 23 91

Figure 8 An example of the Sustainability Value Map applied for tourism development projects (Urban Ecology, after Butters)

Source: Baros – Dávid, 2007

REFERENCES

(1) Cleverdon, R. (1999): Lecture Notes, Centre for Leisure and Tourism Studies. University of North London – (2) Csete, M. (2006): A fenntarthatóság helyi megvalósítása. Gazdálkodás 50. 16. különkiadás, pp. 62-69. – (3) Dávid, L. (szerk.) – Jancsik, A. – Rátz, T. (2007): Turisztikai erőforrások – A természeti és kulturális erőforrások turisztikai hasznosítá - sa. Budapesti Gazdasági Főiskola – „GLOBUS-Globális BSc az üzleti képzésben, országos szintű felsőfokú alapképzés megteremtése az üzleti alapszakokon”, Budapest, 289 p. – (4) Dávid, L. – Baros, Z. (2007): A Possible Use of Indicators for Sustainable Development in Tourism. Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vo- lume 18, Number 2, Winter 2007, Yenisehir-Ankara/Turkey, pp. 349-355. – (5) Holden, A. (2000): Environment and Tourism, Routledge Introduction to Environment Series. Routledge, London and New York, 225 p. – (6) IFTO (1994): Planning to Sustainable Tourism: The Ecomost project. Lewes: International Federation of Tour Operators – (7) Know- les, T. – Diamantis, D. – El-Mourhabi, J. B. (2001): The Globalization of Tourism and Hospitality: A Strategic Perspec- tive. Continuum, London and New York, 259 p. – (8) Newsome, D. – Moore, S. A. – Dowling, R. K. (2002): Natural Area Tourism, Channel View Publications, Clevedon, 340 p. – (9) Orams, M. (1995): The effectiveness of environmental edi- cation: can we turn tourists into ‘greenies’, Progress in Tourism and Hospitality Research 3, pp. 295-306. – (10) Pucz- kó, L. – Rátz, T. (2002): Impacts of Tourism: An Introduction. Häme Polytechnic: Finland – (11) Swarbrooke, J. – Hor- ner (1999): Consumer Behaviour in Tourism. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann – (12) Szabó, B. (ed.) – Könyves, E. – Ti- kász, I. E. (2008): A falusi turizmus helyzete és gazdasági kérdései. MTA Társadalomkutató Központ, Budapest 255 p. – (13) Szlávik, J. – Csete, M. (2005): Sustainable countryside and competitiveness, Gazdálkodás 49. 12. különkiadás, pp. 19-27. – (14) Urban Ecology: Projects in Europe – visions for Oslo? Oslo kommune Havnevesenet. http://www.arkitek- tur.no/ﬁles/ﬁle46226_urban_ecology.pdf – (15) Weaver, D. (ed.) (2003): The Encyclopedia of Ecotourism. CABI Pub - lishing, Wallingford Oxon, 668 p.

ADDRESS: Dr. Dávid Lóránt, főiskolai tanár, tanszékvezető, Károly Róbert Főiskola, Gazdálkodási Kar, Turizmus és Területfejlesztési Tanszék college professor, head of department, Károly Róbert College, Faculty of Economics, Department of Tourism and Regional Development 3200 Gyöngyös, Mátrai út 36., Tel.: +36-37-518-180, Fax: +36-37-518-177, E-mail: [email protected] Baros Zoltán, adjunktus, Károly Róbert Főiskola, Agrár- és Vidékfejlesztési Kar, Regionális és Vidékfejlesztési Tanszék associate professor, Károly Róbert College, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Regional and Rural Development 3200 Gyöngyös, Mátrai út 36., Tel.: +36-37-518-494, Fax: +36-37-518-279, E-mail: [email protected]