TOURISM RESOURCES HISTORY

Identification and classification of nature-based tourism resources: western Lake Van basin,
Turkey

Faruk Alaeddinogluª* & Ali Selcuk Can୽

Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences 19 (2011) 198–207

Tourism requires a search for the extraordinary when compared to an individual’s daily
life and environment [1]. Thus, in contrast to mass tourism where the sun, sand and sea
constitute the only tourism resource, ecotourism or nature-based tourism activities respond to
people’s desire to participate in tours with different aims such as relaxation, discovery, learning
and escaping to nature, and getting away from the routine of everyday life. These activities also
form the main axis of sustainable tourism. Being a sub-branch of sustainable tourism, ecotourism
has been defined by Weaver [2] as “a type of nature-based tourism which provides opportunities
to learn and appreciate the natural environment and its elements, and also strives to be
ecological, sociocultural and economical”. Ecotourism involves a trip to explore and learn about
the nature and wildlife[3]. The term ecotourism was born in the late 1980s as a reaction to global
economic practices and in search of sustainable practices [4]. Being an extension or off-shoot of
alternative tourism, ecotourism grew out of the dissatisfaction with traditional tourism which
generally prefers a stricter profit-oriented approach over one that places humans at the center of
the universe, and ignores the social and ecological aspects of visited areas. Today, nature-based
tourism is main revenue in many countries where tourism is an important export industry. These
countries include Australia, Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand, Tanzania, Costa Rica and Botswana.

Tourism and its direct use play an important role in the encouragement of conservation as
it contributes to the tourism industry and the national tourism economy [5,6]. Ecotourism is an
incentive for conservation in general [7,8,9] and the protection of nature and threatened species
in developing countries in particular [10]. At the same time, it is an effective tool with its
contribution to the economy and development of a region/country [7,11,12,13,14], the
employment opportunities it creates [15] and its role in rural development [16]. Tyler and
Dangerfield [17] also emphasize the role of ecotourism in sociocultural development. Presenting
an opportunity for tourism to reach geographically untouched areas [18], ecotourism creates
awareness between travelers and hosts at the destination, and stresses the necessity of
appreciating the value of ecosystem and conservation [19].

Nature-based tourism is defined in relation to places far away from settlements, in

relatively natural places [20]. However, as mentioned by Gunn [21], the physical characteristics
of land become a resource only if they are described by the society. Therefore, travelers’
perceptions can show regional features that are a tourism resource. This is directly related to the
fact that a piece of land needs to serve people’s needs in order to be known as a tourism resource.
As stated by Ayoo [21], if the local community makes use of certain natural resources, they
develop a strong instinct about protecting and using them sustainably.

The sustainable use of natural resources is the main strategy for nature conservation in a
city [11]. As natural resources create direct economic benefits, nature conservation is the key
element which contributes to the life quality of all communities within a city. Nature-based
tourism is an important component of this general approach. The management and development
of visitor facilities near conserved areas directly adds to the budget of nature conservation, and
ensures participation and benefit to neighboring communities [11]. If the tourism industry cannot
in principle continue to use natural resources for the good of local cultures, there is little
possibility of sustainable practices in destinations or coastal resorts where these are secondary
resources [17]. Important natural resources, high market profile and high quality services are the
three prerequisites for the successful use of the international tourism market [3]. Success in
nature-based tourism lies in appropriate levels of consumer services [23], high environmental
quality [24,3], conservation of environmental resources and cultural qualities as the tourism
product [25]. In addition to these, transportation [26], accommodation, visitor facilities [20],
effective interaction, power/authority and water infrastructure often need to be established in
conserved areas where tourism is developing in order to increase the appeal of nature-based
tourism [11]. A poorly-planned infrastructure stops future generations from benefiting from the
resources, and damage to these resources has economic costs for the society. This also leads to
failure in meeting tourist demands and a loss of opportunity for the future of tourism in the area
[27]. Indeed, the findings of Hearne and Salinas [6] about visitors to Poas Volcano show that
tourists prefer a developed infrastructure.

Even though Diamantis [4] states that ecotourism studies are still in their infancy stage,
nature-based tourism has attracted the interest of academics and researchers in recent years.
However, few studies in the literature have concerned themselves with the identification of
tourism resources [28,29,30,20]. The present study aims to contribute to the filling of this niche
in the literature. More precisely, the study aims to identify and grade the natural resources
located in western Lake Van Basin, which has a potential for nature-based tourism development.
Additionally, the study also aims to investigate whether graded natural resources are evaluated
similarly by visitors, and reveal the distinguishing features of visited and unvisited natural
resources.

Nature Tourism
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Nature tourism – responsible travel to natural areas, which conserves the environment and
improves the welfare of local people.

It is tourism based on the natural attractions of an area. Examples include birdwatching,

photography, stargazing, camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, and visiting parks. These experiential
tourists are interested in a diversity of natural and cultural resources. They want what is real, and
they want to be immersed in a rich natural, cultural, or historical experience.

From the standpoint of conservation, nature-based tourism provides incentives for local
communities and landowners to conserve wildlife habitats upon which the industry depends – it
promotes conservation by placing an increased value on remaining natural areas. As nature
tourism becomes more important to the local economy, communities have additional incentive to
conserve their remaining natural areas for wildlife and wildlife enthusiasts.

The nature-based tourism efforts in Texas will continue to focus on achieving habitat
conservation by providing information and assistance to private landowners, communities,
businesses, and local community leaders wishing to make nature-based tourism an integral part
of their business and community. By empowering people at the local level, we hope to build and
provide guidance to a growing industry that holds great promise for sustainable economic
development and conservation of wildlife habitat.
What is Heritage (Historical) Tourism?
By eTravel Team

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History has been a dominant driver of tourist activity for the longest time. Traveling long
distances to explore the mysteries and wonders of the past is no new concept – it has existed for
centuries and continues to be a popular reason why people travel. Looking at the trends, one can
say that history is never too old-fashioned to be cherished.
What is Heritage tourism?
Historical or heritage tourism means traveling with the primary purpose of exploring the history
and heritage of a place. It may mean simple sightseeing of renowned historical architecture,
visiting local museums that document the past through artifacts, art, and literary remains, or even
something as quaint as sampling authentic historical recipes in their place of origin.
People often combine their love of history with other tourist delights like shopping, amusement
park visits, and luxurious resort stays. So places that have a rich heritage and have, at the same
time, designed a fine tourist infrastructure to cater to all categories of tourists get rated the
highest in terms of popularity as tourist destinations.
Take for an example Budapest – the city offers some marvelous delights including architectural
grandeur and historical baths that take one back in time – and all this becomes all the more
alluring when coupled with the fantastic nightlife, of which its trademark ruin pubs are a
prominent part.
 NOV 10, 2020

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Tourism

PAUL GOODMAN

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Many places in the world rely heavily on tourism as a key source of income and employment.
Unfortunately, tourism can also be a source of problems, especially if it is not managed well. A
huge influx of visitors can gradually deplete the beauty, uniqueness, character, environment,
resources, and social coherence of a tourist destination over time.

It is easy to underestimate the scale of tourism. Every year, about a billion tourists take trips:
That makes 30 tourists arriving every second. There were around 76.9 million tourists visiting
the US in 2017. That many travelers can easily present huge challenges for many destinations.
Transporting, providing places to stay, feeding, entertaining, policing, and cleaning up after that
many additional people is not a simple or straightforward task. Is it worth it?

The Advantages of Tourism

 Economic. It brings in money. This is probably the main advantage of tourism and the
reason why it has been promoted so much, especially in developing countries. The income
generated can make up a significant proportion of both private, local, and national incomes.
 Opportunistic. It provides jobs. Hotels, bars, transport, activities, shops, and restaurants
all need staffing. Tourism can provide much-needed employment for people.
 Infrastructural. It provides a means and an incentive for investment in infrastructure
such as roads, rail networks, and local medical and education facilities.
 Environmental. It can provide economic incentives for a place to preserve, maintain,
and regenerate the environment in both urban and rural settings.
 Cross-Cultural. It promotes international connections which can bring more business
and cultural collaborations in the long term. It also promotes cross-cultural awareness for both
locals and tourists and builds bridges of understanding between cultures.
 Promotional. It "puts a place on the map": Tourism gives the locality a chance to show
itself off and raise its profile in the world.

The Disadvantages of Tourism

 Environmental. Tourism can often cause environmental damage with risks like erosion,
pollution, the loss of natural habitats, and forest fires. Even if tourists behave responsibly, the
sheer number of them can cause damage. Ancient buildings, monuments, and temples often
struggle to cope with increased traffic and suffer inevitable wear-and-tear. Reefs and other
natural tourist attractions can suffer permanent damage.
 Cultural. The commercialization of culture can undermine the soul of a tourist
destination. Local traditions that have a rich cultural heritage are reduced to wearing costumes
and putting on acts for the tourists in return for money.
 Culture Clashes. Tourists often lack respect for local traditions and culture, refuse to
follow local dress standards, get drunk in public, or behave rudely or inappropriately towards
locals.
 Service Economy. Although jobs are created by tourism, most are relatively low-level
such as bar work, hotel service, restaurant serving, and so forth. These low-wage, low-skill
workers have little prospect for advancement or promotion.
 Seasonal Fluctuations. Tourism jobs are quite commonly seasonal and insecure, with no
extra benefits such as pensions, sick pay, or healthcare. Some areas can be inundated with
visitors during busy times, and then virtually deserted for many months.
 Imbalanced Funding. Money can end up being directed to tourist areas when it could be
used more effectively elsewhere in a country. The locals who don’t live in specific tourist areas
miss out and suffer relative decline.
 Foreign Poaching. Oftentimes, most of the tourism industry in a developing country is
owned by big foreign companies. They make the major profits, leaving local businesses with
relatively little benefit.
 Tourism Dependence. Sometimes, tourism becomes so focal that other forms of income-
generation are neglected and an economic dependence on tourism forms. This is fine in good
times, but it can leave the country vulnerable to economic ruin in the long run and can contribute
to political upheaval or natural disasters.

Negative Environmental Impacts of Tourism

Although tourist money might be put to good use in preserving environments, tourism does put
burdens on natural resources and often promotes overconsumption and unfair allocations of
resources in places where resources are already limited. When tourism becomes unsustainable, it
can permanently damage the environment. Tourism impacts the wildlife, vegetation, air quality,
the quality and supply of water, and natural phenomena.

Pollution. When huge numbers of people visit, they invariably burden the transportation system
and contribute to pollution—locally and globally. Flying one mile in a plane produces about 53
pounds of carbon dioxide, and tourists account for almost 60% of air travel. Some estimate that
cruise ships to the Caribbean create over 70,000 tons of annual waste.

Environmental Damage. Many tourist activities have negative ecological impacts. Snorkeling,

hiking, and fishing all affect and deplete the local scenery. There's a trail in the Himalayas that's
nicknamed the "toilet paper trail.” A tropical golf course requires the amount of water that would
feed 60,000 locals... plus over 3,000 pounds of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides per
annum.

"Ecotourism." Oftentimes, even environmentally savvy travelers have a negative impact. By

traveling to witness remote natural sites like rainforests and other dwindling and at-risk spots,
tourists often damage the things they came to see.
Invasive Organisms. Tourism can spread non-native species. The increased human presence
from many diverse geographical regions has a detrimental effect on native plants and introduces
non-native species in these areas.

Negative Effects of Human Interaction With Wildlife. Increased human presence can severely
damage the delicate balance of the food webs, ecological communities, and keystone species of
an area.

Depletion of Natural Resources. Tourism can put pressure on natural resources and encourages
over-consumption. This is particularly damaging in spots where resources like food and water
are already scarce.

TOURISM: THE ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES AND HOW TO

PROPERLY TRAVEL

– Marlee Ingram

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

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The Advantages

For developing countries, the advantages of tourism tend to be primarily monetary. A large scale
tourism industry prevents larger, more harmful businesses from working off the land. Small
tourist companies that reign on the land stops large capitalistic corporations from polluting the
air or gentrifying people’s homes.

The tourism industry encompasses many different travel areas, which allows the majority of a
country’s population to be employed. These employment places include hotels, car rental
agencies, restaurants, tour companies, souvenir shops, and equipment shops, among others.
Profit earned from tourism can be reinvested into the country for better infrastructure, education,
funding conservation efforts and creating more responsible ways of touring. Without tourism,
many countries would not have the same level of access to education and infrastructure.
Moreover, tourism allows hosts and visitors to share cultures and meet diverse groups of people.
Through respectful interactions, a broader view of the world from both parties can be achieved.
By reinvesting the money earned back into the country, tourism and its attractions can grow,
creating a positive cycle for the country.
The Disadvantages
With the way the tourism industry is currently run, the disadvantages of tourism may
greatly outweigh the advantages in a country. The first factor to take into consideration is
environmental damage. When a country has a high tourist attraction, the number of people
occupying a space increases immensely. As a result, the release of carbon monoxide gases can
increase due to plane and car use affecting the country’s environment. Many countries with
ancient ruins or natural attractions are also in danger of destruction or erosion with significant
foot traffic and human interaction. Additionally, flora and fauna can decrease in areas or change
their growth and migration patterns when there is an overflow of humans interact. Foot traffic
and continuous touching can also slowly degrade the stability of ancient structures.
One of the advantages breached upon the sharing of cultures. While this is a great interaction of
beliefs and customs, it can become destructive to a host country’s culture. One of the ways
cultures can be disrespected is through the commercialization of countries’ cultures. When
tourism booms, large industries swoop in and sell figures of the cultures’ icons or traditional
wear, disrespecting the countries’ indigenous beliefs and can be harmful to the people living
there. Moreover, poor behavior from tourists who don’t respect the spoken or unspoken codes of
conduct held by indigenous peoples also undermines the sacred beliefs held within the country.

Also, for many countries, tourism is a seasonal occurrence. For people that work in the tourism
industry, their jobs are only viable for a certain number of months, and after the season has
ended, many are left without income. Many of these jobs also lack the benefits that other sector
jobs supply. Tourism workers are often left without insurance or pension. Not to mention,
foreign businesses tend to overtake the companies present in these countries, forcing small
businesses to shut down. As a result, foreign businesses keep the majority of profits from
tourism, while local businesses lose their income. This hurts small businesses and local
economies.

As previously stated, the profit gained from tourism is often reinvested into the industry.
However, with unequal infrastructure development, the tourism industry can inadvertently
sustain itself without aiding a country’s other vital sectors. As such, many countries end up
developing tourism hot spots while the rest of the country suffers. In these countries, there are
visible socioeconomic gaps between the wealthy and the poor. Focusing mainly on the tourism
industry and places of mass attraction leaves disadvantaged communities at risk of financial
instability. Moreover, countries solely invested in tourism are vulnerable to quick economic falls
as its working sectors are unevenly balanced. If a natural disaster, political unrest
or unprecedented pandemic were to strike, the country would lose a massive income, causing an
economic recession that some countries may significantly struggle to bounce back from.

Agropastoral systems
Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment in the Humid Tropics (BOSTID, 1993)

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Farming systems that combine animal and crop production vary across regions and
agroecological zones. In Asia the animal components of small farming operations vary with
cropping systems (McDowell and Hildebrand, 1980; Ruthenberg, 1971). In lowland rice farming
areas, buffalo provide (1) traction for cultivating fields and (2) milk and meat that are consumed
domestically or sold in markets. Cattle, fowl (mainly chickens and ducks), and swine are also
commonly raised on these farms. Feeds include crop residues, weeds, peelings, tops of root
crops, bagasse, hulls, and other agricultural by-products. In highland areas, swine, poultry,
buffalo, and cattle are raised in combination with rice, maize, cassava, beans, and small grains.
Livestock is less important on farms dominated by multistory gardens, which may occasionally
include cattle, sheep, and goats. Feed is typically cut and carried from croplands. Livestock
animals are also of some importance on tree crop farms where they either graze freely in
pastures, are tethered to clean specific areas, or are fed with tree cuttings.

The cropping systems of tropical humid Africa are dominated by rice, yams, and
plantains (McDowell and Hildebrand, 1980; Ruthenberg, 1971). Goats and poultry are the
dominant animals. Sheep and swine are less abundant, but still common. Feeds include fallow
land forage, crop residues, cull tubers, and vines. The small farms of Latin America typically
include crop mixtures of beans, maize, and rice (McDowell and Hildebrand, 1980; Ruthenberg,
1971). Cattle are common and maintained for milk, meat, and draft. Swine and poultry are raised
for food or for sale. Pastures, crop residues, and cut feeds support animal production.

The literature dealing with agropastoral systems is scarce due to the lack of directed
research and development efforts. Much of it was contributed by farming systems research (for
example, Harwood, 1979; McDowell and Hildebrand, 1980; Shaner et al., 1982). The variety of
agropastoral systems and the complexity of mixtures and interactions have discouraged
systematic research and development. As farm diversification, soil and pasture management, and
crop nutrient management become increasingly important to sustainable land use, these closely
integrated systems should receive greater attention. Presently, most knowledge of agropastoral
systems in the humid tropics resides with the native populations that manage them.

Features and Benefits of Agropastoral Farms

The close interaction between crops and livestock is the most striking feature of agropastoral
farms. The structure of agropastoral farming systems is defined by the mix of crop and animal
components, the extent of each, use of on-farm resources, interactions among the components,
flows of energy and nutrients, and the individual contribution of each component to farm
productivity (Harwood, 1987).

For example, in humid areas of Asia, land characteristics are a major determinant of crop and
livestock components (Garrity et al., 1978). Heavy rains and fine textured soils make the
lowlands most suitable for rice and a few other crops. Swine are raised by shifting cultivators,
but the interaction between the animals and crops is largely unstructured. On more permanent
farms, swine are typically raised in close association with vegetables that are produced for
market (Harwood, 1987). In the humid areas of Africa, pests and diseases severely restrict the
distribution of ruminants and people (Jahnke, 1982).

Agropastoral farming systems are usually highly diverse (Harwood, 1987). In most, several
crops are produced on the same land within a single growing season or period, as in relay
cropping or rotation systems, or within the same space simultaneously, as in intercropping
systems. Rotations and polycultures are effective in controlling pests, diseases, and weeds
(Altieri, 1987; Kass, 1978). They can also make nutrient cycles more efficient, protect soils from
erosion, and influence the composition of the biota in and on the soil (Grove et al., 1990). Mixed
systems appear to enhance productivity and stability, which may account for their widespread
appeal.

Other benefits accrue from agropastoral systems. In effect, the incorporation of livestock into
farming systems adds another trophic level to the system. Animals can be fed plant residues,
 weeds, and fallows with little impact on crop productivity. This serves to turn otherwise unusable
biomass into animal protein, especially in the case of ruminants. Animals recycle the nutrient
content of plants, transforming them into manure and allowing a broader range of fertilization
alternatives in managing farm nutrients. The need for animal feed also broadens the crop base to
include species useful in conserving soil and water. Legumes are often planted to provide quality
forage and serve to improve nitrogen content in soils.

Beyond their agroecological interactions with crops, animals serve other important roles in the
farm economy. They produce income from meat, milk, and fiber. Livestock increase in value
over time, and can be sold for cash in times of need or purchased when cash is available
(McDowell and Hildebrand, 1980).

Incorporation of animals into cropping systems requires increases in management and labor
inputs in contrast to crop farming. Farmers also need to gather and process large amounts of
information. For example, decisions and actions must occur according to complex time schedules
and the flow of labor and materials must be coordinated.

Requirements for Greater Sustainability

The high degree of sustainability of agropastoral systems is a consequence of the efficient

use of on-farm resources. But these farms are not isolated from external influences. Markets
must be available if the economic benefits of livestock are to be realized. Labor must be
available to fulfill the additional demands of the mixed system. Knowledge must be preserved
and communicated to assure that managerial skills are maintained. These farmers must be
protected from policy distortions that cause them to alter their mixed systems in ways that
decrease their sustainability (for example, incentives to exceed the animal carrying capacity of
their resources).

If the agropastoral farming systems employed by small-scale farmers are to be improved

and promoted within the humid tropics, institutional and policy changes are required. Research
institutions must address the complexity of these systems and undertake studies to improve them.
Project sponsors must recognize that such research is new and may require continuous and
perhaps long-term support. Educational outreach programs will be needed to promote
improvements. Because traditional extension programs rarely focus on integrated management or
small farms, changes are also required in these institutions. Governments need to avoid policies
that cause small-scale farmers to abandon their mixed systems, and they must formulate policies
that encourage and reward the protection of natural resources and environmental quality. A
greater understanding of the interactions between national policies and local incentives would
help assure that appropriate policies are developed.

5 Characteristics of Sustainable Tourism

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Characteristics of Sustainable Tourism

 1. Benefits Local Economic Development
 2. Ensures Tourism Development Benefits Both Community and Environment
 3. Meets Both Profitability and Viability
 4. Becomes Part of the Local Culture
 5. Reinvests in the Local Region

Tourism is a lucrative and growing business for many countries around the world, leading many
to consider the characteristics of sustainable tourism as a means of maintaining local resources
and heritage. Along with adding revenue to local economies, it contributes greatly to
employment rates in areas with booming tourism industries. While tourism can add a great deal
to national economies, it also has the potential to take away a number of key components of
those countries. Sustainable tourism is a concept in which respect for the local resources, culture,
environment and people of a locale is emphasized in a way that is also beneficial for travelers.
Read on to learn what makes up sustainable tourism.

1. Benefits Local Economic Development

Tourism with a sustainable emphasis ensures there are a number of diverse opportunities for the
creation of jobs locally. It also encourages local entrepreneurship and community reinvestment
in order to sustain the economic momentum and maintain it within the local geographic region.
Outsourcing to other parts of the world is discouraged.

2. Ensures Tourism Development Benefits Both Community and Environment

If key players in the tourism industry of an area aren’t careful, it can be very easy to deplete that
region of resources in order to meet the demand and growth of tourism. Characteristics of
sustainable tourism ensure that construction, maintenance, infrastructure and the providing of
services related to tourism are undertaken in ways that do not negatively affect local resources
nor the community in which tourism thrives.
 30 Best Value Bachelor’s Degrees in Parks, Recreation, and Leisure
3. Meets Both Profitability and Viability
Characteristics of sustainable tourism must ensure that markets served emphasize can be both
profitable and viable for the long-term. Seeking only to gain as much profit as possible will
require the industry to move on, leaving the local economy and community in shambles. The key
to maximizing both profit and long-term success lies in offering goods and services that are high
in value and price, but low in volume.

4. Becomes Part of the Local Culture

One of the most important characteristics of sustainable tourism is that it does not take over the
local culture and community. The tourist industry should not detract from the special feel of a
place and what makes it unique. A careful balance must be maintained in this endeavor to
prevent loss of the original appeal to travelers.

5. Reinvests in the Local Region

In order to maintain viability in a way that is friendly to the local community, it is absolutely
essential that one of the characteristics of sustainable tourism be reinvestment in the region.
Money must be put back into the local schools, natural resources and infrastructure to meet the
demands tourists place on the region.
As you can see, maintaining sustainability within a country’s tourist industry covers a number of
aspects. Great care and mindfulness must be taken in order to ensure a place doesn’t lose what
made it appealing in the first place and that a community isn’t left in ruins due to the impact of
serving outsiders. These five characteristics of sustainable tourism are essential to ensuring
growth of a region, its industry and its people.
 ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY VOCABULARY

BEACH DEFINITION AND CHARACTERISTICS

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A beach is a narrow, gently sloping strip of land that lies along the edge of an ocean,
lake, or river. Materials such as sand, pebbles, rocks, and seashell fragments cover beaches.

Most beach materials are the products of weathering and erosion. Over many years, water and
wind wear away at the land. The continual action of waves beating against a rocky cliff, for
example, may cause some rocks to come loose. Huge boulders can be worn town to tiny grains
of sand.

Beach materials may travel long distances, carried by wind and waves. As the tide comes in, for
example, it deposits ocean sediment. This sediment may contain sand, shells, seaweed, even
marine organisms like crabs or sea anemones. When the tide goes out, it takes some sediment
with it.

Tides and ocean currents can carry sediment a few meters or hundreds of kilometers away. Tides
and currents are the main way beaches are created, changed, and even destroyed, as the currents
move sediment and debris from one place to another.

Beaches are constantly changing. Tides and weather can alter beaches every day, bringing new
materials and taking away others.

Beaches also change seasonally. During the winter, storm winds toss sand into the air. This can
sometimes erode beaches and create sandbars. Sandbars are narrow, exposed areas of sand and
sediment just off the beach. During the summer, waves retrieve sand from sandbars and build the
beach back up again. These seasonal changes cause beaches to be wider and have a gentle slope
in the summer, and be narrower and steeper in the winter.

Beach Berms

Every beach has a beach profile. A beach profile describes the landscape of the beach, both
above the water and below it. Beaches can be warm, and rich in vegetation such as palm or
mangrove trees. Beaches can also be barren desert coastlines. Other beaches are cold and rocky,
while beaches in the Arctic and Antarctic are frozen almost all year.
The area above the water, including the intertidal zone, is known as the beach berm. Beach berm
can include vegetation, such as trees, shrubs, or grasses. The most familiar characteristic of a
beach berm is its type of sand or rock.

Sandy
Most beach sand comes from several different sources. Some sand may be eroded bits of a
rocky reef just offshore. Others may be eroded rock from nearby cliffs. Pensacola Beach, in the
U.S. state of Florida, for instance, has white, sandy beaches. Some sand is eroded from rocks and
minerals in the Gulf of Mexico. Most sand, however, is made of tiny particles of weathered
quartz from the Appalachian Mountains, hundreds of kilometers away.

The sandy beaches surrounding Chameis Bay, Namibia, are also full of quartz and seashells.
However, the beaches of Chameis Bay contain another type of rock—
diamonds. Mining companies have dug mines both on the beach and offshore to excavate these
precious stones. Other gems, such as sapphires, emeralds, and garnets, are present on many
beaches throughout the world, as tiny grains of sand.

Rocky
Some beach berms are not sandy at all. They are covered with flat pebbles called shingles or
rounded rocks known as cobbles. Such beaches are common along the coasts of the British Isles.
Hastings Beach, a shingle beach on the southern coast of England, has been a dock for fishing
boats for more than a thousand years.

A storm beach is a type of shingle beach that is often hit by heavy storms. Strong waves and
winds batter storm beaches into narrow, steep landforms. The shingles on storm beaches are
usually small near the water and large at the highest elevation.

Other types of beaches

Some beaches, called barrier beaches, protect the mainland from the battering of ocean waves.
These beaches may lie at the heads of islands called barrier islands. Many barrier beaches and
barrier islands stretch along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. These narrow
beaches form barriers between the open ocean and protected harbors, lagoons, and sounds.

Beaches near rivers are often muddy or soft. Soil and sediment from the river is carried to the
river’s mouth, sometimes creating a fertile beach. Hoi An, Vietnam, is an ancient town that sits
on the estuary of the Thu Bon River and the South China Sea. Hoi An’s soft beaches serve as
resort and tourist center.

Beach berms can be many different colors. Coral beaches, common on islands in the Caribbean
Sea, are white and powdery. They are made from the eroded exoskeletons of tiny animals called
corals. Some coral beaches, such as Harbour Island, Bahamas, actually have pink sand. The coral
that created these beaches were pink or red.

On some volcanic islands, beaches are jet-black. The sand on Punaluu Beach, Hawaii, is made of
basalt, or lava that flowed into the ocean and instantly cooled. As it cooled, the basalt exploded
into thousands of tiny fragments. Some volcanic beaches, such as those on the South Pacific
island of Guam, are green. The basalt in these beaches contained a large amount of
the mineral olivine.
 RESOURCE LIBRARY | ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Island
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An island is a body of land surrounded by water. Continents are also surrounded by water, but
because they are so big, they are not considered islands. Australia, the smallest continent, is more
than three times the size of Greenland, the largest island.

There are countless islands in the ocean, lakes, and rivers around the world. They vary greatly in
size, climate, and the kinds of organisms that inhabit them.

Many islands are quite small, covering less than half a hectare (one acre). These tiny islands are
often called islets. Islands in rivers are sometimes called aits or eyots. Other islands are huge.
Greenland, for example, covers an area of about 2,166,000 square kilometers (836,000 square
miles).

Some islands, such as the Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska, are cold and ice-covered
all year. Others, such as Tahiti, lie in warm, tropical waters. Many islands, such as Easter Island
in the South Pacific Ocean, are thousands of kilometers from the nearest mainland. Other islands,
such as the Greek islands known as the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, are found in closely spaced
groups called archipelagoes.

Many islands are little more than barren rock with few plants or animals on them. Others are
among the most crowded places on Earth. Tokyo, one of the world’s largest cities, is on the
island of Honshu in Japan. On another island, Manhattan, rise the towering skyscrapers of
the financial capital of the world, New York City.

For centuries, islands have been stopping places for ships. Because of isolation, many islands
have also been home to some of the world’s most unusual and fascinating wildlife.

Island Formation

There are six major kinds of islands: continental (1), tidal (2), barrier (3), oceanic (4), coral (5),
and artificial (6).

Continental islands (1) were once connected to a continent. They still sit on the continental
shelf. Some formed as Earth’s shifting continents broke apart.

Scientists say that millions of years ago, there was only one large continent. This supercontinent
was called Pangaea. Eventually, slow movements of the Earth’s crust broke apart Pangaea into
several pieces that began to drift apart. When the breakup occurred, some large chunks of land
split. These fragments of land became islands. Greenland and Madagascar are these type of
continental islands.

Other continental islands formed because of changes in sea level. At the peak of the most
recent glacial period, about 18,000 years ago, ice covered large parts of the Earth. Water was
locked in glaciers, and the sea level was much lower than it is today. As glaciers began to melt,
the sea level rose. The ocean flooded many low-lying areas, creating islands such as the British
Isles, which were once part of mainland Europe.

Some large continental islands are broken off the main continental shelf, but still associated with
the continent. These are called microcontinents or continental crustal fragments. Zealandia is a
microcontinent off Australia that is almost completely underwater—except for the island nation
of New Zealand.

Continental islands may form through the weathering and erosion of a link of land that once
connected an island to the mainland.

 Tidal islands (2) are a type of continental island where land connecting the island to the
mainland has not completely eroded, but is underwater at high tide. The famous island of Mont
Saint-Michel, France is an example of a tidal island.

Barrier islands (3) are narrow and lie parallel to coastlines. Some are a part of the continental
shelf (continental islands) and made of sediment—sand, silt, and gravel. Barrier islands can also
be coral islands, made from billions of tiny coral exoskeletons. Barrier islands are separated from
shore by a lagoon or a sound. They are called barrier islands because they act as barriers between
the ocean and the mainland. They protect the coast from being directly battered by storm waves
and winds.

Some barrier islands form when ocean currents pile up sand on sandbars parallel to coastlines.
Eventually the sandbars rise above the water as islands. Aits, or islands in rivers, form in this
way. The same currents that formed these barrier islands can also destroy or erode them.

Other barrier islands formed during the most recent ice age. As glaciers melted, the sea level rose
around coastal sand dunes, creating low-lying, sandy islands. The Outer Banks, along the
southeastern coast of the United States, are this type of barrier island.

Still other barrier islands were formed of materials deposited by Ice Age glaciers. When glaciers
melted, they left piles of the rock, soil, and gravel they had carved out of the landscape. These
piles of debris are called moraines. As flooding occurred along coasts after the glaciers melted,
these moraines were surrounded by water. Long Island, New York, and Nantucket,
Massachusetts, are both barrier islands formed by glacial moraines.

Oceanic islands (4), also known as volcanic islands, are formed by eruptions of volcanoes on
the ocean floor. No matter what their height, oceanic islands are also known as “high islands.”
Continental and coral islands, which may be hundreds of meters taller than high islands, are
called “low islands.”

As volcanoes erupt, they build up layers of lava that may eventually break the water’s surface.
When the tops of the volcanoes appear above the water, an island is formed. While the volcano is
still beneath the ocean surface, it is called a seamount.
Oceanic islands can form from different types of volcanoes. One type forms in subduction zones,
where one tectonic plate is shifting under another. The island nation of Japan sits at the site of
four tectonic plates. Two of these plates, the Eurasian plate to the west and the North American
plate to the north, are associated with continental shelves. The other two, the Philippine plate and
the Pacific plate, are oceanic. The heavy oceanic plates (the Pacific and the Philippine) are
subducting beneath the lighter Eurasian and North American plates. Japan’s islands are some of
the most actively volcanic in the world.

Another type of volcano that can create an oceanic island forms when tectonic plates rift, or split
apart from one another. In 1963, the island of Surtsey was born when a volcanic eruption spewed
hot lava in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland. The volcano was the result of the Eurasian tectonic
plate splitting away from the North American plate. This tiny island is one of the world’s newest
natural islands.

Another type of oceanic island forms as a continent shifts over a “hot spot.” A hot spot is a break
in the Earth’s crust where material from the mantle bubbles or rushes up. The crust shifts, but the
hot spot beneath stays relatively stable. Over millions of years, a single hot spot formed the
islands of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Hawaii’s “Big Island” is still being formed by Mauna Loa
and Kilauea, two volcanoes currently sitting over the hot spot. The newest Hawaiian island,
Loihi, also sits over the hot spot, but is still a seamount about 914 meters (3,000 feet) beneath the
Pacific.

Coral islands (5) are low islands formed in warm waters by tiny sea animals called corals.
Corals build up hard external skeletons of calcium carbonate. This material, also known
as limestone, is similar to the shells of sea creatures like clams and mussels.

Colonies of corals may form huge reefs. Some coral reefs may grow up in thick layers from the
seafloor, until they break the water’s surface, creating coral islands. Other organic and inorganic
material, like rock and sand, helps create coral islands. The islands of the Bahamas, in the
Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, are coral islands.

Another kind of coral island is the atoll. An atoll is a coral reef that begins by growing in a ring
around the sides of an oceanic island. As the volcano slowly sinks into the sea, the reef continues
to grow. Atolls are found chiefly in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Artificial islands (6) are made by people. Artificial islands are created in different ways for
different purposes.

Artificial islands can expand part of an already-existing island by draining the water around it.
This creates more arable land for development or agriculture. The Nahua people of 14th-century
Mexico created their capital, Tenochtitlan, from an artificial island in Lake Texcoco. They
expanded an island in the swampy lake and connected it to the mainland through
roads. Aqueducts supplied the city’s 200,000 residents with freshwater. Mexico City sits on the
remains of Tenochtitlan.

Artificial islands can also be created from material brought in from elsewhere. In Dubai,
companies dig (dredge) sand from the Persian Gulf and spray it near shore. Dubai’s huge
artificial islands are shaped like palm trees and a map of the world. A new island complex, the
Dubai Waterfront, will be the largest man-made development in the world.
Many island chains are combinations of different kinds of islands. The island nation of
Seychelles is made of both continental granite islands and coral islands.

Sandbar
[Link]

A sandbar is an area of sand, gravel or fine sediment that sits above the water. It may be
connected to the shoreline, or it may be offshore. It is generally narrow and straight. A sandbar is
also known as a shoal or sandbank. A large sandbar is called a barrier island.

Shinji Sassa and Yoichi Watabe 2018

[Link]

“Sand bars play an important role in beach stability since they reduce the energy of waves by
breaking them, thereby preventing severe erosion.”

Sandbars begin forming underwater. As waves break, this pulls material from the shoreline,
migrating further into the ocean. During heavy storms, large waves can build sandbars far from
shore, until they rise above the water’s surface.

Sandbar Landforms Have 3 Main Characteristics:

1. Made of sand, gravel or silt

2. Formed by wave action and currents

3. Generally forms a straight line 

Coastal Region/ Coastal Area

[Link]
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Journal of Coastal Zone Management

Coastal areas are commonly defined as the interface or transition areas between land and sea,
including large inland lakes. Coastal areas are diverse in function and form, dynamic and do not
lend themselves well to definition by strict spatial boundaries. Unlike watersheds, there are no
exact natural boundaries that unambiguously delineate coastal areas. Geologically, continental
margins are of two types: active margins where the edge of a continent happens to be at the edge
of an oceanic plate and inactive margins where the transition from continental lithosphere to
oceanic lithosphere is within a plate rather than at a plate edge.

NATURAL SITE
A protected natural site is a natural feature or a wide area of land or water that has special
spiritual importance for individuals and societies. Mountain ranges, mountains, trees,
groves, plants, ponds, lakes, lagoons, caves, beaches, and springs are all examples of sacred
natural sites.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics and
UNESCO, Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage,
1972.

[Link]

Natural heritage refers to natural features, geological and physiographical formations and
delineated areas that constitute the habitat of threatened species of animals and plants and natural
sites of value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty. It includes
private and publically protected natural areas, zoos, aquaria and botanical gardens, natural
habitat, marine ecosystems, sanctuaries, reservoirs etc.

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%20destination.

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helps/to/them/visit/distination

Mohammad Abul Hasan 2015

Tourism promotion means trying to encourage the actual and potential customers to travel a
destination through the spreading of information. Promotion is one of the most effective
marketing mix elements used in marketing a tourist product. The objectives of promotion those
are consistent with the general marketing plan is to identify the target group to which the
promotion is conducted, to find out the effective advertising, sales support and public relations
programs to be planned, and to select the best methods to be used to control and assess the
promotion operation. ( Baldemoro 2013.)
 4.

How to Promote tourism in 5 strategic steps

Published by Claudia Bettiol on August 27, 2020

[Link]

To promote tourism is a major objective of many politicians and bureaucrats at national and
local levels. To understand what levers to use to attract new visitors is their greatest
challenge. Choosing a place to visit is a voluntary act by the individual traveller who, faced
with an incredible variety of offers, chooses one that nearly meets his budget and makes him feel
that it can guarantee the well-being he seeks.

A research that today after the limitations and the fear brought by the Coronavirus is increasingly
selective. The traveler of the twenty-first century today wants a tourist offer that enhances not
only the place but the experiences that can be lived in the surrounding area. To understand the
modern tourist, you need to study them carefully, and select the “offer of experiences” that
works best for your territory, whether it is food and wine, walking tourism, or popular festivals.
The tourism of festivals and popular festivals is a very interesting type of tourism that should not
be underestimated, we have explored it in our article “Pills of Tourism with Claudia Bettiol:
Tourism 365 days a year, Acquapendente and the Pugnaloni”.

But how to attract new tourists to our area?

While competition and the offer of new places is increasing every day, it is increasingly
important to identify market niches in which to place your territory. In this way you can get
the advantage of concentrating efforts on achievable goals and having advance knowledge of the
types of tourists who might choose your place for his trip.
Knowing the particular interests of your tourist, his hobbies and his interests, allows you to
be able to more easily reach him through social networks which, by their nature, are structured
around common interests. It also allows you to find ‘testimonials’ between bloggers and credible
people in that specific sector and to organize attractive experiences with them.

Now let’s see how you can organize these actions into a strategy that allows you to achieve
success without the need for large financial investments but rather through investing your
energies intelligently. In a period of well-being it can be, of course, much easier. Just review the
success of Dubai, that until thirty years ago was just a desert trading post, to understand the
power of money in the tourism sector.
The solutions we propose, however, need something different to money: a strong will and
determination that at times may seem like ‘manic obstinacy’. We have seen successful cases
where these processes have been initiated by politicians but others in which the catalysts were
citizens who became promoters of change by starting businesses that have involved and
impressed the local population.

As for the logistics, we will not deal with projects involving major works but will assume that we
have available a kit of basic infrastructure, i.e. connecting roads or trains and not too distant
airports. We will not dwell on things that cannot be dealt with by local administrators but which
need involvement of central governments.
At the outset, we note that even an isolated area can be attractive, and the smallest village can
promote tourist activities, aiming to excite those people looking for ‘somewhere away from it
all’.

1. Taking care of your place – with love

Love seems something obvious but it is not, yet it is something that is felt immediately by a
visitor and puts him in a positive state in which small local faults are read benevolently. Every
mishap can be approached with a laugh or a rage: the first diminishes the power of the mishap
while the second increases its power, discourages other potential tourists and creates a negative
reputation.
Let us illustrate by a very trivial example: the cleanliness of your place.
When a tourist arrives in a place and sees waste paper on the floor, he is not interested in
knowing if that paper was to be collected by a civil servant or a private one, his conclusion is just
that ‘no one has picked up the paper’. In this case there are hundreds of culprits: the first is the
one who has thrown or dropped it on the ground (and we should apply penalties for this) but all
the others are the ones who saw it and did nothing.
If my daughter comes home leaving a sock on the floor while I am preparing for guests, I do not
expect them to have to pick it up. If I have someone who is helping me I can pick it up,
otherwise I will pick it up directly while I order the house for guests. Then later in the evening I
can ‘give a lecture’ and vent my anger. The same thing must occur for our cities. If we wait for
and want tourists, who are our guests, our city must be neat and clean.

In a period of economic prosperity we could have teams of environmental professionals ready to

‘polish’ the city, but in lean times we must do it ourselves. We need to break the inertia and
make ourselves change from being observers to actors, we need to break the subtle humiliation
of cleaning up the ‘dirt of others’. But it is a difficult step to take. It takes a great inner strength
to take care of the public areas and maybe feel proud to do so, to look people in the eyes while
cleaning the street.

This emotional passage that we must make corresponds precisely to a different way to establish
our relationship with ‘our town’. The place where we live, the spaces we share with others
should not be felt as a ‘public responsibility’ but as a ‘common good’. If the city is also mine
(‘my town’), in fact, I am no longer cleaning the street of another, but I’m ‘loving’ the place
where I live.
It has been proved that where the sense of public places is a common good, the spirit of the
whole area changes and this positive atmosphere is immediately perceived by those who are not
locals, by tourists or occasional visitors. In reality it does not stop at just cleaning streets to
attract and excite anyone, we need to pay attention to those thousand little details that are the
personal contribution of the local citizens.
The love for the place where you live is perceived. It may be manifested with flowers, plants,
colours, furnishings and small embellishments on the facades of the houses that create harmony
and wellbeing. These are small details spread throughout your town that can never be
programmed by one person, but come from the many individual efforts.
The surprising effect, then, is that the more we take care of a place and the more people
behave well and feel uncomfortable to throw paper or butts on the floor, the more they
help to not to pollute. The ‘outcasts’ become those with uncivilized behaviour and not those
who are virtuous.
2. Find the magic and ‘spirit of the place’, the Genius Loci

Each place has its own peculiarities, and these can become attractions, but you have to find
them. Certainly if you have the Colosseum or the Eiffel Tower everything seems easier and these
two world symbols alone can move millions of tourists. UNESCO has drawn up a list of the
places which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. But for these we are talking of mass tourism
and to get to those big numbers needs large investment.
Yet everywhere in this world there are places that have managed to attract many visitors for their
‘stories’ and in Italy, ANCI-National Association of Italian has created a section and a website
dedicated to Italian villages. We think of the places of religious or spiritual worship, not many of
which seem to be rich in archaeological and historical beauties. We think of sports or musical
gatherings, and we also think of the passions, hobbies, design and food.
Food deserves a separate discussion, because it alone is capable of moving thousands of people
‘pulling them by the belly’ and the many local fairs and festivals that focus on food peculiarities
are a proof. But it is also an added value in all other situations in which you want to promote a
territory for other attractions because, if a traveller decides to embark on a journey, he will
certainly eat at the location and will taste local dishes. Of course, fast food and poor quality can
have a negative effect on more than the stomach, they create bad memories.

Returning to the concept of the ‘spirit of the place’, the strength of simple ideas is amazing.
Travelling between the small Italian towns and villages gives many surprises in the
attractiveness of simple initiatives that have been able to change the local economies.

An example of this is the case of Candelara, a village near Pesaro, a small village enclosed by
walls, in which a ‘Candlelight Festival’ has been held every December since 2004. For half an
hour, at an agreed signal, the village is lit only by candles to the sound of classical music.
The number of tourists is so high now that the show was doubled during the early evening, then
the numbers of days were increased, and finally they also started a summer edition at the seaside
in Pesaro. Getting to Candelara during one of the festive days requires observing an incredible
organizational machine that manages tens of thousands of people from different parts of Europe
on local village roads and narrow streets of the town.
Other success stories involve many other events: exhibitions of antiques, vintage cars, sports
events, walks, rallies around a particular subject, but also training events, fetes, historical and
musical performances. Scrolling down the list of successful events we can appreciate how each
situation represents a case to be individually analyzed but all have some aspects in common: the
close connection between the territory and the theme of the event. There has to be a secret
key in choosing an event that involves the essence of the place and becomes one of the symbols.

This evocative capacity is one that may also allow a negative symbol to become a positive
element of territorial attraction. The secret of a territorial strategy is to be able to make a
strong point out of what may have been a weakness.
If you are a commune, apparently unfortunately symbolic with pollution, and if you are taken as
a negative example at national level, what can you do? You can become the ‘pollution capital’
and become a ‘virtuous commune’ – the place where

people can experience all the innovative solutions and in which people are involved in
dissemination events on the topic and in which experts get together to speak in public debates.
Even waste can become exciting if you encourage small industries and artisans for ‘upcycling’ –
furniture, fashions, jewellery.
3. How to Excite the tourist with live experiences

The power of small centres is incredible because only in these centres can identification occur
between the place and an event that becomes part of its identity. Let us consider an example of
the many thematic festivals that are organized in various Italian centres and in particular the
example of a literature festival.
Reading is a passion for many people and it was natural that it would generate many events. The
closure of many small bookshops has increased people’s needs for interaction and the desire to
find oneself among people who share the same passion.
From this communal need have been born many successful festivals on specific topics, namely
ones that revolve around particular subjects, plus some generic festivals such as exhibitions of a
book or book festivals. Even reading the words ‘book festival’ my mind immediately connects
with some events that are well known such as the Mantua Literature Festival. This is because this
festival has achieved good success while its counterparts in Rome and in other major cities have
not had the same fate. Why?
Mantua is one of the splendid Italian cities of art that twenty years ago opened this literary
festival following the example of the small town of Hay on Wye in Wales. Today cities and
festivals are closely linked and other festivals have begun with the same identity as the city of
Mantova. The event has become an exciting experience and the whole city prepares itself to
welcome visitors and to excite them in various ways.
A similar fate may not happen for the same festival in a big city like Rome, the identity of
which is the importance of its history, past and present, and its monuments. You can meet
authors in Rome during the year at various presentations and the excitement is given by the
author and the book, but not the identification of the city with the event. Outside of the room in
which a book is presented, for example, the citizens of Rome are not aware of what is happening
and do not share the same emotions.

If the sharing of emotions and direct contact have an important value, then many municipalities
and small towns can imagine how to tie their identity to some event strategically designed and
started to attract visitors. There is work to do, but the opportunities are waiting.

Of course some people will bring up the ongoing economic crisis and lack of liquidity. The
answer for them is that at times like this there is a great increase in the demand for information
and community events. There are many examples of how some small activities, with strong
local identities, have managed to revolutionize the socio-economic life of entire areas, such as
the case of the Museum of Masks of Mamoiada in Sardinia.
So, on one hand there are disillusioned people who cease doing anything, while on the other
there are people who want to look more deeply into issues in order to understand the meaning of
what is happening and to rebuild their local society.
Edutainment and infotainment are the way to provide them with the answers they seek.

4. Organize the Business of ‘welcoming’ among the populace

Effective Edutainment and Infotainment requires preparation and an active involvement of the
public. If a tourist comes to visit a great monument he often already know something of its story,
but it is quite different in the case of a less famous center.
In the first case, the artwork to promote tourismhas been prepared by experts specifically for
various visitor target groups: children, students, adults, enthusiasts, historians, etc. In general all
the hospitality is handled by large organizations (such as at the Colosseum http: //[Link]-
[Link]), but the tourist will remember only the people with whom he interacted directly:
the person at the ticket office, the bailiff, etc. The assessment of his visit will depend a lot on this
interaction and from the order (or disorder) of the place.

In any new promotion (e.g. a museum) in a generic territory, in which you need to build the
‘Spirit of Place’ and expose the widespread feeling connected to this place, the promotional
information is not encoded and also must be made available on the oral level via a number of
local citizens or commercial operators. There probably will not be only one place to visit and a
visitor can interact with the area in many different ways in search of his ‘personal experiences’.

For this we need a distributed information/training program shared by a large part of the citizens
who have to experience first hand the spirit of place and become the promoters. ‘Public
Relations’ with a visitor means making an intercultural communication exercise, it means
having to establish connections with someone who came to your site full of
expectations. Differences must be respected knowing that, in any case, tourists are looking for
something different that does not frighten them too much.
If the visitors are international, then, your team to promote tourism must be familiar with at least
one other language (an approach now taken by several international airlines). When Bilbao went
from being a city in industrial decline to become one of Europe’s cultural centres with the
Guggenheim Museum, its Urban Regeneration Plan included mandatory English language
training for drivers and operators of businesses.
First of all, to communicate you must have a common language with which to exchange
information and, considering that English is the second most spoken language in the world, it is
essential to have basic English courses for many citizens.
This is just the first step to make citizens welcome travelers, by offering them the experiences
they seek communicated in a language they understand. Other welcoming tools depend on the
specific theme that represents the ‘spirit of the place’ and these should be deliberated on in an
appropriate way and personalized.

5. Use the web, promote tourism on Social Media and by ‘word of mouth’

The web is the main way to get in touch with thousands of potential tourists and can be used in
two ways: by promoting in a general area or dealing professionally with the interests the
potential visitors have and want satisfied.

The web is divided into sites and portals, on the one part, and the social network for the other
part. Both work when they are managed to be bi-directional, web 2.0 when information is not
only a communication but becomes a shared resource where anyone can add something.

This, for example, is the secret of success of sites such as [Link] and
[Link] in which part of the content is written by the visitors themselves who leave
their impressions and opinions on the site.
But when you want to activate a process in a specific area you have to overcome the
inertia and perhaps the prejudices that are layered. You must have a strategic plan that can
slowly bring your views and interests of to the attention of travellers.
The web functions as word of mouth but every story must have a beginning and you have to
monitor everything happening so you can take action on the weaknesses in your strategy and
tactics. With a strategic plan with a clear vision of the goal to be achieved, you may be ready
to contact your public starting right from those most interested in your ‘spirit of the place’.
In this way portals like [Link] Specialpeople Specialplaces, that tell stories
about places and people, can be useful. They can help, in essence, to position and to build a
reputation on what is your identity on and off the web, to promote tourism on the web and in the
real world.

How to Promote Local Tourism

By Colleen | December 1, 2017

[Link]

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When it comes to promoting your tourism business – whether you’re an attraction, restaurant,
museum or hotel, you may feel like you’re all alone. Luckily, that’s not the case. By working
with your Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) or Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA),
you’re able to get some “free marketing” that will help to distribute your message beyond your
own efforts, and attract more visitors. Consider it as having someone in your corner that wants
your business to succeed just as much as you do.

There are a few things you need to know in order to get the most exposure possible. Here are
some tips and tricks for getting the most out of your partnership with local and regional tourism
offices.

How to Promote Local Tourism

First, let’s talk about how local and state tourism offices are working to support local tourism.
There is a lot that goes into promoting a destination – and most of it is behind the scenes.

Websites

Every local and regional tourism office has a website. Some are more in-depth than others, but
they usually have listings for the same categories: things to do, lodging, food and drink. This is
where visitors can find the contact information for specific attractions and businesses, as well as
pictures and descriptions. Most websites also have event calendars that showcase festivals,
performances, even seminars taking place across the region.

Guides

Most tourism offices still distribute thousands of printed brochures via welcome centers, thruway
stops and visitor requests. Through gorgeous photos and captivating language, guides or
brochures paint an overall picture of what a visitor can expect. Many also offer ad space if you
want to stand out in front of an interested audience.

Press releases

When there is an announcement – such as a new restaurant in town or a state park winning a
national award –  the tourism office will send out a press release, which could get picked up by
regional or national publications. It may even generate interest from media who want an
interview or travel writers who want to experience it for themselves.

Press releases are not limited to local marketing offices. Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council
(FLRTC), the official promotion organization for the 14-county Finger Lakes Region, distributes
monthly press releases highlighting regional assets. Examples include activities to celebrate the
100th anniversary of women’s suffrage and new tourism assets that opened in the last six
months.

Blogs

Blog posts are an interesting way to promote multiple assets at once. They provide a roundup of
attractions with a common theme, and are usually written more conversationally than other
marketing pieces. Blogs can also provide a deeper look into a niche topic as it relates to a
destination, than say, a brochure could.  Corning and the Southern Finger Lakes does a great job
at this by detailing 10 of the best fall hikes and tasty salad spots around Corning’s Gaffer
District. 

Social Media

All of the different tactics listed above provide great content for a tourism office. Events,
announcements, media placements and blogs can be shared across social media channels.

Large Activations

Tourism offices can reach larger audiences with a presence at popular events and exhibits.

Depending on the event, attendees may be from another city or even another state. A major event
is the perfect place to promote its destination to an audience that’s already there, that may be
unfamiliar with the area and is most likely looking for other things to do. The TPA can share the
best places to go, eat or sleep, and hand out branded materials or collateral. I Love NY brings
their mobile tour to large events around New York State. Visitors leave with a customized digital
guide of cool assets across the state.

Governor Cuomo has invested in ten new welcome centers across New York State, with the goal
to promote local tourism. Each welcome center highlights that region’s renowned tourism
destinations through photos, videos, Taste NY market and artifact wall. I Love NY worked
closely with local and regional tourism offices to gather artifacts and iconic symbols from
partners that visually explain the history and culture of the region. The Southern Tier welcome
center, for example, includes a race car from Watkins Glen International and hanging glass
sculpture from the Corning Museum of Glass.

Commercials

Marketing offices with larger budgets – think state tourism offices – run T.V. commercials to
promote to both state-wide and out of state audiences. You may have also noticed the “It’s All
Here. It’s Only Here.” commercials from I Love NY over the past year. They showcase various
assets and attractions across the state – from equal rights history to fun winter activities
 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
[Link]

“Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant

stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus
building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant
monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures
whenever necessary.
Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a
meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and
promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them.”
World Tourism Organization, 2004 (now known as the UNWTO)

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
[Link]

Responsible tourism is like sustainable tourism, however as often the word sustainability is often
overused and not understood, responsible tourism has been adopted as a term used by industry
Responsible tourism is any form of tourism that can be consumed in a more responsible way.
“Responsible tourism is tourism which:
 minimizes negative social, economic and environmental impacts
 generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well-being of host
communities
 improves working conditions and access to the industry
 involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances
 makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage
embracing diversity
 provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections
with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues
 provides access for physically challenged people
 is culturally sensitive, encourages respect between tourists and hosts, and builds local
pride and confidence
Cape Town Declaration, 2002

Is Tourism Sustainable? 5 Benefits of Sustainable Tourism

Eva Wieners
Published March 18, 2020
[Link]
Eva is a German writer and geographer, currently living in Nepal with her daughter Miriam. She
has worked and volunteered in South America, Europe, and Asia for more than a decade and
loves to travel.
  

You've probably asked yourself: is tourism sustainable? Naturally, you want to see the
world and travel, but at the same time, you don't want to have a negative impact on the
communities or the environment that you visit. You want to be a conscious traveler, but
sometimes that is not so easy to put into practice.

In this article, we want to discuss what sustainable tourism is, and its benefits to you, local
communities, and the environment, so you can make an informed decision about your next trip!

What is Sustainable Tourism?

Sustainable tourism, is traveling with the intention of having a positive impact on the
environment, society, and economy -- or at least not a negative one.

This sounds like it should always be the case, but unfortunately, it is not. Particularly, mass
tourism has had very negative impacts on some host countries, and often the economic gains do
not reach the local level.

The Benefits of Sustainable Tourism

But why should you try to engage in sustainable tourism? Well, besides the fact that you'll know
that your actions will be contributing positively, there are some great benefits of sustainable
tourism you should consider.

1. It has a Lower Ecological Impact

The things you eat while on vacation have a huge impact on your ecological footprint. Some
people like to eat the things they know from home when on vacation, but consider what this
means for your destination. Part of sustainable tourism is eating local produce and food from
local businesses. Importing food, whether across the nation or across the ocean, comes at a huge
cost – economically and environmentally. Plus, part of the experience of traveling to new places
is to eat new and local food!

If you eat local, you not only save a lot of emissions but you'll also find that the food tends to be
better -- the ingredients are fresher, the locals know how to prepare them, and you will probably
get to taste something brand new that will intrigue you.

2. It Allows Wildlife to Stay Wild

Considering the needs of wildlife also belongs under the sustainable tourism umbrella. In many
destinations, animals are used to attract tourists, but are not necessarily treated well.

Think of places like the Tiger Temple in Thailand, or riding elephants in Nepal – while these
attractions are famous, they are not good for the animals. Cats have to be drugged; elephants
suffer from pain and early deaths, and all of this is done so that tourists can have a photo
opportunity.

The benefit of practicing sustainable tourism is educating yourself about attractions concerning
wildlife and avoiding them if they do not have the best interest of the animals in mind. If the
demand for this kind of entertainment diminishes, these places will cease to exist one day.
Wildlife is able to stay wild.

If you really want to get close to wildlife, there are many volunteering projects that work in
the field of conservation. If you add a volunteering period to your vacation, you can be a
sustainable tourist and support important projects through your work while having these amazing
experiences.

Volunteer in Victoria Falls with International Volunteers HQ:

9.91 Rating

based on 47 reviews

Read Reviews 

Visit Site

 Good for Solo Travelers, Photographers, Adventure travelers

3. Sustainable Tourism Keeps the Environment Clean

To make sure that your stay in your destination does not have a negative impact, make sure to
choose accommodations that engage in sustainable practices. Look for red flags when
researching, such as issues with garbage or wastewater, and find out if your chosen hotel is
transparent about their efforts. Even better, see if they buy local produce for their restaurant,
purchase eco-friendly materials for their guest rooms, and treat their employees well.

You may find that choosing a sustainable accommodation will also align with spending your
vacation in a more beautiful location. You won't have to be scared that the wastewater of your
resort is being pumped into the ocean that you're planning to swim in. And you do not have to
wade through plastic waste once you leave the gate. Your conscious choice about the places you
visit can help keep communities cleaner.
4. It Supports Local Communities

When you support sustainable accommodations and companies, you also support local
communities by directly stimulating their economy. Particularly in destinations with mass
tourism--where big operators bring in tourists--the financial benefits tend to leave with them. If
you choose a provider who works with the locals, you give the economy a boost where it is
needed and will have the most positive impact.

5. It Allows Travelers to be More Conscious of Their Choices

One of the benefits of sustainable tourism is becoming more conscious of your actions. If you
aspire to be a sustainable tourist, it's important to educate yourself before you go on your
vacation. It's a good opportunity to find out exactly how companies operate and what your hard-
earned money is contributing to.

Sometimes you may find out that there are locations that you should not visit if you want to keep
them sustainable. Some tiny islands can't sustain many tourists, and some communities are not
able to deal with a certain number of people due to infrastructure. In these cases, the best thing to
do is avoid a destination altogether.

You should also think about your mode of transport and what carbon footprint you leave
behind. Is it really necessary to fly for 15 hours if you only have four days to spend at your
destination? Is there nowhere closer by that you could reach by train instead? Maybe it will even
end up being more budget-friendly for your wallet and give you more time at your destination
that you would have otherwise spent internationally. And if it's not possible to avoid air travel,
consider your options, such as purchasing carbon offsets to make your trip more sustainable.

Sustainable tourism is not always black and white – there are many shades of grey in between.
Educating yourself and making a conscious decision for ethical and sustainable service providers
is the first step to make sure that you have no negative impact by visiting your dream destination
– and don’t you think you will be able to enjoy so much more when you know this?

How to Successfully Promote Tourism

By: Cathy Habas

Reviewed by: Michelle Seidel, [Link]., LL.B., MBA

Updated May 29, 2019

[Link]
 When you live in a town where the economy depends on tourism, tourism promotion ideas
become vitally important not just to your own business but to your friends and neighbors as
well. When you're in charge of a bona fide tourist destination, you carry the whole town's
legacy on your shoulders as you navigate the world of tourism promotion.

Understanding the Image You Want to Convey

First, you need to develop an image that you want to promote. Why do people come to visit
your town or a specific tourist destination? If your area is known for its relaxing, small-town
atmosphere and country charm, you'll use different images and marketing designs or
techniques than would a city known for its adventure park and outdoorsy experiences.

Regardless of the type of atmosphere and the types of attractions your town has to offer, there
are a few elements on which everyone can agree:

 Cleanliness

You want people to fondly remember how clean your streets were and how the landscape was
so beautifully maintained.

Friendliness and hospitality  – When an area's economy depends on tourism, the locals tend to
have no problem being friendly and hospitable to strangers. However, bad experiences can
lead to bad reviews, which can turn off future visitors.

Good food

You can't go wrong with having affordable but delicious food available at local restaurants (not
fast-food chains). Tourists need at least three square meals a day plus treats, and they're willing
to splurge to try things they normally wouldn't. After all, they're on vacation!

* Unique experiences

Maybe your town has a one-of-a-kind museum, boasts "the largest in the world" of something
bizarre, hosts a fun festival or is home to a historical building. You need to know what makes
your town unique so that you can tell potential tourists all about it.<br><br>

 Safety

– Last but not least, tourists want to feel safe wherever they go. They don't want to worry about
crime. Keeping the town well lit at night is just one way to help tourists feel safe as they
explore.
What else do you want people to feel and experience when they're in town? Expand on this list
to make your own checklist for promotional materials.