This is for the ‘…camera-toting, garishly dressed, vociferous, culturally insensitive tourist, who is disconnectedly shunted, sheep-like, from destination to destination on a package tour.’
Tourism is a big industry and various steps are necessary and are being taken to balance the negative consequences of tourism. Let’s have a quick glance at some of the decisions at the 2005 World Summit that took place in New York this September.
#1: To Mitigate extreme weather
#2: Act to curb climate change
#3: Secure Antarctica
#4: Prioritize the environment
#5: Tackle migration issues
#6: Create more jobs
#7: Raise literacy rates
#8: Protect cultural heritage
#9: Fight corruption
#10: Provide more housing
#11: Improve workplace nutrition
#12: Promote workplace safety
#13: Rethink foreign investment
#14: Partner with NGOs
#15: Encourage youthful voices
Now, it is the turn of the tourists to prove their eco-responsibility. Can anyone, who has flown halfway around the world in a jet powered by subsidized fossil fuel and puffing out greenhouse gases, qualify as an eco-tourist – whatever the shape or content of the holiday that awaits them?