Freya Elizabeth Patten
To What Extent Do Individuals’ Choices Impact the Environment?
The environment relies greatly on individuals’ choices in the modern world. Varying from plastic quantity,
consumption of meat or excessive driving- the list goes on. This essay will focus on the impact of tourism,
due to the major affects all over the world- in natural sites which would otherwise have been untouched.
Tourism is one of the most successful businesses in the world, and due to the wonders of the world, tourism
isn’t going to stop anytime soon. Being aware of the impacts and how people can avoid certain aspects of
them, can help reduce this problem which is harming the environment in a drastic way. Due to human actions
and activities, the natural wonders of the world which are so familiar, will lose its attraction and beauty.
Tourism affects many different areas of the environment: including pollution, loss of natural habitats, travel
pollution and costs, food increase, land loss and loss of species and biodiversity. These are all obviously
pressing issues which should be addressed. Individuals should have education about the choices which they
are making and how much of an impact they have on society and on the environment. This essay will focus on
the problems to do with accommodation, food, and travel. These three have the most impact due to the
physical effects on the natural structure of the world, as well as the advertisement around them.
One of the factors of tourism which remains constant throughout the world is accommodation. Especially on
coastal regions, natural barriers can be lost due to coastal accommodation and attractions being built- such as
mangroves or sand dunes. This obviously increases natural hazards and risks to the locals and people
travelling. A passage from the Journal of Tourism argued that ‘the environment, the economy and the society
are inextricably linked… like a spider’s web- touch, one part of it and reverberations will be felt throughout’ 1.
If a part of the accommodation, be it resorts or theme parks, falls through- the whole area of tourism will have
problems associated with this, and hence it is very dependent on it.
Accommodation to do with the building structure, isn’t the only problem for the environment due to
individuals’ choices. Sewage generated at tourist spots contaminate the natural environment in a highly severe
way. Hotels, restaurants, cafes are all in areas with poor sewage support, and hence there will be no safe
disposal of sewage. The sewage which is available, often pollutes near water bodies- leading to environmental
issues, for example; eutrophication2. Additionally, accommodation and building sites disturb the balance and
creates a great disaster in the ecosystem 3. When tourism is completely profit-minded, it doesn’t take in
account nature. Often, hotels and resorts are built illegally very close to the beach or inside areas of forest.
Carlos Espino, a Socialist Lanzarote councillor expressively stated "These councils broke the order which we
had put in place to preserve the island, we will knock down what we have to." 4, when 22 hotels in Lanzarote
were illegally built, and hence impacted the environment in a negative way. They were built purely to increase
tourism and income. This is what occurs when nature is in the hands of businesses who only want profit.
Furthermore: sand erosion, loss of species, changing in sea currents and coastlines as well as the destruction
of habitats are all consequences of deforestation, and these problems increase dramatically when the
accommodation is built in a high biodiversity and well diverse species richness area. In addition to this,
building work and noise frightens off multiple species. This empties the area from natural grazing species,
and in turn, the soil degrades and becomes unstable, which again, can cause more natural hazards if near a
1
Spanou, E. (2007), "The Impact of Tourism on the Sociocultural Structure of Cyprus", Tourismos: An
International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 145-162
2
Sen Nag. O, (2018) What Are the Negative Effects of Tourism on the Environment? World Atlas
Environment. [online]. Available from: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-negative-effects-of-
tourism-on-the-environment.html. [accessed: 17/10/19]
3
Sen Nag. O, (2018) What Are the Negative Effects of Tourism on the Environment? World Atlas
Environment. [online]. Available from: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-negative-effects-of-
tourism-on-the-environment.html. [accessed: 17/10/19]
4
G. Keeley, 2008, Lanzarote Hotel Facing Demolition, The Guardian. [online]. Available on:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/mar/18/spain.travelnews . [accessed on 21/10/19].
