Sun, Surf and Sustainability? Tourists Divided on Who Should Pay to Keep Vacation Spots Eco-friendly

Newswise — Exploring a far-flung, sun-drenched island off the beaten track is a dream vacation for many adventurous travellers. To preserve these pristine places, tourists are increasingly keen on reducing their environmental footprint, but they’re divided on who should pay to keep these vacation destinations environmentally sustainable, according to a new Ryerson University study.

Professors Rachel Dodds and Sonya Graci, Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, are co-authors of the Ryerson-funded study, Does the Tourist Care? A Comparison of Tourists in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, and Gili Trawangan, Indonesia. The study also includes contributions from Mark Holmes, a former Ryerson graduate student now pursuing a PhD at York University.

“There is a growing awareness of sustainable tourism, and increasingly, tourists are focused on having an authentic experience; that is, getting to know a community. They think, ‘I want to protect this place and make sure other people can enjoy it as much as I have,’” said Dodds, but added that people often think governments and non-governmental organizations are responsible for maintaining the islands’ natural beauty through conservation and sustainability efforts.

“Many islands have been taken over or ruined by tourism, overcrowding and haphazard development. To make changes, you have to focus on what the consumer wants. If you want the island to remain a paradise, you need to focus on development that will keep it that way,” said Graci, who also co-wrote a book with Dodds entitled Sustainable Tourism in Island Destinations (Earthscan, September 2010).

“Eco-taxes have been successfully introduced elsewhere in the world, and one was introduced in Gili several years ago to support new projects. Eco-taxes work when the process is transparent and there’s accountability in the system.”

The study is based on the results of 400 surveys (200 per island) of tourists vacationing at two developing, tourist-dependent Southeast Asian islands: Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, and Gili Trawangan, Indonesia. Both islands are currently struggling with environmental problems such as insufficient fresh water, expensive generator-produced electricity, excessive waste and beach degradation.

Participants were asked about their motivation for visiting the island, their holiday experience, their understanding of environmental or social issues on the island, and whether or not they would be willing to pay a sustainability tax to fund environmental and socio-cultural preservation initiatives.

Most respondents indicated they were quite concerned about protecting the island’s natural environments. On Koh Phi Phi, however, 69 per cent of respondents said tourists should be most responsible for paying for the costs of sustainability initiatives (i.e. coral reef conservation), followed by the federal and provincial governments (68 per cent and 55 per cent respectively). Meanwhile, on Gili Trawangan, 71 per cent said non-governmental organizations should pay for sustainability projects such as conserving water or protecting natural areas.

Coming on the heels of multiple government reports stressing the need to promote more sustainable development in island destinations, the researchers say these findings are particularly relevant to small island tourism economies.

The study has been published in the 2010 issue of Journal of Sustainable Tourism. Ryerson University is Canada’s leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to 28,000 students, including 2,000 master’s and PhD students, nearly 2,700 tenured and tenure-track faculty and staff, and more than 130,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past four years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca