How does this set of documents bring into relief the challenges of sustainable travel?

Nowadays, tourism has an important place in the world. It experienced an increasing importance, and some countries in this world have even economies based on their touristic activities. The main issue is that tourism in mainly incompatible with ecology. In fact, the principles of tourism make it a danger for the environment, even more with the practice of last tourism (it is actually the fact of traveling to endangered places because you want to visit them before they disappear). Nevertheless, there is way of traveling that are eco-friendly : and this is called eco-tourism. The file we are studying today deal about this subject. The first document is a web article, from the website thisiseco.co.uk. It addresses the concept of last chance tourism, with the impact it have and the solutions to it. The second document is an illustration, with an ironical goal. It talks about the fact that we could travel to places closer, instead of going to some that are really far. The last one is also an article, but this time from the Independent, written by Helen Coffey in 2021. This one is like a “green guide”, with some solutions to travel in a greener way. This file lead us to the following question : How does this set of documents bring into relief the challenges of sustainable travel? In order to answer, we’ll firstly analyze the impacts of climate change, and secondly we’ll focus on the answer for more sustainable travels.

Tourism has multiples impacts on climate change. One of them is the changing on species. Most of endangered species are in this situation because of humans. Their ecosystems are disappearing, making their surviving harder and harder. On top of that, those ecosystem are mainly wonderful landscapes. Due to last chance tourism (people going to places that are about to disappear), the prices for air-travels are significantly collapsing. However, paradoxically, there is an air-traffic boom, leading to a pollution peak. Tourism (not just last-chance) also generates an acidification of the water, letting die coral reefs more and more. This vicious circle is complex, but it is not the only problem : eco-conscious industry. In fact, traveling without footprints would just be the equivalent as not traveling at all. The industry is making everyone think that they are eco just for their self-conscious, but the reality is that travel will produce footprints anyway. Nevertheless, some closer destinations are actually boosted by tourism, making more people paying attention to their carbon footprints.

Nonetheless, there is real ways to travel in more eco-responsible ways. Firstly, it passes by raising awareness everywhere. By encouraging people to contribute, it is possible to educate others and ourselves on the subject, and therefore enable more sustainable travels. While raising awareness, it is important to remind of green washing : sustainability is a part of the thrill. It’s very crucial to be careful