Unplanned Tourism Research Articles

Anthropocene: Human Activity Impact on the Climate and Environment

The environment undergoes shifts across various timescales, yet presently, human intervention remains the primary solution provider and is likely to persist in this role for the next few centuries. While it is widely recognised that human-induced, or anthropogenic, climate change contributes to global warming, what is often underestimated are the direct impacts of heavy rainfall, droughts, and storms, incurring significant costs for both society and the environment. The expansion of human populations has led to the conversion of natural ecosystems for agricultural, industrial, and residential purposes, creating a demand for environmental inputs such as fresh water, fiber, and soil fertility. This heightened demand puts increased pressure on the capacity of natural ecosystems. Deforestation, expanding agriculture, illegal fishing and hunting, unplanned tourism, and pesticide pollution have collectively led to the progressive degradation of natural habitats. The consequence is a loss of biodiversity and the removal of forests, disrupting the food and shelter sources for wildlife residing in these ecosystems. Scientific research aims to comprehend the scale of biodiversity, and land use, and contribute to mitigating the impacts of land use changes.

Land Use/Land Cover Changes in a Mediterranean Summer Tourism Destination in Turkey

Tourism contributes to national and local economies especially in the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts of Turkey including the study area, Fethiye-Göcek, Muğla in southwest Turkey. The study evaluates land use/land cover (LULC) changes driven by tourism development as a case considering the past (1995–2020) and future environmental impacts on the area. High-resolution remote sensing and some socio-economic data were employed to monitor the situation and causes of LULC changes using Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST). The results show a decrease in the size of water surface, forest and maquis lands due to tourism development together with an increase in urban fabrics and bare lands due to urbanisation and forest fires. A significant positive correlation was detected between the urbanisation rate, population size and built-up area as well as air temperature and LST. Rapid and unplanned tourism development boosted investments for infrastructure and facilities and thus increased the demands for lands. Such lands were mostly gained by filling the sea or transforming agricultural and greenhouse areas, forest and maquis-covered lands. The unplanned development of tourism and urban areas caused serious hazards to the natural and cultural areas which threaten the sustainability of tourism. Planning suggestions are proposed to decision makers like coordination works for sustainable and responsible tourism development.

Transition Modelling of Land Use Land Cover Dynamics in Bardez Taluka of Goa-India (1991-2021)

In the age of global climate change, land use and land cover mapping help us to understand the vital modifications taking place in our environment. LULC mapping assumes great significance in planning, management of resources and keeping track of various programmes at different levels. The data acquired from the land use and land cover investigations are vital for policy formulation and sustainable development of our towns, cities and villages and also to track the disorganized growth of urban areas. Tourism is a tool for economic development in many developing countries of the world. The unplanned tourism growth has led to many ecological problems. This study makes an earnest effort to examine the LULC change using the transition model in the Bardez taluka, which is a well-known global tourist destination in Goa, India. The study has been investigated by using satellite imageries and GIS technologies have been used to analyse the changes occurring in LULC patterns for the years 1991, 2001 and 2021. The result indicates that the area under the built-up class has increased substantially by 11.12 sq. km. as a result of the rise in commercialization, tourism growth and tourism-related activities. Bardez taluka is known for some of the most breath-taking beaches in the world. During 2019-20, just before Covid-19, about 25, 33,234 domestic and 2, 74,840 foreign tourists visited the enchanting beaches of Bardez taluka. Land use classes such as residential, commercial and services, industrial, transportation and utilities also witnessed the growth in their land use and land cover classes whereas classes like agricultural land, coconut plantation, cashew plantation, barren land, DM and FDM forest land, open scrub and fairly dense scrub witnessed a negative change in their class values.

Exploring the perceived conflicts by rural residents in relation to the expansion of the second-homes

ABSTRACT This research aims to discover and analyze the perceived conflicts by the villagers regarding the expansion of the second-homes. For this purpose, a qualitative methodology has been adopted to investigate the subject. Accordingly, the rural tourist destination of the Binalood region in northeastern IRAN are selected as the sample. Then, based on the qualitative analysis conducted by the grounded theory, the perceived conflict caused by the expansion of second-homes is identified. Findings indicated seven key perceived conflicts by the local community about the expansion of second-homes including economic conflicts, structural conflicts, mass, and unplanned tourism, civil protests, social conflicts, environmental conflicts, and physical conflicts. Therefore, to augment solidarity between the indigenous community and second-homeowners, it is essential to address these conflicts.

CONDITION AND DEVELOPMENT OF UNPLANNED TOURISM BUSINESS IN TASIKMALAYA DISTRICT

Tourism activities in Tasikmalaya Regency were recorded to experience fluctuations in the number of tourist visits from year to year. There are two classifications of tourist objects in Tasikmayala Regency, namely legal and registered tourist objects and tourist objects that are not legal and not yet registered in the Disparpora Tasikmalaya Regency and the Disparbud of West Java Province. Tourism objects that are not yet legal, have not been recorded, grow from the initiative of tourists or the community, and are not yet well established in their management are referred to as unplanned tourism businesses. The study was conducted to describe the conditions and developments in the unplanned tourism business carried out in three locations, namely Pasir Kirisik, Bukit Panyangrayan, and Bukit Puji Ningrum by conducting direct observations, interviews, and questionnaires. All data collected were then analyzed descriptively covering the general condition of the research location, characteristics of tourists and local communities, perceptions, motivations, preferences, participation, and conditions of business development factors in each research location. The condition of the unplanned tourism business shows that it is running well even though it has not run optimally and is accepted by tourists and the local community. So it is important the role of stakeholders according to their capacity and capability as part of the support system for procedural acceleration of an unplanned tourism business into an established ecotourism business. 
 
 Key words: acceleration, ecotourism, established, intuitive, tourism business

Analysis and Prediction of Land Cover Changes using the Land Change Modeler (LCM): A Case Study of Candolim, Bardez-Goa, India

Earth is changing ever since it is born. Once entire earth was covered by molten material which later took the shape of the lithosphere. The primordial lithosphere had only land and water as land cover and later other land covers such as forests, grasslands, wetlands etc. took shape. With the humanization of the Earth, the landscape was used for development and conservation resulting in land use. Land is a fixed resource and every accessible piece of land has been utilized by man for his needs. The land use continues to change, today’s built-up area may have been agricultural land a decade ago or today’s plantation might have been forest. Detection of changes in the use of land will offer policymakers and planners to predict the future land cover and will help in the proper planning and management of towns and cities. Globally, the tour and travel industry has played an important role in bringing drastic changes in land use. Tourism leaves both constructive and destructive imprints on the environment. Of late, ‘beach tourism’ has fascinated a large number of travellers in the world. In Goa, tourism arrived immediately after its liberation in 1961 from the oppressive rule of the Portuguese with the appearance of 'Hippies' in Calangute, Anjuna, Vagator, Baga and Candolim villages of Bardez taluka. Tourism has played a vital role in the overall economic development of these villages and has led to change in the character of these villages. Hence, this study makes an in-depth analysis of the impact of tourism on the land use land cover in Candolim village of Bardez Taluka. The spatio-temporal analysis of land cover change is undertaken using Image Processing software Idrisi Selva 17.0 and ArcGIS 10.3. Landsat multitemporal satellite imageries of the year 2001 and 2021 and Google Earth data of the same period are used to define the current changes in the land use land cover patterns. ArcScene was used for 3D creation and modelling of Candolim village between the years 2001 and 2021. The study indicates that due to unplanned tourism growth, six land parcels such as the area under forestland, sandy beaches, barren land, agricultural land, plantations and shrub land have declined by 0.94, 2.33, 3.42, 1.52, 0.23 and 6.83 per cent respectively. Net change to Built-up land from different classes and cubic trend map of 2001 to 2021 depicts that shrub Land was more vulnerable to change into built-up land at a large scale.

Problems Faced by Visitors in Pakistan: A Case Study of Kaghan Valley, Mansehra

Pakistan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world and has enormous potential to attract a maximum number of visitors who are eager to satisfy their diverse motivations. Kaghan valley being the northern part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, is one of the most beautiful valleys and hill stations in the country. It is an emerging and one of the most significant destinations in the country. Every year millions of visitors visit this valley to enjoy the nature and unique cultural heritage of the area. However, due to unplanned tourism, many problems arise that cause dissatisfaction among the visitors. This paper is an attempt to highlight some of the major problems faced by visitors in the valley and make the relevant stakeholders aware of these issues. This research is the result of authors' field surveys and feedback from the five hundred visitors,collected in the form of questionnaires.

Policy Recommendations and Guidelines on Sustainable Tourism Development in Bangladesh – A Systematic Review

Tourism centered on natural and cultural heritage, while also addressing local community income, proves pivotal in achieving sustainable development globally. Despite Bangladesh's abundant natural beauty and historical sites, its tourism sector lags behind neighboring countries. Unplanned tourism growth risks unsustainability, exacerbating existing challenges. Therefore, sustainable principles are vital for any tourism initiative. This paper examines Bangladesh's tourism landscape and proposes sustainable development policies and guidelines. It synthesizes publicly available documents on tourism laws, policies, and strategic papers to identify key sustainability issues across four dimensions. Additionally, it delineates roles and responsibilities for stakeholders to foster sustainable tourism. The policy recommendations and guidelines presented aim to enrich the discourse on sustainable tourism in Bangladesh. They are intended for academic use and can augment existing literature on the subject. The insights provided are valuable for governmental bodies, private sectors, development agencies, and NGOs involved in the tourism sector. By adhering to sustainable practices, Bangladesh can harness its tourism potential while preserving its natural and cultural heritage. This approach not only supports economic growth but also safeguards environmental and community well-being. Implementing these recommendations can pave the way for a resilient and thriving tourism sector in Bangladesh, capable of balancing economic progress with environmental stewardship and social inclusivity.

Local perceptions of tourism development and socio-cultural impacts in Nigeria

ABSTRACT There is a shortage of literature on the nature of tourism development and the socio-cultural impacts in Nigeria, making it challenging to identify and discuss strategies for building on positive aspects. Unplanned tourism leaves local people aggrieved, whilst planned tourism may provide economic benefits and help to revive their culture. Although tourism development in Nigeria is affected by terrorism and insecurity, the government is willing to develop the industry. Therefore, research is needed to understand tourism development and socio-cultural consequences. This paper reports on a study conducted in Southeastern Nigeria, which confirmed that tourism is in the early development stage, and the local people noted that significant adverse impacts are not observable. The paper proposes strategies for addressing potential negative socio-cultural impacts, including being realistic, working together, creating equal opportunities and education/awareness. This paper provides valuable information for planners and developers on possible ways of developing resident-friendly tourism destination.

Detection of Coral Reefs Degradation using Geospatial Techniques around Saint Martin’s Island, Bay of Bengal

Saint Martin’s is a unique island located in the Bay of Bengal where coral species are abundant due to its favorable and unique environmental conditions. Coral communities are in great danger due to global climate change, direct commercial coral extraction and unplanned tourism around the island. The present study attempts to identify the coral zone and mapping of coral reefs from the period of 1980 to 2018. The study utilized five sets of multi-temporal Landsat satellite images to examine the changes of coral reefs in Saint Martin’s Island during the study timeframe. Geospatial and image processing software was used for spatial coral colony mapping and data analysis. Satellite images processed to remove water depth impacts and supervised classification technique using the maximum likelihood decision rule suggested the spatial change of coral colonies over time. The result of the study indicates that coral colonies decreased steadily throughout the study period. A total area of 0.9342 km2 of coral colonies disappeared during the study period from 1980 to 2018. Field observations around Saint Martin’s Island indicates that destruction of coral reef habitat was basically caused by anthropogenic activities like tourism and extraction of coral by fisherman. Analysis of the historical data regarding tourism, population and households, and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) along with field observations of these parameter during 2018, suggests that anthropogenic factors are more significant than natural factors for causing coral reef degradation. It is very crucial to raise consciousness not only in the vicinity of Saint Martin’s Island but more widely regarding the significance of the biodiversity of the Island.

Coastal resource management and tourism development in Fiji Islands: a conservation challenge

The tourism sector has been a key driver of socioeconomic progress in Fiji Islands since the 1980s, in comparison with other industries such as agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Fiji currently plans to further expand its tourism industry into a 2 billion FJD sector, which places great pressure on the coastal environment and resources that attract more than 500,000 tourists per year. Unplanned tourism development has adverse impacts on the environment and dependent communities, which is often attributed to weak governance and poorly enforced regulations. In Fiji, the industry has been recognized as responsible for mangrove clearance and coastal degradation, both of which aggravate problems such as coastline erosion, vulnerability to natural disasters, fish stock declines, poor water quality, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Though the country has national legislations in place, as well as regional and international collaborations to manage its ocean resources, it lacks the capacity and resources to implement environment policy, planning, and regulation. There is a need to strengthen governance and community capacity to address problems of effective enforcement of legislation and ensure the conservation, management, and sustainable utilization of marine and coastal resources.

Method to Assess Historic Palaces Rehabilitation Projects

In the English language; a buffer zone is an area that separates two other areas. In this research, we hint to the main role of a buffer zone in preserving heritage with universal value through organizing the means of dealing with the surroundings of its historic area. For example, the visual impact of high rise buildings within the buffer zone needs to be considered; as well as the reflection of legislations and rules of management on the borders and boundaries of the site. This is in addition to the pressure of urban development, and the most stressing problem; the land use between sole heritage and combatable activities; while these activities may be welcome to the site when suiting the value of cultural heritage. To insure the protection of the heritage site, unplanned tourism of the surroundings should be eliminated. If a buffer zone is considered a means of protection for the site, then it was mainly meant to be a management tool. It's supposed to be a first defense line in front of the heritage site to make sure the management plan is effectively implemented. Heritage values should be stated in order to clarify which activities happening in the buffer zone may harm the heritage values, so as to avoid them; especially when these activities might destroy the built fabric. We need to make it clear what is allowed and what is not. However, a problem may strongly arise if the buffer zone is not stated on the national law of its country; as in the case here; in Egypt. If the buffer was meant to act like as means of protection, it already needs to be protected in the first place to perform its duty. In this research, the experimental approach is adopted through cluster analysis in addition to logistic regression. The final outcome of this research is an assessment of buffer zones by arranging priorities of intervention

Problems Caused by Tourism in Kaghan Valley, Pakistan: A Study Based on Local Community Perception

Tourism being one of the greatest and fastest growing industries of the world is contributing significantly to the development of countries and the host communities. But this industry is facing many problems in most of the developing countries including Pakistan. Most of the issues are raised due to lack of planning which not only dissatisfies the tourists but also has negative impacts on the local communities. Unplanned tourism not only affects the host guest relationship but also the tourism resources of an area. The study in hand is author’s part of PhD research and highlights the problems of host regions caused by tourism in Pakistan, taking Kaghan valley as case study. The results of the study show that if proper measures are not taken well in time, the unplanned tourism will destroy the natural and socio-cultural environment of the valley very soon.

English

In the present study, conservation status of important vascular flora found in Kalam valley was assessed. Kalam Valley represents the extreme northern part of Swat District in KPK Province of Pakistan. The valley contains some of the precious medicinal plants. 245 plant species which were assessed for conservation studies revealed that 10.20% (25 species) were found to be endangered, 28.16% (69 species) appeared to be vulnerable. Similarly, 50.6% (124 species) were rare, 8.16% (20 species) were infrequent and 2.9% (7 species) were recognized as dominant. It was concluded that Kalam Valley inhabits most important plants majority of which are used in medicines; but due to anthropogenic activities including unplanned tourism, deforestation, uprooting of medicinal plants and over grazing, majority of these plant species are rapidly heading towards regional extinction in the near future. To maintain the biodiversity of the study area, some in-situ and ex-situ conservation measures in the form of protected areas, sustainable grazing, supplying alternative energy sources to the native population, seeds preservation and growing precious medicinal plant species in nurseries established under the supervision of forest department are urgently needed. Key words: Preserving, vascular flora, regional extinction.

Remote Sensing and GIS Based Groundwater Potential Mapping for Sustainable Water Resource Management of Lidder Catchment in Kashmir Valley, India

Abstract: The valley of Kashmir is blessed with abundant water resources. However, high population growth and concentration of population at favorable locations have resulted in increased demand for water. The problem is further aggravated in Lidder catchment where unplanned tourism development has resulted in deterioration of water quality. Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) approach is adopted using IRS P6 LISS III satellite data 2010, geological map published by Geological Survey of India, toposheets prepared by Survey of India, 1961 and field observation. Seven thematic layers (slope, lineament density, drainage density, soil, geology, geomorphology and land use land cover) are generated in GIS environment and weighted according to their relative relevance to groundwater occurrence. Knowledge-based weights and ranks are normalized, and a weighted linear combination technique is adopted to determine the groundwater potential (GWP). The catchment is divided into five zones of very high, high, medium, low and very low GWP. The results show that 50.22% of the total catchment area, which is uninhabited, has very low GWP. However, the densely populated southern part of the catchment has moderate to very high GWP. The study demonstrates that MCE using remote sensing and GIS technology could be efficiently employed as a very useful tool for the assessment and management of groundwater resources especially in regions where data is poor.

Capacity Development Services and the Demand Market in Albanian Tourism Sector

Over the last 20 years the role of tourism has been increasingly recognized as an important development strategy, considering its importance in creating positive economical effects in worldwide level. Sustainability has become nowadays a principle of development and obviously of tourism development.Sustainable tourism is one of the main development priorities of local, national and international authorities to ensure long term success on a global market.One of the main reasons in sustainability of tourism development in Albania is that almost planners, operators and local community could not have created a connection through different dimensions of the sustainability.The paper explores the need and demand for building Albania`s private sector capacity for tourism development. This study was run in the most important market actors which operate in the tourism sector in Albania, especially focusing in clients of capacity development services. Questionnaire was used to collect data from the most important tourism operators, that use these services.The aim was to examine their views on tourism development, in an attempt to establish overall desired directions for tourism development and to suggest effective tourism strategies and policies to reinforce positive outcomes and alleviate problems resulting from previous unplanned tourism development.According to the survey, results showed the availability of capacity building services, the links with local and international service providers, their preferred service delivery mechanisms and the barriers that exist in this market.Hence understanding barriers of capacity development services can help to all the actors for future planning to achieve sustainable tourism development. Keywords : capacity development, tourism operators, sustainable development, service quality .

Integrated coastal management and sustainable tourism: A case study of the reef-based SCUBA dive industry from Thailand

Coastal ecosystems are amongst the most productive ecosystems in the world. Reef-based tourism, one of the multiple uses in coastal zones, has become more important in terms of magnitude and contribution to national economies as well as to the wellbeing of local communities. However, in the absence of proper controls and enforcement, unplanned tourism growth can cause environmental degradation and social and cultural conflicts which undermine the long-term sustainability of the tourism industry. The concepts of integrated coastal management (ICM) and sustainable tourism development (STD) have been proposed as the way forward in dealing with such constraints and pressure. Nevertheless, given the scale of tourism in the world's coastal zone, one of the greatest challenges faced by coastal managers is giving tourism development a proper place within ICM. This study provides insight into key issues confronting the management of reef-based dive tourism and proposes a way forward for sustainable dive tourism based on the frameworks of ICM and STD. Koh Tao in Thailand, which is well-known as the busiest diving center in Southeast Asia, was selected as a case study. Data collection was undertaken using a mixed social research method of surveys and interviews. The results show that the dominance of dive tourism over other land-based and marine-based sectors, a lack of government support, and a complexity of social factors have made the implementation of ICM and STD in Koh Tao nearly impossible. In response, the study suggests a new paradigm for the management of reef-based SCUBA dive tourism integrating the management and governance frameworks of ICM and STD with the voluntary management strategy and community-oriented approach. The study concludes that the internationally accepted management frameworks are not always transferable. Each locale must select or adapt appropriate strategies for its own needs considering the biophysical, socio-cultural and managerial settings.

Role of Tourism in Environmental Degradation and Disaster: A Case from Uttarakhand, India

Humans itself do not create disasters rather, work as a catalyst in hazard generation by interfering the functioning of natural processes; which ultimately prove to be disastrous and result in severe deprivations of physical and cultural resources, and the lives of humans and animals also. Tourism is one such activity; as unplanned and uncontrolled tourism activities are affecting the mountain ecosystem and its sustainability too much and causing great damages to the harmonious environmental setup. In the past few decades; tourism, leisure, and fun making have even taken place of pilgrimage in the mountains, due to it a large size of the population is entering into the mountains, causing heavy pressure on natural resources, ultimately leading to environmental degradation and human induced disasters.

A Review of SCUBA Diving Impacts and Implication for Coral Reefs Conservation and Tourism Management

Dive tourism has become important in term of magnitude and significantly contributes to regional economies. Nevertheless, in the absence of proper controls and enforcement, unplanned tourism growth has caused environmental degradation which undermines the long-term sustainability of the tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to explore factors that contribute to the SCUBA diving impacts on coral and fish communities. This paper explains the causes of a certain event, validating the problem of impacts, defining the core issues and identifies possible causes leading to an effect. The phenomenon of diving impacts on coral reefs is a result of intensive use of dive site over the long-term. The divers can reduce their impacts towards coral reefs through responsible diving behaviors. The causes of cumulative diver’s contacts are more complicated than it seems. In response, this paper proposes the best mitigation strategies that need to be considered for future dive tourism management.

Homestays at Korzok: Supplementing Rural Livelihoods and Supporting Green Tourism in the Indian Himalayas

Ladakh presents some unique challenges for development and nature conservation initiatives. Since opening to tourism in 1974, its unique landscapes, biodiversity, and culture have attracted adventure-seeking tourists from all over the world. Tourism, especially in the past few decades, has developed very rapidly, bringing many economic and social changes with adverse environmental impacts. By recognizing the threats posed by unplanned tourism, a number of organizations and institutions working in the area felt the urgency to initiate sustainable community-based tourism projects that would protect the local wildlife and natural resources and offer alternative livelihood opportunities to the local population. The homestay model in Ladakh is designed on the principle of equitable access and hence is available for adoption by households across economic classes. This article uses the particular case of Korzok homestays, implemented by the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF-India) near the Ramsar wetland Tsomoriri, to illustrate how community development needs can be integrated with conservation goals. It elaborates on the evolution of the initiative, some early impacts, and how the initiative might evolve in the future. A general list of recommendations is also presented.