‘Over tourism’ could present problems for Cape Breton. Find out more.
UN designates 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism
Cape Breton Island (and all of Nova Scotia) continues to ride the wave of another busy and successful tourism season.
We see visitors enjoying our island, we hear and read about our tourism growth in the news and on social media, and we hear from friends and family employed by the industry about how busy they are.
As I reflect on our tourism growth, however, I do so with cautious optimism. Let me explain.
In 2010, after building a career in the tourism industry, all I knew about the industry started to take on a new perspective. It was at this time I started my master’s in tourism administration degree at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where I specialized in sustainable destination management (sustainable tourism).
Here we are, just seven years later, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism.
So, what is sustainable tourism? Why is the UN dedicating an entire year to it? And why do we need to think about it here in Cape Breton?
In very simple terms, sustainable tourism is creating, growing and managing a tourism industry at a destination that is economically viable, culturally appropriate, socially inclusive and accepting (by local residents) and environmentally considerate.
The main goal is to minimize the negative impacts of tourism (for example, overcrowding and pollution) and maximize the positive impacts (local job and skill growth, money staying in local communities, visitors and locals engaging and sharing experiences). This is a proactive approach to ensure tourism destinations are available for future generations of visitors and residents.
Tourism can no longer be just about making the most revenue in the shortest amount of time possible. The people and planet and not just the profits need to be considered or that mighty tourism dollar can be jeopardized.
With annual revenues of $2.6 billion, tourism in Nova Scotia surpasses the revenues of mining, agriculture and forestry combined, according to the Nova Scotia Department of Business.
In Cape Breton, we have started to depend on tourism to diversify our economy: tourism revenues are above $300 million per year and account for more than 2,500 jobs. It is an important sector of our economy and it is important to look at how to best manage potential growth for the long term.
The UN is emphasising sustainable tourism globally to get tourism stakeholders, including tourists themselves, to bring awareness to possible threats too much or mismanaged tourism can have on a destination (“overtourism”) and the opportunities that can be seized by managing tourism sustainably.
For example, Thailand, Amsterdam, Venice, Barcelona and Dubrovnik (Croatia) are just some tourism destinations suffering from “overtourism.”
The Thailand government has closed three of its islands to tourists due to growing environmental impact concern. Venice and Barcelona residents are so disgruntled with the influx of tourists that the governments there have imposed new policies and regulations within the tourism industry to help residents cope.
Here in Cape Breton we are not in an immediate threat to “overtourism.” However, we should start thinking about our recent tourism growth. If we want to see growth continue, we should think of how that should be done with the concept of sustainable tourism in mind.
I appreciate that one of Tourism Nova Scotia’s goals is to double tourism revenues by 2024. We can work to double revenues without doubling the number of visitors we get. If we focus on strategies to get visitors to stay in Cape Breton longer and spend more money we can benefit from the revenues without added strain to our communities, infrastructure and environment.
A recent Chronicle Herald story reported that Nova Scotia tourism numbers have increased by about 95,000 visitors so far this year compared to 2016. This statistic justifies my cautious optimism and raises a list of questions relative to tourism management.
Mainly, what optimal number of visitor growth can we enjoy in our province and in Cape Breton that allows us to remain in a “safe zone” of growth from a sustainable tourism perspective.
We love our island and we love our people so let us work together to ensure our tourism assets can be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike for many years to come.