By Arundathie AbeysingheBachelor of Arts/Postgraduate Degree in International

RelationsSriLankan Airlines/Presidential Secretariat Sri Lanka

(Presented at the 3rd Biennial International Conference of the International Association for Asian Heritage - IAAH)

December 27 - 28, 2015 – University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka)

What is sustainable tourism?Tourism and hospitality - a field which involves many sectors - aviation industry, hotel industry, tourist board, government ministries and departments national parks and heritage sites

All these have mutually reinforcing objectives to ensure sustainable tourism development

Why is sustainable tourism necessary? Majority of tourism activities place extra pressure on

environmental resources upon which they are basedWithout sufficient environmental protection, prospects for

development will be weakenedPositive links should be built with the environment while

breaching any negative linksDuty of government and other stakeholders to safeguard the

environment while developing necessary infrastructure for tourism

Tourism will become a major destructive process destroying natural resources which it is based on

Why is sustainable tourism necessary?Duty of government and other stakeholders to safeguard the

environment while developing necessary infrastructure for tourism

Tourism will become a major destructive process destroying natural resources which it is based on

Those responsible for tourism management have a great responsibility for sustainable tourism and they should focus on protecting the environment

Sri Lanka is rich in natural environment, bio diversity and cultural heritage – should protect its resources, tourism attractions, while developing necessary infrastructure

Tourists’ responsibilitiesTourists are unaware about the impacts of their holiday

and tour activities as they lack information about their presence in a tourism destination

They exert pressure on local and social environments as they have to share with locals many resources including bathing and drinking water

Use of resources may lead to negative attitudes from locals, as they feel that it may lead to depletion of resources

‘Mass tourism’ may have unnecessary pressure for the local nature and society and affect the local nature of the destination

Responsibility of tourism stakeholdersHotel owners and tour operators should be aware of the

image they create among locals and they have to be responsible for their business having any kind of negative impact on the environment they operate

Their duty to protect the nature, biodiversity and society as tourism has a great impact on ecosystems and host communities

Necessary to adopt environmental friendly measures - methods of sustainable tourism to promote tourism as well as refrain from harming the nature and the local society

How can sustainable tourism be achieved?Laissez-faire allocation of resources or “draconian

command-and-control measures” through state legislationSome companies are pessimistic about market demand for

sustainable tourism because practices of environmental responsibility are not always attractive to tourists

Tourism is associated with relaxation rather than altruism

Is sustainable development necessary?Sustainable tourism should be promoted with the idea of environmental protection

Sri Lanka – a country rich in biodiversity and beautiful landscapes upon which the country’s tourism is based

Sustainable tourism should be promoted to protect the natural environment without damaging or destroying it

Thank you!