MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN

Rapport de l’Atelier sur le tourisme et le développement durable en Méditerranée
Antaly (Turquie), 17, 18 & 19 septembre 1998
• In 1996, the region received 25.5 million visitors; 14.8 million tourist arrivals
and 10.7 million cruise passenger visits
• In 1996, the region counted with over 183 thousand hotel rooms in 32 countries
D IRECT I MPACTS OF T OURISM ON C OASTAL R ESOURCES
• Construction: filling of wetlands and marine areas; dredging; building
alterations of drainage patterns, sand mining and inappropriate design &
building
• Operational activities: inappropriate sewage and waste disposal; maintenance
of boats & beaches; guest consumption patterns
• Recreational: scuba diving, snorkelling, yachting, motor boating, jet skiing and
sport fishing
☛impacts must be considered in terms of scope, frequency (sporadic vs. chronic), ecosystem
dynamics, and cost (lost revenue or rehabilitation costs)
☛impacts are not uniform as the coastal zone is a complex of inter-linked ecosystems, with
different levels to withstand stress
☛detrimental impacts vs. benefits of tourism: negative impacts usually known but not
quantified while economic contributions at national level are routinely quantified (GDP,
employment etc)
G OALS
Tourism as an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable industry in
the Wider Caribbean region, from an environmental perspective:
• To improve environmental quality and coastal and marine natural resource
protection
• reduce environmental impacts caused by tourism on coastal and marine
resources
• promote the use of environmentally sound practices by the tourism industry
H OW TO ACHIEVE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT THAT IS SUSTAINABLE?
• Need to seek a balance between coastal resource use and environmental
quality; improve appreciation of the importance of ecosystem integrity for the
industry
• Need for base knowledge & carrying capacity; monitoring impacts of tourism
activities; and benefits of environmental enhancement
• Need for improved awareness and social participation
• Need to promote best management practices: facility design and siting;
sustainable building technologies; management tools such as standards;
regulatory measures and economic incentives
• Need for greater integration of the tourism sector in the planning and
management of coastal areas to achieve environmentally sustainable
development in cooperation with user groups and authorities at different levels.
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Plan Bleu