Uticaj turizma na životnu sredinu

Tourism is more dependent on the environment than any other economic sector. Environment and tourism make an integral whole. Modern tourism demands a significant expanse of original or well protected environment, because only in those areas it can be systematically developed to create economic and social benefits for the inhabitants (receptive) and tourists (initiative). For the needs of the tourism, science and it’s practical application acknowledge a number of positive attitudes towards the environment, because some of its elements have significant tourist values. The need to respect the principle of active protection of the environment must be highlighted, because it is always better to plan ahead than to rehabilitate negative consequences. The growing interest of countries for the development of the tourism sector is primarily explained by the fact that the development of tourism produces a number of positive economic effects (it influences gross national product, national income and their territorial redistribution, activities of the tourism industry, employment of the population, balance of payments and other) and that tourism can be used as a factor to accelerate economic growth. In the second half of the twentieth century, a concept of tourism development that concentrated only on achieving economic goals, that is, a concept reduced to achieving maximal profits, was applied in many tourist countries. However, although the achievement of economic interests is a priority even today, many countries have begun to pay more attention to the environmental interests of destinations.