Tourism is presented in various kinds and is globally recognized as the largest single industry. The esteemed tourism contribution bears two elements that sometimes seem inseparable: direct and indirect. A direct contribution is offered at large by the immediate expenditure effect made by tourists. For instance, such direct impact is accounted for by expenditures in restaurants, hotels, transport services, souvenir shops, and attractions entrance fees. The indirect contributions are sometimes underestimated, which is unhealthy economically. These indirect contributions come in the form of utility bills for guest houses, hotels (especially in the maintenance of water supply and electricity), or may also be presented as expenditures on fuels for power generation and transport.
However, just like every sector in the world, this big industry has its share of challenges. The main challenge faced by the tourism sector is environmental pollution. Environmental pollution is of many forms, and all different forms of pollution present their kind of effects on the tourism sector. Let us take a ride through air pollution and the adverse effects of the primary type of environmental pollution, air pollution; on the tourism sector.
Air pollution is understood as the emission of particles or chemicals in the air that harms humans, animals, and plants’ health or wellbeing. In some cases, depending on the materials emitted, they can also cause damage to buildings. Pollutants could take the form of solid particles, gases, or liquid droplets.
Many individuals picture air pollution as large clouds of smoke from factories or emissions from vehicles. But this is not always the case. Pollution is released to the earth’s atmosphere via human activities, especially in emissions from factories, planes, cars, second-hand cigarette smoke, and aerosol cans. The collective term for human-made sources of pollution is anthropogenic sources. In some cases, air pollution occurs naturally, for example, in volcano ashes and wildfire smoke.
Destruction of Iconic/historic Structures and Plants
Global transport by road, air, and rail is rapidly increasing in response to the world’s industrialization and need to move in pursuit of conducting business. Tourism has also contributed to massive mobility. Emissions from energy production and transport are directly linked to global warming, acid rain, and photochemical pollution. Air pollution from such sources has a significant impact on tourism. This is because acid rain bears responsibility in destroying the original outlook of structures, significantly affecting paintings and furnishes. This implies that the authentic touch of an attraction is lost. This original touch is probably the main reason tourists visit the place.
Acid rain is also extensively known for the destruction of nature. Some plantations have died from adverse effects of acid rain, which has deprived nature of its appropriate level of beauty.
However, regarding transportation, solutions to help provide fewer emissions are in place, especially from platforms like dealchecker conservation of the ecosystem by taking travel advisories from dealchecker and making your print in the world’s green ecosystem during your travel endeavors.
Depletion of Resources
Air pollution has affected tourism in a handful of ways. Emission of toxic materials in the air has seen contamination of water bodies, predominantly freshwater bodies. Freshwater bodies are known to be a hotbed of tourism because of the life they support. The depletion of such water bodies means a shortage of corals and dying of the different beautiful species that survive in the water bodies. The reduction of these attractions leads to reduced visitors to such places since there is not much thrill to the appeal as it was the case before. This has majorly been attributed to industries’ construction, especially along with coastal areas and near water bodies. Engineers find it suitable to construct near such bodies because of the valuable resource in manufacturing. However, this aspect has led and is leading to the destruction of valuable attraction.
Effects on Human Wellbeing and Health
Visitors have ceased visiting most air polluted zones in caution for their health and wellbeing. People encounter a broad range of health effects when exposed to air pollution. The effects include long term and short-term effects.
Short term effects are mostly temporary. Some of the short-term effects entail irritation to the throat, nose, eyes or skin, dizziness, nausea, and headaches. They may also have illnesses such as bronchitis or pneumonia. Foul smells from factories, sewer, or garbage could also prove to be highly unpleasant.
Long-term air pollution effects can last for an extended period or an entire lifetime. Sometimes they lead to death. Such long-term effects mostly include lung cancer, heart disease, and some respiratory disease like emphysema. Air pollution also causes damage to people’s brains, nerves, liver, kidneys, and other organs. Some pollutants cause congenital disabilities.
Such dangers have seen a decline in tourists’ numbers in many attraction destinations, but it is somewhat justified. Of what value would it be to acquire a long-term illness from a short-term pleasure?
