[Above, Turtle Island in profile. Photo: Roi Ariel] For 20 years, ecotourists have been eager to tour a biodiverse volcanic island off the coast of Taiwan. But what happens when both locals and tourists complain about the stringent conservation limits … Continue reading
The upbeat theme for World Tourism Day – “One billion tourists, one billion opportunities” – does, however, raise questions of carrying capacity and quality of the travel experience. Places are getting crowded, as the late Yogi Berra understood. It’s time to move the emphasis from quantity to quality. Continue reading
Facing congestion in Phuket, whether at the airport, on the roads or on beaches has long been a familiar phenomenon. What is different is that the congestion is mostly caused by the onslaught of mass tourism from Russia and China. Continue reading
Every year tourists flock to these beaches by the millions, but not for sun and sand. When it comes to impact on the destination, that makes a big difference. Continue reading
Research reveals serious economic questions about mass beach- and cruise-tourism impacts. Next month’s CREST-sponsored symposium in Grenada will address solutions. Continue reading
As a photographer, I am interested in unusual landscapes and recently visited the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, a 280,000-acre property administered by The Bureau of Land Management (BLM). One hot spot for photographers is “The Wave”, a mesmerizing set of … Continue reading
Cultural Heritage sites facing Hit-and-Run Tourism need to elaborate targeted strategies in order to balance tourism and heritage conservation, to define limits or find solutions in order to protect natural and cultural heritage and to mitigate negative impacts. In a … Continue reading
Carnival’s latest crises have relatively little impact on destination quality, but their circumstances do. At this writing, Carnival’s third embarrassing malfunction of the year is underway in St. Martin, where the Carnival Dream is stuck with a bad generator. The … Continue reading