Water also presents a barrier to tourism in the form of hazards, although this is tied to meteorological or geomorphic hazards. For example, coastal destinations are affected by tidal surges caused by hurricanes or tsunamis as a result of earthquakes. One of the most devastating disasters in recent times was the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed approximately 230,000 people across fourteen countries, including an estimated 9,000 tourists enjoying a beach vacation. In the case of Sri Lanka, this disaster was estimated to have cost the tourism industry US$250 million and 27,000 tourism-related jobs. Across the region, countless small and medium-size tourism businesses did not have insurance that would allow them to rebuild.11 In addition, many tourists stayed away from these popular beach destinations out of fear due to the traumatic and highly publicized nature of the event.
Geomorphology and Tourism
Geomorphology is the study of landforms, which refers to the shapes of the earth’s surface. This includes identifiable forms such as mountains and hills, valleys and plains. In particular, the study of geomorphology considers the characteristics and spatial distribution patterns of landforms, as well as the internal and external geographic processes that create and shape them. Landforms are changing constantly as a result of a variety of forces in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere that are continuously at work on the surface of the lithosphere. The internal forces are generally constructive in nature, meaning that they increase the relief (the changes in elevation and slope) of the earth’s surface, while the external forces are more likely to be destructive in that they wear features down and decrease the relief of the surface. Over time, the action of these forces has created the landforms that form the basis of destinations we know today—for example, the Hawaiian Islands (formed by a hotspot or magma plume), the Alps (formed by compressional folding and faulting), or Arches National Park (formed by erosion).
Box 6.2. In-Depth: Desalination to Meet Increased Water Demand in Egypt’s Red Sea Resorts
Over the past few decades, Egypt has experienced tremendous population and economic growth. This has put significant pressure on its water resources, and the country is now facing increasing problems with water scarcity. This is especially an issue for the Red Sea coast and the Sinai Peninsula, where there are extremely limited fresh water resources, and the distance from the Nile River makes the cost of transporting potable water via pipeline prohibitive. The peninsula’s traditional population has been nomadic Bedouin tribes, who migrate based on the availability of water and pastures. The remainder of the historically small population has, in the past, been concentrated in the northern part of the peninsula where there is greater access to fresh water. However, the development of tourism over the past few decades has brought many changes to the peninsula.
Following the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in 1982, the southern and coastal regions were targeted for economic growth and development, fueled by foreign investment. These areas were considered to have a good tourism resource base, including a consistently warm and dry climate year-round, beaches, and renowned coral reefs for scuba diving and snorkeling. While the lack of fresh water presented the greatest barrier to tourism development, this was something that the destination was able to overcome. In particular, desalination was identified as the most appropriate means of meeting the need for water to accommodate tourism.
Resorts such as Sharm El Sheikh developed at the southern tip of the Peninsula and experienced dramatic growth. It emerged as one of Egypt’s most popular destinations and expanded beyond niche tourism based on diving into one of the world’s significant mass tourism destinations. Hotel construction continued until the destination was nearly at capacity, which prompted the development of new resorts in the region. Sharm El Sheikh now receives over three million tourists annually, with little seasonal fluctuation. The city’s resident population has also grown as more people have been attracted to the area by the influx of jobs in tourism and related industries. The growth of this industry has led to ever greater demands for desalinated water. These demands quickly outstripped the state-owned facilities’ ability to supply enough water. Private companies also began to build desalination facilities in the region and sell water to the resorts at a relatively high cost.
Despite the vital need for desalination to meet the water needs of this region, there are some concerns about the process and its outcomes. Some studies have shown that the desalination process is highly efficient at removing the salts from the water; however, the process does not necessarily produce bacteriologically safe water for drinking, which can create a health risk for international tourists. Other studies have focused on the environmental effects of the process. Desalination yields approximately 30 percent drinking water and 70 percent brine, which contains all of the salt. This brine can’t be discharged back into the sea because of the effect it would have on the highly diverse coral reef ecosystem that is one of the most significant tourism resources for the destination. Instead, the brine is discharged back into the aquifer by injection wells, which increase the groundwater salinity over time. This causes a decrease in the efficiency of desalination plants and an increase in costs. In addition, these plants require significant inputs of energy and therefore contribute to the destination’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Discussion topic: Give another example of a physical feature that can be both a resource for and a barrier to tourism in a specific place. How does one weigh against the other?
Tourism on the web: Egypt Tourism Authority, “Sharm El Sheikh: The Classic Red Sea Destination,” at http://en.egypt.travel/city/index/sharm-el-sheikh.
Map 6.1. Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. For this destination located on the Red Sea, water is both a resource for and a barrier to tourism. (Source: Gang Gong)
Sources
Awwad, Ramadan A., T. N. Olsthoorn, Y. Zhou, Stefan Uhlenbrook, and Ebel Smidt. “Optimum Pumping-Injection System for Saline Groundwater Desalination in Sharm El Sheikh.” WaterMill Working Paper Series 11 (2008). Accessed October 26, 2011. http://www.unesco-ihe.org/WaterMill-Working-Paper-Series/Working-Paper-Series.
Diab, Atef M. “Bacteriological Studies on the Potability, Efficacy, and EIA of Desalination Operations at Sharm El-Sheikh Region, Egypt.” Egyptian Journal of Biology 3 (2001): 59–65.
Rayan, Magdy Abou, Berge Djebedjian, and Ibrahim Khaled. “Water Supply and Demand and a Desalination Option for Sinai, Egypt.” Desalination 136 (2001): 73–81.
As a resource, landforms and landform processes can be a natural tourism attraction. One of the most well-known examples of a landform-based natural attraction is the Grand Canyon (box 6.3), but others include Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock) in Australia, the Rock of Gibraltar on the Iberian Peninsula, or the fairy chimney rocks at Göreme, Turkey. Cultural values are often attributed to these landforms, and they are visited for that reason. For example, Mount Emei is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in China (figure 6.3). Places where we can safely see the physical (internal) forces of landscape formation at work can also become tourism attractions. Arenal Volcano became one of Costa Rica’s most popular sites, where tourists witnessed the almost constant effusive eruptions—with ash plumes and lava flow—that occurred up until 2010.12 Likewise, landforms can also be a tourism resource by providing opportunities for tourism. Mountain resorts around the world are extraordinarily popular destinations for both the scenery and activities such as hiking, climbing, and winter sports.
Figure 6.3. Mount Emei in Sichuan Province is one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. The first temple was built on the mountain in the year 401. Today, the site is a popular tourism attraction for the combination of scenery, cultural value, and heritage. (Source: Velvet Nelson)
Box 6.3. Case Study: External Processes in Landscape Formation as a Tourism Attraction? The Grand Canyon
While neither the steepest nor the longest canyon in the world, the Grand Canyon is widely recognized to be one of the most significant geomorphic features in the U
nited States and, arguably, the world. It is also considered to be one of the most impressive natural tourism attractions based on the combination of the size, scale, and visual appearance of the landscape, which is attributed to the external processes of landscape formation.
The canyon itself is considered to be geologically young, in that it is has been carved within the last six million years. The region’s Colorado Plateau Province is characterized by nearly horizontal sedimentary rocks that have been lifted between five thousand and thirteen thousand feet above sea level and then carved by erosion. In particular, the erosive processes of the powerful Colorado River that carved the depth of the canyon along a 277-mile stretch of the Kaibab Plateau are considered the primary forces in the formation of the landscape. As a result, elevations along the rim of the Grand Canyon extend from six thousand to eight thousand feet above sea level. The different types of rocks erode in different ways, creating the shape of the canyon walls. In particular, the hard metamorphic rocks at the base of the canyon are more resistant to erosion than the softer sedimentary rocks above, which creates a step-like appearance. However, other external processes, such as weathering and mass wasting, have also played important roles in shaping the landscape that we see. Moreover, regional patterns of climate and vegetation contribute to the stark, dramatic character of the landscape.
Perception of what is and is not a resource at different times has played a role in the development of the Grand Canyon. One of the first American expeditions to survey the area took place in the mid-nineteenth century, led by Lieutenant Joseph Ives of the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. Although his Report upon the Colorado River of the West; Explored in 1857 and 1858 made note of the wild and spectacular character of the region, he was widely quoted for stating, “The region . . . is, of course, altogether valueless. It can be approached only from the south, and after entering it, there is nothing to do but leave. Ours has been the first and the last party of whites to visit this profitless locality.”1 At this time, Americans were primarily interested in use value rather than scenic value. Subsequent studies of the geography and geology of the region increasingly recognized its unique physical properties, and the Grand Canyon was finally designated a national park in 1919.
Today, the Grand Canyon is recognized as one of the most impressive landforms in the world and has been designated one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Grand Canyon National Park is visited by between four and five million tourists a year. While the majority of visitors are Americans, this internationally recognized site is an attraction for foreign tourists as well.
Discussion topic: Among all of the interesting and unique landforms in the United States and around the world, why do you think the Grand Canyon is considered such a highly desirable natural attraction for tourism today?
Tourism on the web: U.S. National Park Service, “Grand Canyon National Park,” at http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm; Arizona Office of Tourism, “Grand Canyon Vacations & Info,” at http://www.arizonaguide.com/things-to-do/grand-canyon
Figure 6.4. Formed by a combination of external processes, the Grand Canyon makes a unique and dramatic natural attraction for tourism. (Source: Marcus Gillespie)
Note
1. Joseph C. Ives, Report upon the Colorado River of the West; Explored in 1857 and 1858 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1861), 30.
Sources
McKnight, Tom, and Darrel Hess. Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.
National Park Service. “Grand Canyon Trip Planner.” Accessed October 26, 2011. http://www.nps.gov/grca/parknews/upload/trip-planner-grca.pdf.
Seven Natural Wonders. “Grand Canyon.” Accessed October 27, 2011. http://sevennaturalwonders.org/the-original/grand-canyon.
Landforms can also present a barrier to tourism, primarily by preventing people from reaching the place of destination. In particular, mountain destinations around the world have long had to manage accessibility issues. It can be a difficult and costly process to extend ground transportation lines to a resort or to construct the necessary infrastructure for air transport. In one example, Yeager Airport in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia was built on a hilltop in the 1940s. The project cost $8.3 million and required two million pounds of explosives to move nine million cubic yards of earth to create a large enough area of level land for a runway.13 At the same time, natural hazards caused by the dynamic processes of landscape formation have the potential to damage the tourism infrastructure and disrupt tourism activities. At a local scale, tourists were evacuated from El Hierro, one of the Canary Islands, due to the threat of a volcanic eruption in mid-2011. Globally, the massive ash cloud from the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano in 2010 had a ripple effect, disrupting travel and tourism around the world.
Tourism stakeholders will benefit from the expert knowledge of geomorphologists during the TRA not merely to identify the potential features of interest but to provide guidance on how these features can be developed for tourism. At the same time, scientific information about landform processes should be used to help the destination create an effective disaster response plan.
Biogeography and Tourism
Biogeography, combining principles from both biology and geography, is the study of living things. Alexander von Humboldt, a leading figure in the development of modern geography, is widely considered to be the founder of biogeography. This topical branch considers the spatial patterns and physical processes of these living things in the collection of ecosystems contained within the earth’s biosphere. Biogeographers are interested in the extent of diversity among the earth’s species, broadly described by the term biological diversity (biodiversity). Moreover, biogeographers are concerned with explaining the changes in these patterns and processes that have taken place over time and understanding the impact of human activities on the diverse species and their habitats.
The biogeography of a place is primarily considered a resource for tourism. For example, the presence of unique animal species and/or plant species becomes a key resource for products such as nature and wildlife tourism. Tourists to southern Africa are interested in viewing the “Big Five” game animals in their natural habitat: the African elephant (figure 6.5), Cape buffalo, leopard, lion, and rhinoceros. Tourists from the temperate zones have long been interested in the tropical rain forest biome.
Figure 6.5. Wildlife is a vital resource for tourism at many African destinations. Tourists look for the “Big Five” game animals, such as these elephants on Lake Kariba, located on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. (Source: Gareth Rawlins)
However, these characteristics of physical geography can, in some cases, present a barrier to tourism. This is largely based on perception. Consider destinations that lack the “right” kind of vegetation—or the vegetation that tourists expect. Tropical island destinations around the world have been subject to Western perceptions of an island paradise (i.e., lush, green environments typically epitomized by palm trees). Of course, not all of these islands exhibit these patterns. The comparatively flat “ABC” islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao are characterized by desert scrub and cactus vegetation. To some extent, this barrier can be overcome as destinations, and particularly resorts, artificially plant nonnative trees and flowers in an effort to create the perceived desired appearance.
Tourism stakeholders will benefit from the knowledge generated by biogeographers about the factors that contribute to the success or failure of a particular species so that they may adequately protect these resources. In particular, research in biogeography has examined the potential for tourism to be used as a tool in environmental preservation with the goal of preventing habitat and/or species loss. Much of this work has focused on the ecotourism concept introduced in chapter 3. In addition, biogeographers have been instrumental in studying the effects of tourism on ecosystems. This will be discussed further in chapter 10.
The Impact of
Global Environmental Change on Tourism
One of the recent directions in tourism research focuses on the relationship between global environmental change and tourism. Part of this research considers the role of the tourism industry in environmental change. This will be discussed in chapter 10, “The Environmental Geography of Tourism.” Yet, another part of this research focuses on the ways in which global environmental change is affecting patterns of tourism and will continue to do so in the future. The tourism industry is considered to be highly sensitive to changing environmental conditions, and some of the world’s most popular tourism destinations are considered among the most vulnerable places (e.g., islands, other coastal areas, and mountains). Even UNESCO World Heritage Sites—ranging from the Great Barrier Reef to Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park—are considered threatened by the effects of climate change.
These changes have the potential to dramatically reshape patterns of tourism, in some cases creating new opportunities for some destinations and new challenges for others. For example, warmer temperatures can present an opportunity for destinations at higher latitudes or in higher elevations to develop or expand their summer tourism offerings. However, this may be at the expense of existing summer resorts that experience even hotter temperatures and heat waves that are uncomfortable at best and deadly at worst. Moreover, any increases in summer tourism may be offset by declines in winter tourism. Many popular ski resorts, such as those in the Alps, are facing increasingly unreliable snowfalls and may, in fact, become unfeasible in the future.
An Introduction to the Geography of Tourism Page 19
