Sustainable Tourism Flashcards

What is 'responsible tourism' and how does it differ from sustainable tourism?

Answer: Responsible tourism focuses on traveler behavior, while sustainable tourism is a broader framework for destination and industry management

Responsible tourism places the emphasis on the individual traveler's behavior and choices. Sustainable tourism is a broader industry and destination management concept. Both work toward the same goals from different angles.

What is 'carbon offsetting' in the context of sustainable travel?

Answer: Compensating for travel carbon emissions by funding equivalent carbon-reduction projects elsewhere

Carbon offsetting allows travelers and tourism businesses to compensate for unavoidable carbon emissions from flights, transportation, or hotel energy use by funding projects that reduce equivalent emissions elsewhere — such as reforestation, renewable energy, or methane capture projects.

What is 'community-based tourism' (CBT)?

Answer: Tourism owned, managed, and operated by local communities with benefits flowing directly to residents

Community-based tourism is a model where local communities have substantial control over and ownership of tourism enterprises, ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism remain within the community. Examples include homestays, village tours, and craft cooperatives operated directly by residents.

What is 'greenwashing' in the hospitality and tourism industry?

Answer: False or exaggerated environmental claims made by tourism businesses to appear more sustainable than they are

Greenwashing refers to misleading marketing by hotels, tour operators, or airlines that claim environmental credentials without substantive action or third-party verification. Examples include hanging a 'save water, reuse towels' sign while otherwise having no sustainability program.

What is 'dark tourism' as a recognized niche in the tourism industry?

Answer: Travel to sites associated with death, tragedy, and historical atrocities

Dark tourism (also called thanatourism or grief tourism) refers to travel to places associated with death, suffering, tragedy, or human atrocity — such as Auschwitz, Ground Zero, Pompeii, or Chernobyl. It raises ethical questions about the commercialization of tragedy.

What is the 'visitor management strategy' used at UNESCO World Heritage Sites?

Answer: A set of tools and policies used to control visitor numbers, behavior, and impact at sensitive destinations

Visitor management strategies at World Heritage Sites include timed entry systems, visitor caps, interpretive trails, zoning, pricing mechanisms, designated viewing areas, and codes of conduct — all designed to protect the site's outstanding universal value while maintaining a quality visitor experience.