Module 1: Tourism and sustainability for young adults

Introduction to Module 1: Tourism and sustainability for young adults

Sustainable tourism has been gaining in popularity in recent years, as an answer to issues related to climate change and mass tourism, and their impacts on local communities. The movement for sustainable tourism has picked up additional speed after the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent changes of perspectives.

This module will introduce the underlying principles of sustainability and green economy, as well as how they can be applied to tourism. It will look at what actions can be taken, as well as the benefits which they can bring to the environment and all tourism stakeholders.

More analytically, this module will:

• Introduce and define what sustainability and green economy are;
• Detail how they can be articulated with tourism;
• Outline the benefits of sustainable and green tourism;
• Provide examples of actions to make tourism more sustainable.

Before we start, please watch this video, that introduces the issues that will be tackled in this module: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgAHZHkMTQU 

Now, take a moment to think about a touristic attraction near where you live – if there are none, think about the last attraction you visited. It doesn’t need to be big or famous: it can be a small museum, or a national park. What negative and positive effects of tourism do you see there? What changes, if any, have taken place in the last few years? What impact have they had?