Major challenges

Eighty percent of marine pollution comes from land through sewage drains and rivers, dumping of toxic chemicals like fertilizers (causing eutrophication and algal bloom that destroy marine life) and dumping of garbage like plastic bags, glass bottles, or packaging material. Tourists and tourism businesses generate a lot of this waste which not only comes back to shore, polluting beaches, but also finds its way into our food chain.

Destruction of coastal areas by development of tourism infrastructure

The development of coastal tourism infrastructure threatens vulnerable marine ecosystems. There are numerous examples of mangroves, corals, marshes and sea grass meadows having been removed for the construction of hotels or to create open beaches, piers, and other structures. After tourism facilities have been built as close as possible to the water, they then need artificial coastal protection like dykes and dams which disrupt the natural coastal dynamics and threaten ecosystems like mangroves and marshes.

Effects of activities and behaviour of tourists

After the construction of tourism infrastructure the tourists arrive, who bathe, dive, snorkel, fish, boat and collect marine souvenirs, with an impact on coastal areas, especially when these activities lead to overconsumption and overfishing.The scarcity of clean drinking water, the lack of water purification systems and the relatively high consumption of water at tourism facilities (not only hotels, but also golf courses etc.) are especially problematic in delicate, fragile coastal ecosystems.

Impacts on coastal communities

Tourism development and the resulting influx of tourists affect the coasts not only ecologically, but also have effects on the social, cultural and economic fabric of coastal communities.Through conversion of land use and destruction of ecosystems, habitats are lost for people, flora and fauna. Traditional activities of harvesting food and other resources from the shoreline and the sea become impossible. Local communities are often denied access to their (communal) lands, to their beaches, or in the worst case they are evicted.

Tourism resorts and hotels put a tremendous strain on land, local resources and infrastructure. Land grabbing (in this case of coastal lands also known as ocean grabbing) is a serious human rights violation as it excludes communities from the coast near their fishing grounds and therefore puts in jeopardy their livelihoods and survival. Concentrated in rather confined areas, the impact of a massive influx of tourists badly affects the lives of local people, not only in small coastal villages, but also in big coastal cities like Venice and Barcelona (>> Goal 11). Although the authenticity of these communities often is their core capital, tourism can leave them impoverished and their culture, environment and livelihoods endangered. One particular concern is the rise of prostitution (and invariably, sexual exploitation of children >> Goal 16c) around cruise ports.

These effects combined can lead to serious violations of human rights, such as the right to territory, education, health services, and food security, and also undermine the respective SDGs.