Is ocean tourism more beneficial or detrimental for our oceans?

On Wednesday 21st April, Ocean Advocates in collaboration with ConserveSoc hosted our last discussion night of the year, questioning the benefits and drawbacks of ocean tourism on the ocean itself.

What would ‘good’ ocean and coastal tourism be?

• An article by the company Sea Going Green lists many of the pros and cons of coastal tourism in terms of their sustainability.

One of the primary difficulties in establishing the benefits of coastal and ocean tourism is knowing who we are referring to when we are speaking of the benefits. Ocean tourism will have different effects on the animals in the ocean itself, and the people living and working around the area. The vital task of ensuring that tourism does not harm local wildlife and ecosystems, whilst providing jobs and a livelihood for the local population is a difficult one.

• Sustainable tourism is defined by the Marine Bio organisation as including ‘eco-friendly boating, whale and dolphin watching, snorkeling and scuba diving, fishing, and other forms of tourism.’ (MarineBio.org)

• It should also not just use eco-friendly methods, but promote them to tourists to educate those for when they return home from their travel

Great Barrier Reef (2011) by BradjWard on Flickr - accessed here

Human and anthropological benefits

It is estimated that 200 000 000 jobs are created each year in order to operate and sustain ocean tourism ventures (Sea Going Green 2019). This undoubtedly flushes money into these local economies, improving the quality of life for all that life there. However, as was discussed, for this to happen the locals actually have to be in control of the industry. Often, large companies will have a monopoly on several aspects of ocean tourism, such as pleasure cruising, and then little money will be going into the local economy. One improvement that all participants agreed was needed in the Ocean and Coastal tourism sector was ensuring that it is run by those who live there. Local communities are more likely to respect the environment as opposed to companies who do not actually live there, and so placing businesses into local hands may provide benefits for the locals and the local wildlife and ocean health.

Moreover, many of these communities are dependent on ocean and coastal tourism as their only source of income, and the loss of this could prove disastrous for locals. French Polynesia reported a $1.2bn loss as a result of having to shut their borders during the Coronavirus pandemic. Tourism is their main source of income, leaving bosses unable to pay their workers, rent, or other living costs.

How can ocean tourism be detrimental to the ocean animals?

The most obvious drawback to ocean tourism would be the effect on the local wildlife. During the Coronavirus pandemic, there have been fewer tourists flocking to these coastal destinations. One destination that has seen the benefits of this is Iceland, whose surrounding waters are home to large whale populations. During the pandemic, the ocean has got ‘quieter’, reports NBC. A lack of sonar from boats is one of the reasons, and quieter waters have proven very beneficial to the local whales. According to Ari Friedlander, a local marine biologist:

‘animals use acoustics such as whale songs to communicate with one another and locate food. Noise in the environment can interfere with those communications and other critical life functions

“The thought is that as you decrease the amount of human activity and noisy environment, we’re going to see a decrease in the stress hormone levels of these animals,” he said.’

The decline in tourism has also reportedly accelerated the end of whale hunting in the region, a topic discussed at one of Ocean Advocates’ previous discussion nights.

A whale watching boat in iceland by Alf Igel on Flickr - accessed here

Pandemic aside, ocean tourism can also be seen to be detrimental whilst tourists are in the area. Sea Going Green lists that the effects of tourist attractions are not to be underestimated. Although these may benefit the local economy, activities such as pleasure cruises, scuba diving and snorkelling can disrupt the local ecosystems.

‘Something seemingly insignificant like the propellers of a boat stirring sediment can be a huge disruption to a marine habitat’ (Sea Going Green 2019)

The cost of tourism to the plant-life

It is not just the animals, but sea plants such as seagrass, algae, and coral that are affected by tourism. Coral reefs bleaching is a serious problem across the world, and tourism may be exacerbating it. The stress that coral can come under when being disturbed by tourists can cause it to release the algae that makes them colourful - the process of coral bleaching. The corals then die, and this completely disrupts the local ecosystem.

‘Since the disruption of one ocean system impacts all the others, seagrass and mangroves—shallow-water plant species vital to the health of the marine ecosystem—are also threatened by coral stress.’ (earthjustice.org 2016)

Bleached coral north of Townsville, Australia. By ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, 2016. Accessed here

What do we prioritise?

As was previously said, prioritising either local communities or the ocean has large drawbacks on the other. Prioritising local communities means that the ocean and animals that live within it are put at stake, and we risk enacting further harm on this precious resource. However, should we focus on improving the health of the ocean millions of peoples would find themselves unable to support themselves. Sea Going Green does think it is possible to aid, or at least slow down, the harm done to the aquatic environment and climate change whilst keeping local communities afloat. The only way for this to be achieved is through sustainable or ecotourism. Changes as simple as local businesses getting rid of single-use plastic can have a huge effect on marine wildlife and ecosystems in the area. The bigger the change, the bigger the benefit, but big change does not happen overnight. Sea Going Green are aware that:

‘locally run hotels and businesses have a special interest in operating sustainably to keep the destination lucrative to tourists to ensure stability both economically and environmentally.’ (Sea Going Green 2019)

Investing money into local communities to establish environmentally conscious businesses is one way to make a big difference, however this will take time. Currently, large corporations have stakes in the coastal tourism industry, through the building of large beachside resorts to the mega-cruise ships that sail the seas. It is quite clear that ocean tourism is more detrimental than beneficial to our oceans, but the human cost is not to be ignored.

Cruise Ship by ItsJegh on Flickr - accessed here

By Lara Watson

NB: All pictures taken from flickr with an all creative commons license