Sustainable Touristic Community

Abstract

The tourism industry is currently one of the fastest growing industries in the world, it has grown by almost 40% since 1960 and it is expected to represent almost 25% of the globe’s population in 5 years. It has many economic benefits as it introduces foreign currency and creates a better market share for host countries. Socially it creates more job opportunities and better lifestyles for those working in it. Unfortunately, environmental considerations have not been fully accounted for; as the industry rapidly grows it is draining the natural resources of the host countries to cover the needs of tourists. Thus, there is a need for the introduction of a novel approach that will integrate ecotourism and sustainability by introducing and implementing the zero waste strategy, which will ensure conservation of natural resources with safe and environmentally friendly acts, activities and waste full utilization methods following cradle-to-cradle concept discussed in this chapter.