As one of the world's largest industries and one of its fastest growing economic sectors, tourism has a multitude of impacts, both positive and negative, on people's lives and on the environment. The quality of the environment, both natural and man-made, is essential to tourism. However, tourism's relationship with the environment is complex. It involves many activities that can have adverse environmental effects. Negative impacts from tourism will arise when the level of visitor use is superior to the environment's ability to cope with this use.

Uncontrolled coastal tourism development poses potential threats to many natural areas around the world as it can put enormous pressure on a very narrow area. Many of these impacts are linked with the construction of general infrastructure such as roads and airports, and of tourism facilities, including resorts, hotels, restaurants, shops, golf courses and marinas. Such developments often lead to impacts such as soil erosion, increased pollution, waste discharges into the sea, natural habitat loss and associated loss in biodiversity and increased pressure on endangered species. This is particularly true for some of the world's most ecologically fragile areas such as wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs and sea grass beds. Furthermore, it often puts a strain on water resources, and it can force local populations to compete for the use of critical resources such as fish. By involving many activities that can have adverse environmental effects tourism has the potential to gradually destroy the environmental resources on which it depends. Usually these effects are dynamic and often interactive.

Picture courtesy of NOAA.

On the other hand, tourism has the potential to create beneficial effects on the environment by contributing to environmental protection and conservation. It is a way to raise awareness of environmental values and it can serve as a tool to finance protection of natural areas and increase their economic importance.