Tourism and the environment, the other side of the coin

Abstract

The rapid growth in tourism has lead to an increased need for suitable health education designed to ensure safe and healthy travel. While this advice usually concentrates on appropriate behaviour and preventable infections, it rarely includes the environmental health hazards travellers are exposed to. This article attempts to demonstrate the wide range of such health hazards. It is then argued that the current approach to risk management and health education may be based on a framework which ignores the strong interdependence between environment and humans as proposed, for example, by Beck, and hence fails to develop strategies which can minimize environmental harm to travellers. The need of a new approach is discussed to allow innovative research which will provide a better knowledge base for such strategies.keywords environment and risk health education health hazards health impact tourism and environment tourism and health

Effects of sanitation and hygiene perceptions on international travelers' health, travel plans and trip experiences in India

“…Travelers who visit countries with poor hygiene and sanitation are at increased risk of exposure to diseases transmitted through the feco-oral route ( 4 ). Consumption of fecally contaminated water or food, and exposure to fecally contaminated environments, are associated with a range of diseases affecting travelers ( 5 ), in particular travelers' diarrhea (TD).…”

Solar ultraviolet radiation incident upon reef snorkelers determined by consideration of the partial immersion of dosimeters in the natural ocean environment

“…Further public education may assist in reducing incidence rates. The need for more suitable health education strategies concerning environmental hazards that influence the health of holiday makers, including UVR, has been highlighted previously [4]. Quantification of the actual exposures received in different environments, for different activities and under different circumstances, is needed to raise awareness for situations that present potentially high risks to the public.…”