Tourism: what can be done?
What is tourism? International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined Tourism in terms of particular activities selected by choice and undertaken outside the home environment. However, in my opinion, the tourism is conspicuous consumption, for example, travelers love to buy some expensive souvenirs when they traveling to new places, especially the decoration from rare or beautiful wildlife. Honestly, this is my bias of tourism and the traveler. But do those people know that millions of wildlife died for tourism? For the animals I persist in my point of view.
Many high-priced and handmade boondoggles made of rare animals’ teethe, fur, bones or feathers which produce by those local residents become the artwork that people can show off their experience or wealth. Actually, the similar thing happened on almost every traveler’s journey. To top it off, travelers smuggled wildlife from poor countries with quiet low price and sell them in other countries with high price. So that smugglers can get lots of benefit from the contraband. Moreover, the developer of tourism industry explores many tourist attractions on mountains endless. As the reason, the area of wildlife live is decreasing sharply every year. An instance from my countriy, Mountain Lushan, is one of the most famous National Geopark of China. But most travelers’ aim is to eat those delicious, nutrient, and rare stone frog, stone fish and fungus, even those dishes are very expensive. Furthermore, many tourism industry investors destroyed large area forest to built villas and hotels. Above all, different tourism industry developers use different kinds of wildlife by different means in the world. Nevertheless, their aims are the same that is to earn money from those animals.
The situation of wildlife is going from bad to worse, in that case many people in the world set lots of conservation organizations to protect wildlife. Humane societies appeal to government for more strict law about wildlife. Additionally, most of countries punished the people who break the law and destroyed the many hotels and villas to provide habitats for a huge number of wild animals and plants.
Nonetheless, many misfeasors still continuous their illegal activities. What is more, government enhance the awareness of the importance of wildlife protection in society, especially offer the courses about protect rare wild animals and plant in the university and school.
Basically, most people think to legislate strict law is the best way for punish the misfeasors. However, legislation or amend the laws will be difficult and take time. And there are still many illegal activities cannot found by the police. On the other hand, no demand and no supply, the punishment only can effects black market but not the human behavior. By the same token, to popularize environmental protection knowledge and teach students how to justice the real “artwork” are also two significant measures. Thus, travelers never buy the fur, teethe or horns. They prefer to appreciate the animals alive during their journey. Through the education, remind people that to hang the rare animal fur or hand on the wall is a kind of cruel and inhuman behavior. On balance, legislation only can accomplish the conservation plants immediately and compulsorily in a short term. Conversely, the way of education is gentle and enduring for long term.
All in all, tourism industry brings huge benefit to society particularly in poor countries. Meanwhile, we also have to advocate civilized way of developed tourism industry.
