Marek WIECKOWSKI, IGiPZ PAN, Poland
Only recently has the Anthropocene become a subject of tourism-specific study and modern tourism. The impact of tourism on the environment is a very broad one, not least as tourists are associated with pollution, especially of water and air. The changes can be noted both locally and globally, thanks to rising levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gases and the underpinning, ever-growing demand for energy for lighting, heating, the production of food, transport, and consumption in general. Tourism has a significant impact on the development of space, with the space serving its needs proving readily-identifiable wherever it arises. Many traces induced by tourism can be detected globally, because tourism is part of the geophysical forces operating on the planetary scale. The tourism “overcrowding” brings about change on the planet and leaves its Anthropocene traces.
However, we must remember that the huge and rapid development of tourism was stopped suddenly at the beginning of 2020 as a result of a global pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2. In an era of huge change reflecting the consequences of the COVID-19 viral pandemic, the importance of sustainable transport in tourism’s sustainable development appears to be of critical importance. The author summarises likely new way(s) of thinking in the aftermath of the pandemic, with the need for this/these to be far more sustainable and responsible, and characterised by a reorientation of behaviour in a “green” direction. With a view to encouraging reflection on tourism’s potentially reduced impact on the planet, and hence its fate and role in the Anthropocene, the Author proposed to come forward with the few suggested priority areas for the future. It is further concluded that three aspects of transport–tourism relations will prove crucial to more sustainable utilisation—i.e., proximity, slower and less energy-intensive travel, and green transport.
Mots clés : sustainable tourism|sustainable transport|Tourism destination|Anthropocene
A105531MW