Related Issues to Tourism Development in Libya

225 Sustainable Architecture and Urban Development

Sustainable Development amp Planning Related Issues to Tourism Development in Libya

Megeirhi H Ebohon JO De Montfort University UK

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to critically review key issues in sustainable tourism planning with the hope of determining their relevance to countries seeking economic diversification No doubt the experience of countries that have successfully developed their tourism will become useful to countries seeking to develop their tourism sector Libya is one of such countries that seek economic diversification away from oil and exploit the huge and abundant natural resource endowments of coastlines desserts historical remains which can be enhanced with man-made tourist infrastructures and effective planning It is expected that Libya will benefit enorrnously trom the experiences of other countries within and outside the Arab region in its quest for sustainable tourism development

Keywords tourism sustainable development planning natural resource strategies

226 Megeirhi H amp Ebohon JO

1 Introduction

All economic or industrial activities by their very nature are accompanied by their impacts on the biophysical environment Cooper et al (1998) have argued that tourism as with other sectors has as much impact on the biophysical environment given the embodied resources in tourism infrastructure planning and processes Thus why tourism create huge opportunities for economic diversification with employment and income eaming opportunities (Sharpley and Telfer 2002) tourism also has negative impact on the biophysical environment Similarly tourism evokes huge ethical debates especially the desire to have local input to tourism planning and the highly polarised nature of tourism in terms of the significant amount of revenue accompanying a narrow range of services The seasonality of tourism attracts peak-labour demand with implieations for loeal employment and income generation (Williams and Shaw 1991) According to UNEP (2008) tourism invites significant negative impact that can be ameliorated through effective planning which makes it imperative that tourism development takes full congnisance of the concept of sustainable development and this explains the global emphasis on sustainable tourism

2 Theoretical Framework

While tourism remains one of the fastest growing industries in the world it brings with it a host of major environmental and social problems which need to be addressed and resolved to be sustainable (Muhanna 2006) Natural resouree depletion and environmental degradation linked to tourism remain a major problem in many countries that have huge tourism resource endowments (Neto 2003) Two major areas have been identified by Neto (2003) where the adverse impact of tourism on the biophysical environment are mostly feIt and these come in the huge pressure on natural resourees and damage to the eeo-system

Tourism is very resouree intensive exerting huge pressure on land freshwater and marine resourees In the absence of effective and efficient land use planning growth in tourism development can induce intense land competition leading to rising land prices The implication being the increased pressure that is brought to bear upon agricultural land and naturallandscape which often results in the deforestation and the intensive development of ecoshysensitive habitat This has been particularly the case in coastal areas where tourism development and expansion have been most intensive and prominent

Water and energy are other natural resources consumed by tourism in huge amounts Tourism is extremely water and energy intensive that uncontrolled tourism can exert huge pressure on these rcsources which is particularly of major concems because of competing dcmands from other vital sectors of the economy Fresh water availability and supply cannot be taken tor granted in desert regions Iike the middle-east where water scarcity is acute and assumes regional political dimension Similarly the impact of tourism on coastal landscape and marine environment is weil documented Activities normally


associated with tourism such as scuba diving boating cruise ships amongst others are very disruptive to the marine environment especially aquatic life This has the potential to damage locallivelihood particularly fishing

The adverse effects oftourism on the biophysical environment are not limited to the intensity of resource consumption but also the associated waste and pollution The disposal and management of solid waste associated with tOUfism has become problematic in many tourist destinations This has been particularly the case where the capacity to treat and recycle such wastes are severely limited leaving wildlife susceptible and vulnerable (Mastny 2001)

Thus tOUfism especially where uncontrolled can have serious impact on the environment which is why there are huge calls for tourism to be developed sustainably Also the calls for sustainable tourism development are predicated on the fact that environmental degradation and pollution poses huge threats to tourism development Examples are abounding of many tourist destinations that have succumbed to environmental degradation mirrored by ecosystem deterioration and eventual decline For example tourist destinations have been particularly vulnerable to climate change and the attendant variability in weather patterns lending weight to calls for sustainable tourism development (UN 2001 WTO 200 I Muhanna 2006) The implication is that tourism must be sustainably developed in order for a win-win scenario to emerge where by all the socio-economic benefits associated with tourism accrue yet the integrity of the biophysical environment remains intact

3 Sustainable Tourism

The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) defines sustainable tourism as tourism which leads to management of all resources in such a way that economic social and aesthetic demands are met without having to compromise the socio-cultural and environmental integrity of the biophysical environment essential ecological processes biological diversity and life support systems (WTO 2002) While this definition cmphasiscs the need for tourism to be profitable yet environmentally sustainable for the attendant long-term benefits to accrue it will require a different approach to tourism planning for sustainable tourism to be a reality

4 Sustainable Tourism and Planning

Given that sustainable tourism emphasises a balance of social and economic objectives which are underpinned by effective environmental management effective planning is essential to achieving targets with optimal performance while at the same time minimising conceivable implementation problems (Harsse 1994) Harsse (1994) holds the view that planning for tourism is a decision-making process aimed at guiding the future actions and problems associated with tourism development


However planning is not only complex but indistinct rendering any precise definition difficult (Wasterson 1974 Rose 1984 Hall 1974 Greed 1993) Indeed some planning experts regard planning to be a complex clustering of problems that needs to be explored and not defined (Elliott 1958) Nevertheless there is a considerable body of literature that considers planning as a necessary prerequisite to sustainable tourism development (McKercher 2003) Conversely it is highly debatable whether traditional planning paradigms are sufficiendy robust and adaptable to meet the requirements of sustainable tourism development Several reasons have been advanced for this including the lack of flexibility in the traditional planning system which owes to the logieal and rational approach to traditional planning that have rendered it rigorous statie and unable to adapt to varying conditions and situations

Similarly the traditional planning paradigm and system is also seen as topshydown and unable to represent diverse opinions other than the opinions of those that put the plans together in the first place This lack of community support characteristic of traditional planning often makes it difficult to implement given that those earmarked to benefit trom the planning system cannot take ownership because they are unable to readily identify with it (Jamieson and Jamal 1997) Given this fact it becomes difficult to link formulation with implementation making accountability and measurement of outcomes very difficult (Jamieson and Jamal 1997) Therefore a strategie planning approach is an inevitable component of sustainable tourism development and requires a major shift from the traditional planning paradigm (Janssen et al 1995)

5 Strategie Planning for Sustainable Tourism Development

For planning to deliver sustainable tourism development it must be strategie and underpinned by the principles of sustainable tourism Firstly it is important to briefly consider the principles of sustainable tourism It is a cardinal principle of sustainable tourism that local communities must take ownership of tourism development planning identify with the vision actively choose and identifY resources to be maintained and enhanced and assist in developing aims and strategies for developing and managing tourism Such strategies must include production and management of tourism infrastructure services and facilities In other words tourism development initiatives should reflect the yearnings and aspirations of all stakeholders and their input

Similarly tourism development must generate gainful employment and this is only possible wirh effective backward and forward linkages with the local economy This is particularly the case wirh soft tourism infrastructures such hotels restaurants and shops which should be developed and managed by the local populations This is one of the strategies for ensuring inter-generational and intra-generational equity in the distribution of costs and benefits associated with tourism Also tourism development strategies and plans must be an integral part of a broad set of economic development initiatives This is expected to ensure effective capacity building to guarantee appropriate balance between the

Sustainable Arehiteeture and Urban Development 229

eeonomie socio-eultural and environmental sustainability dimensions to tourism

Thus a strategie planning approach to sustainable tourism development requires the disparate planning and development aetivities related to tourism are linked to overall broad strategie tourism plan whieh will lead 0 an integrated framework for direeting and managing tourism Thus strategie planning seeks an optimal fit between the system and its environment whieh is why strategie planning must be

Long-term Contain vision Speeify goals Speeify major aetions to aehieve goals Dynamie flexible and adaptable

Combining these elements ensure that formulation and implementation of strategie plan are not diserete but linked closely through eonstant monitoring environmental assessments evaluation and adjustment Strategie tourism planning ean be effeeted at different levels including the individual site level such as heritage site theme park and Game Park etc lt can similarly be effeeted at the destination level regional national and international levels Nevertheless it is fundamentally important to consider the planning process as ongoing or a continuum integrating the stages ofplan formulation and implementation

6 Strategie Sustainable Tourism Planning in Libya

As figures 1-6 shows the potential for tourism development in Libya is huge and yet to be explored meaningfully It has 2000 km of coast line of whieh 1700 km is sandy beaches Similarly Libya aeeounts for 40 pereent of Afriea heritage and has many designated world heritage sites whieh eombines eonstitute hundreds of hectares of tourist sites Take Figure 2 for example the sister site of Apollonia in nearby Susa on the Mediterranean is reekoned to be one of the most important sites of the ancient Greek Pentapolis Its stunning seaside loeation and multiple ancient Greek and Roman ruins provide a priceless tourism opportunity which can be easily integrated into Cyrenes UNESCO World Heritage designation with effeetive strategie planning

230 Megeirhi H amp Ebohon 10

Figure 1 Ancient Roman Remains

Figure 2 The sister site of Apollonia

Figure 3


Figure 4

Figure 5 The Cyrene Amphitheatre


Figure 6 Illegal Refuse Dump Settlement Structures

Figure 5 for example is the world heritage of Cyrene showing the Cyrene Amphitheatre which is one of the most impressive monuments in the world upon which tourism development can be hinged Cyrene can be made into a central monument in tourism development cultural events and educational and historical site Additionally Libya has a range of mountains peaking at 3376 meters above sea level of which the Akakus Mountains are prominent Apart from the coast Hne Libya also has 12 natural huge lakes and more than 7 inhabited oases Also there are more than 21 protected areas and natural parks These features when combine with other features such as the grand desert valleys sand hills great sand seas and other architectural artefacts makes Libya potentially one ofthe greatest tourist destinations in the world

However Figure 6 clearly shows the consequences of attempting tourism development without strategie planning Encroachment on tourism and historie sites of heritage significanee on the one hand and on the other environmental degradation are all too visible and likely to beeome pronounced unless effective strategie integrated sustainable planning is introduced to guide tourism development in the country

In terms of strategie planning Libyas efforts to promote sustainable tourism development must be holistic in that the possible risks negative impacts and externalities that tourism development and inereased tourist nows generate must be considered upfront Although not exhaustive some of these included the resource intensity of tourism and the attendant consequenees This is partieularly the case with possible contlict arising from the competing demand for land and water possible eonniet with host communities environmental degradation possible distortion to the local eeonomy and negative eultural impacts While heavy handed state planning can often stifte entrepreneurial creativity public authorities should work with private firms and international organizations to


develop best practice and procedures One place to start is to require sophisticated feasibility and environmental impact studies which are carefully reviewed by tourism deveopment authorities

Libya must take in to full congnisance the fact that unregulated tourism development often leads to the unsustainable tourism landscape where the provision of tourist products such as hotels rooms shops handicrafts and cultural experience takes priority over the efforts to proeure and coordinate demand for such products This has proved to be a short-sighted strategy in many countries where providers put short term profits over long term gains to provide services with little or no regards for the bio-physical environment and host communities

Tourist infrastructure proVIsIOn particularly hotel accommodation and supporting services should be appraised not solelyon projeeted tourism demand but also on the marketing and promotion eapacities of tourism firms to avoid voids and ghost-town syndrome Thus the tourism industry must continually build develop and enhanee their skills and capaeities for excellent service delivery If tourism development is seen only as a means of attraeting forcign direet investment it would fail to create the crueial forward and backward linkages with the rest of the eeonomy that is erueial to employment and ineome generating opportunities for the loeal eeonomy

Similarly Libya must avoid the pitfalls that many developing countries foraying into tourism development have fallen in the past which is to develop their tourism sector without at the same time eonceptualising the necessary supporting institutions Priority must be given to evolving and developing tourism training institutions marketing agencies and tourism studies geared to the needs to support local tourism industry It is important that such skill training and development institutions are derived through varied procurement system partieularly those that embraee publie-private partnerships where enabling environments are created for the private sector to come in with their capital and expertise One of such critical factors that constitute an enabling environment is availability of current data upon which investment decisions are made in order to minimise the risks to investors

Libya must plan its tourism development with the belief that the benefits assoeiating with tourism deveJopment transcend the economic returns and must build into its tourism development plans environmental and socio-cultural sustainability This should manifest in strict environmentaJ guideJines enforceable through command and control measures For example environmental impact assessment can be very useful at onset of obtaining planning permission to gauge the stress an additional tourism development may exert on existing infrastructures and services (Talen 1996) This is where the work of Bromberek (2009) is instructive that the three pillars of sustainability must be aeeorded equal weight in tourism planning Broomberek (2009) observes the over-emphasis given to economic sustainability reflected in the des ire to maximise the eomfort sought for elients whieh often tend to override


other pillars of sustainable development In other words the 4Rs - reduce reuse recyc1e and replace must define tourism planning and development

However the enforcement of the sustainability strategy and criteria must be innovative and flexible lt must be stressed that command and control measures must only be used as a last resort as evidences have shown that individuals and businesses respond more to economic incentives than command and contro measures with regards to environmental measures (Bailly and Willmann 200 I Hahn and Stavins 1991 Kolstad 1986)

Libya must avoid the heavy top-down approach to planning and must make the efforts to involve alt stakeholders in the tourism planning process (Levy 1992) This is particularly the case for the local population who are normally at the receiving end of tourism development This will allow them take ownership of the planning process and help cushion ethical issues normally associated with tourism development However loeal stakeholders are only able to fulfil this role if sufficiently empowered to do so and the Libyan govemment must empower loeal population to be able to contribute meaningfully to the strategie direetion of tourism development In this regards politieal power relations and the ereation of an enabling environment for all stakeholders including planners environmentalists loeal communities and gender partieipation must be put in place

7 Conclusion

It is eonc1uded that strategie planning for sustainable tourism is an issue that Libya must take seriously in the course of diversifYing its eeonomy through its tourism sector The inadequacy of the traditional planning system must be recognised and efforts should be made to plan the tourism sector from a holistic perspective in relation to the overall strategie plan of the eeonomy This means planning tourism development in such a way that effective forward and baekward linkages are forged between the sector and thc rest of the economy Finally Libya must not put the chart before the horse in the development ofits tourism sector by ensuring that the sector evolves with the necessary institutions and institution building capacity


References

Bai1ly D amp Will mann R (2001) Promoting sustainable aquaculture through economic and other incentives In RP Subasinghe MJ Phillips P Bueno C Hough SE McGladdery amp 1R Arthur eds Aquaculture in the Third Millennium Technieal Proceedings ofthe Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium Bangkok Thailand 20-25 pp95shy101 NACA Bangkok and FAO Rome

Bromberek Z (2009) Eco-resorts Planning and Designfor the Tropfes Elsevier

Cooper C et al (1998) Tourism Prfnciples and Praetiee England Longman Group Limited

Greed C (1993) lntroducing Town Planning London Longman

Hall P (1974) Urban and Regional Planning Harmon worth Penguin

Hahn R W and Robert N Stavins lncentive-Based Environmental Regulation A New Era from an Old Tdea Ecology Law QuarterI) 18(1991)1-42

Harsse1 (1994) Tourism an exploration (yd ed) New jersey Prentice Hall Career and Technology

Jamieson W and T Jamal (1997) Tourism Planning and Destination Management In International Tourism AGlobai Perspeetive C Gee and E Fayos-Sola (eds) Madrid Spain World Tourism Organization 321-37

Janssen H et al (1995) Private and publie development strategies for sustainable development ofisland economies In Coceossis H and Nijkamp P Sustainable tourism development England Avebury 65-84

Koistad Charles D (1986) Empirical Properties of Eeonomie Incentives and Command-and-Control Regulations tor Air Pollution Control Land Economies 62 No 3 pp 250-268

Levy John (1992) What has Happened to planning Journal orthe American Planning Association 58 I 81-84

Mastny L (2001) Travelling light New paths for international Tourism Washington Worldwatch institute

McKereher B (2003) Sustainable Tourism Development - Guiding Principles For Planning And Management Presentation to the National Seminar on Sustainable Tourism Development Bishkek Kyrgystan 5- 9 November 2003 Available at httpwww devstudorg uk studygroupstourismlresourcesmckereher p df Accessed 6th May 2008

Muhanna E (2006) Sustainable Tourism Development and Environmental Management for Developing Countries Problems amp Perspectives in Management [ssue 2 14-30


Neto F (2003) A new approach to sustainable tourism development Moving beyond environmental protection DESA Discussion Paper No 29 United Nations

Rose E A (1984) Philosophy and purpose in planning in Bruton MJ (Editor) The Spirit and Purpose ofplanning London Hutehinson pp3I-66

Sharpley R and Telfer D (2002) Tourism and Development Concepts and issues Clevedon Channel View

Talen Emiy (1996) Do Plans Get Implemented A Review of Evaluation in Planning Journal ofPlanning Literature 103 248-259

UN (2001) Sustainable development of tourism Report of the SecretaryshyGeneral Document No ECN172001IPC21 United Nations New York

UNEP (2008) Making Tourism More Sustainable - A Guide for Policy Makers A vailable from httpwwwuneptieorgpctourism Accessed 6th May 2008

Waterston A(1974) Development Planning Lessons ofexperience London The Johns Hopkins University Press

Williams A and Shaw G (1988) Tourism and development an introduction In A Williams and Shaw G (Eds) Tourism and economic development (pp 1-11) London Belhaven

WTO (2001) Actions in assisting developing countries to implement Agenda 21 undertaken by the World Tourism Organisation since 1992 (Document No DESADSDPC2BP3) New York UN


1 Introduction

All economic or industrial activities by their very nature are accompanied by their impacts on the biophysical environment Cooper et al (1998) have argued that tourism as with other sectors has as much impact on the biophysical environment given the embodied resources in tourism infrastructure planning and processes Thus why tourism create huge opportunities for economic diversification with employment and income eaming opportunities (Sharpley and Telfer 2002) tourism also has negative impact on the biophysical environment Similarly tourism evokes huge ethical debates especially the desire to have local input to tourism planning and the highly polarised nature of tourism in terms of the significant amount of revenue accompanying a narrow range of services The seasonality of tourism attracts peak-labour demand with implieations for loeal employment and income generation (Williams and Shaw 1991) According to UNEP (2008) tourism invites significant negative impact that can be ameliorated through effective planning which makes it imperative that tourism development takes full congnisance of the concept of sustainable development and this explains the global emphasis on sustainable tourism

2 Theoretical Framework

While tourism remains one of the fastest growing industries in the world it brings with it a host of major environmental and social problems which need to be addressed and resolved to be sustainable (Muhanna 2006) Natural resouree depletion and environmental degradation linked to tourism remain a major problem in many countries that have huge tourism resource endowments (Neto 2003) Two major areas have been identified by Neto (2003) where the adverse impact of tourism on the biophysical environment are mostly feIt and these come in the huge pressure on natural resourees and damage to the eeo-system

Tourism is very resouree intensive exerting huge pressure on land freshwater and marine resourees In the absence of effective and efficient land use planning growth in tourism development can induce intense land competition leading to rising land prices The implication being the increased pressure that is brought to bear upon agricultural land and naturallandscape which often results in the deforestation and the intensive development of ecoshysensitive habitat This has been particularly the case in coastal areas where tourism development and expansion have been most intensive and prominent

Water and energy are other natural resources consumed by tourism in huge amounts Tourism is extremely water and energy intensive that uncontrolled tourism can exert huge pressure on these rcsources which is particularly of major concems because of competing dcmands from other vital sectors of the economy Fresh water availability and supply cannot be taken tor granted in desert regions Iike the middle-east where water scarcity is acute and assumes regional political dimension Similarly the impact of tourism on coastal landscape and marine environment is weil documented Activities normally

























Figure 3


Figure 4

















7 Conclusion



References

















































Figure 3


Figure 4

















7 Conclusion



References









































Figure 3


Figure 4

















7 Conclusion



References



































Figure 3


Figure 4

















7 Conclusion



References




























Figure 3


Figure 4

















7 Conclusion



References


























Figure 4

















7 Conclusion



References








































7 Conclusion



References



































7 Conclusion



References





























7 Conclusion



References


























References



































Related Issues to Tourism Development in Libya

Documents