The environmental pressures and perspectives of tourism on coastal and insular zone. The case of Greece

Abstract

Tourism is widely known as one of the most enterprising branches of the tertiary sector of economy in many countries. Nevertheless, over the time, touristic activities have resulted in a significant number of environmental implications related directly or indirectly to the coastal and insular area. The paper focuses on the qualitative characteristics of environmental impacts of tourism on the islands, on the grounds that, there are some vital goods which are not amenable to quantification, but concentrate substantial ecological and socioeconomic wealth. The foundation of the methodology is built on the DPSIR assessment framework focusing on the geographic area of Greece. The number of environmental problems caused by the intensive tourist development, such as the depletion of natural resources, the spot and extensive pollution of specific sources and also coastal erosion, lead to a short-term intensive tourism development, which cannot be considered viable in the long run. Finally, it should be highlighted that especially for the tourist sector, environmental asset constitutes the milestone of a healthy socioeconomic development for any country. Therefore, appropriate decision making and measures should take place for the integrated protection of such a precious and vulnerable resource, ensuring its viability both in environmental and economic terms.