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For over half a century, the Black Sea has been a popular tourist destination, particularly for residents of the former Soviet Union and of the countries in Central Europe . The warm summer climate, sparkling waters of the Black Sea and top level entertainment, provided a welcome break from life in the city or on the farm. Much of this development was at high cost to the environment however. With greater opportunities for international travel, Black Sea resorts now have to compete with other destinations. Some people are now investing in Black Sea tourism to make it attractive again. How can this industry be developed in a way that does not destroy the environment on which it depends? |
Most people like to visit the seashore when they are on vacation. There are many different reasons for this, some of which depend on a clean environment and some that can seriously damage it. Here are some examples in a table:
Reason for wanting to be near the sea |
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Because |
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But |
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Good place to swim or do watersports |
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Swimming, and most other watersports are healthy and fun. |
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Poor sanitary facilities introduce microbiological pollution that can make swimming dangerous. Some watersports (e.g. water scooters) disturb wild animals. |
Beautiful landscape |
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The most attractive landscapes are usually the natural ones. People often enjoy being close to nature. Well-planned or conserved towns or archaeologi-cal sites can also be attractive. |
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Bringing many people to the coast requires additional services (roads, hotels, restaurants, etc.) and housing for the people working on them. If this is not planned properly, it can ruin the landscape and destroy nature. |
Beaches to play on |
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Everyone likes to be on a clean beach. Small children like to play in the sand. A dirty beach is unattractive and can be dangerous. |
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People generate garbage when they visit the beach. If they do not dispose of it properly, the beach will quickly become very dirty. Wildlife easily become entangled in garbage. |
Good place to rest |
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The sea air and pleasant views, good hotels, healthy food and little stress are relaxing. |
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Too many people, untidy cluttered development, noisy polluted streets and stressful formalities add up to a poor quality vacation. |
Entertainment and party atmosphere |
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Successful seaside resorts attract high-level entertainment |
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Poorly planned facilities can damage the landscape, deter other tourists, destroy natural habitats and deter wildlife. |
Tourism therefore, may be an attractive way to raise revenue and local employment, but it is also dependent on our ability to sustain the natural environment. Experience in many parts of the world has shown that in poorly managed tourism development the environment gradually deteriorates, people pay less and less to visit the place and the locality has less revenue to repair the damage. In some places around the Black Sea this has already happened.
What is sustainable development?
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There are many different definitions of this concept but the basis of these is that improvements in the quality of life should not be gained at the expense of the natural environment or that of future generations. If a tourist development destroys the natural environment, it cannot be regarded as sustainable. |
Factfile
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Tourism is now the world's largest industry. By 2007 it will be generating 383 million jobs and a revenue of US$ 7,100,000,000,000 ($7.1 trillions)! |
Exercise: Your chance to have a say …
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In a coastal resort near your school, someone has proposed the development of a new hotel complex. In order to make sure that everyone has the chance to put forward all their ideas about the development, the local council has decided to hold a community meeting to debate the issue. |
Stage 1 : Divide into small groups and prepare your arguments for or against the complex.
Some important points to consider in the debate:
In favour of the complex….. |
Against the complex….. |
- Potential to increase revenue from tourist industry
- Benefit to local economy
- Provide a needed facility
- Good publicity for the area
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- Visual impact of the new development
- Increase in pollution from sewage, litter etc.
- A disturbance on local ecosystems from the construction
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| Other points to consider. |
- Proximity of any areas of conservation / Distance to neighbouring hotels
- Waste reception facilities, and other recreational facilities in the area
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Stage 2: Hold a debate in the class about the project. If possible, invite one or more guests from your local community to join the debate and comment on it (this kind of debate is required in most places before a project can go ahead). Hold a vote on whether or not the project should proceed. How are such projects discussed in your community? |
| Pressures in the Coastal Zone |
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How do you know whether or not the sea is clean enough to swim in? When sewage enters the sea, many of the sewage microbes remain alive for days or even months. Some of these can cause serious infections if they are accidentally taken inside the body through the mouth and nose or through cuts and scrapes. Microbes that can cause human diseases are known as pathogens and the main risk in the sea is from bacteria and viruses. They are all too small to be seen without a microscope and though the water looks clean, it may be contaminated. |
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| It is not very difficult to prevent pathogens from entering the sea by using sewerage systems (a network of pipes collecting sewage from houses, public buildings and businesses) connected to wastewater treatment plants. These plants remove solid waste, promote bacterial fermentation of the organic matter and sometimes include stages of treatment to remove chemicals. The plants are quite expensive to operate however. Sometimes municipalities cannot afford to purchase and maintain a treatment plant or people may be unwilling or unable to pay the costs of having their waste treated properly. This is where hotels and other tourism enterprises can help. By understanding the value and importance of clean water for their own businesses they can be asked to contribute to the costs of proper sewage treatment. New hotels should not be constructed if proper treatment facilities are not in place. |
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How important do you think good bathing water is for attracting tourists to your area? |
Sometimes it is difficult to obtain reliable information on the quality of bathing waters. There are national and international standards for water quality designed to protect the public and beaches may be closed if the standards are not being met. Try to find out where you can get information about this for your nearest beach. Is the information readily available? It is important that these measurements are taken very frequently, so it is common for samples to be taken weekly during the summer season. This is necessary because any sudden failure in the water treatment system could cause the bathing waters to become unsuitable to recreational users very quickly indeed, and long periods between monitoring times may miss such an event.
| The problem of cleanliness is not simply restricted to the water. Dirty beaches covered with garbage are unsightly and can be dangerous. A broken bottle in the sand can ruin a vacation for a small child running barefoot on the beach. Flies attracted to discarded food or excrement can spread disease. Plastic waste can kill wildlife (how?). Keeping a beach clean require co-operation between users of the beach (picking up their garbage) and the local municipality (providing somewhere to throw the garbage and disposing it properly). In order to encourage tourism in places where the water and beaches are reliably clean, there is an international award scheme known as the ‘Blue Flag' given to beaches of a reliably high standard. Several Black Sea beaches have already received the award. Find out if there is an award scheme in your area. |
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The European Blue Flag for beaches is awarded annually and awards are valid for a single year. Both national and international juries examine the applicants. They examine: |
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- Water quality based on analysis at least every two weeks,
- Coastal quality including clean beaches and safe paths, steps and other features,
- Good environmental education and information including at least five educational activities every season,
- High safety standards with rules restricting access by dogs, no dangerous sports, good garbage collection.
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| The current situation in the Black Sea |
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With the exception of Turkey , every Black Sea country has a major Black Sea coastal tourist industry. The case of Turkey is a special one as the rainy and rather rocky Black Sea coast cannot presently compete with the attractive alternative of Turkey 's Mediterranean or Aegean resorts.
Factfile
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Resorts around the Black Sea coast can accommodate approximately five million tourists each year. The industry probably generates over US$1 billion revenue every year. |
Every summer, millions of tourists flock to the Black Sea . What are their expectations? Are they satisfied with their vacation? Do they know anything about the Black Sea 's unique habitats and wildlife or care about their protection? There are some interesting and fun outdoor exercises that can help to answer some of these questions. Your teacher will help to decide which of these your group can undertake. |
| Practical exercise, alternative 1. |
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Carry out a survey at the beach to see what kinds of people use the facilities there, and what recreation activities are taking place. You can use the form below to record your observations . |
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What impacts do you think these activities could have on the environment? Explain your thoughts to the rest of the group. |
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| Practical exercise, alternative 2. |
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Interviewing visitors to your region. |
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Introduction
Much information about a beach and its suitability for various functions can be obtained by interviewing a sample of visitors. It is important to gather information about what they think of your local coastal area as a vacation place. The information is recorded on a questionnaire sheet so that the data can be analyzed at a later stage.
Procedure (teachers, see pedagogical notes before undertaking this work)
• Select an area of beach where there are 10-100 persons present.
• Interview a sample of not less than 10 person groups (individuals or a group of not more than 4), trying to form a cross-section of the people present (older visitors, younger visitors, visitors with children, first time visitors, etc.).
• Explain to the visitors who you are and why you would like to request permission to ask them some questions to determine their views on the attractiveness of the beach area.
• Ask your questions. You may determine your own questions or use the questions given below. The purpose of the questions is to determine the attractiveness of the beach for visitors.
• Back at the school, you should analyze the results you have obtained from the interviews. Prepare a poster illustrating the results of the interview, and as a class make your own recommendations on how to improve the attractiveness of the beach to visitors. |
Possible questions to ask
Why did you choose to come to this particular beach?
Is this your first visit to this beach? If not, how many times have you been here before?
Is this a “good” beach? To determine this, please rate the beach on a scale of 1-4, (1=poor, 2=average, 3=good, 4= exceptional) in terms of:
- Ease of access
- The facilities provided for visitors
- Location (view, shielded from the wind, etc.)
- Quality of the beach (quality of the sand, etc.)
- Cleanliness of the sea
- Cleanliness of the beach
- Cleanliness around the various facilities (shops, restaurants, etc.)
- Cleanliness of toilets
- Suitability for children (safety, etc.)
- Suitability for swimming (current, size of waves, etc.)
What would you say is the worst feature of this beach?
What improvements do you think would make the beach a more attractive place ?
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Green tourism
There's much more to the Black Sea than sea and beaches. An increasing number of visitors are attracted to the forests and wetlands to observe the wildlife and enjoy the clean air. Some are hikers, painters, photographers or just want a quiet place to read and write. This new and fast-developing ‘green tourism' can only exist if nature is properly protected. Write a list of green tourism opportunities near your home. |
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