Mass tourism

Tourism is the world's largest industry with more than 800 million international travelers per year but the consequences of uncontrolled mass tourism can be devastating, both for the environment and for the local population.

The expansion of tourism is accompanied by severe attacks on the cultural, social and even economic. With positive effects on employment, production and revenue objected strongly negative effects confiscation of land and displacement, inflation, environmental destruction, questioning of traditional ethics of the people.

Environmentally; waste are mass produced, lots of energy and water, scarce in hot countries, are particularly wasted in the major resorts, at the expense of local populations (running water, irrigation, etc.). On average in the tropics, 27 liters of water are consumed per day per capita against 100 liters per day per tourist (2005 data).

On the economic front, the large sums generated by tourism, very little benefit to local populations when they find jobs in large hotel complexes play a minor role and are under paid.

The concentration of infrastructure also plays a significant role in the rural exodus, attracting the "city" of peasants in search of "Eldorados."

These harmful effects on culture, environment and economy of the regions visited us today require thinking tourism, able to combine the freedom of travel with respect for people and the environment.

Many operators offer this kind of trip. Some into a pure marketing operation, other, precursors, often from the world of international solidarity are trying to regroup in federations such Altervoyages in Belgium, in France but also ATES FBO-TRS in Benin and others in Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala ...

Responsible tourism wants to put forward a country, a culture, men and women for whom income from tourism can be a real alternative source means to exist.