Ecological basis and aspects of tourism

Abstract

Along with its antropological, sociological, cultural and economic aspects, the ecological dimension of tourism (i.e. the conversation of nature and open spaces) is of fundamental importance for its existence and future development. Because space and nature, along with man himself, are the points of origin and crucial factors in tourism, one should closely attend to the process of conserving the human enviroment when inquiring into and developing contemporary tourism. This becomes even more necessary if one knows that tourism is an aggregate of social and economic functions which, when actualized, produce numerous negative and conflictual (visible and hidden) ecological consequences on its own development and on that of society as a whole. Due to all of these factors, contemporary tourism and the tourism of the future ought to be regarded through the screen of humanistic visions, responsible planning, qualitative development and in cooperation with socio - cultural, spatio - ecological and economic agents.