Waste handling is one of the crucial factors for sustainable tourism, especially those relying on natural beauty, Vice Minister of Environment and Forestry Alue Dohong stated.
“One of the development pillars of sustainable tourism is to develop tourism while continuing environmental conservation efforts, so that tourism activities will not have negative impacts in the form of pollution and environmental destruction,” Dohong said at a webinar held to discuss sustainable tourism destinations through waste management on Tuesday.
Nature tourism relies on panoramic beauty as well as the cleanliness and authenticity of nature, according to him.
If these factors are non-existent owing to mismanagement that leads to pollution, among others, then this form of tourism would no longer be sustainable.
To this end, environmental conservation is one of the strategic factors for tourism managers, whether they come from the government, state-owned enterprise, or the private sector, he affirmed.
Dohong pointed out that heaps of waste, specifically plastic, were often found in tourism destinations.
If waste is not handled well, then visitors would be hesitant to come, as beauty is one factor that draws tourists.
The problem of waste in tourism destinations is also mirrored in the survey in 2016 conducted by the Environment and Forestry Ministry along with the nature-loving community.
The survey shows the presence of 453 tons of waste in eight natural tourism destinations.
Some 150 thousand visitors produced 453 tons of waste out of which 240 tons were of plastic waste that pollute the natural ecosystem.
“This is despite the fact that we fully know that waste is the enemy of the tourism world, as tourism destinations filled with trash will immediately be abandoned by their visitors,” the vice minister remarked.
To this end, he ensured that the government continues to pay serious attention to handling the issue of waste, including for five super priority tourism destinations that the government had determined.
Source: Antara News