Environmentalism in tourism: the connection of lifestyle, tourism and sustainable development

In Adler’s theory the “style of life” refers to how we live, sort out difficulties, and manage our own personal relationships. He strongly believed that each one of us is a distinctive, unique individual with our own characteristic way of life. Since the term was coined in the early 20th century it is no wonder that the meaning of “lifestyle” has gone through enormous changes. These days it is more often used to express “a way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group”. Since globalisation is increasingly turning the world into a “global village” no wonder that lifestyle is changing faster than ever before. As a result “for tourism, this influences the tourist’s perception of his/her personal needs and behaviour ”1. In this short essay attention will be focussed on the mutual effects of lifestyle and tourism. After taking a brief look at the different life-stages, which, according to Knowles (2001), have a fundamental influence on holiday choice, we will examine other factors that determine tourists’ decisions. The most important of these factors (perhaps not surprisingly) are time and money. It will be interesting to see that for many in western societies the greatest hindrance is not the financial burdens of a holiday but rather the lack of time to spare. This, inevitably, leads to demands that have not been trends in the tourism industry in past decades. Shorter, multiple holidays in exotic places are more sought after than they have ever been and due to changes in society somewhat shocking niche markets are also emerging. It is obvious that travelling overseas is less of a luxury these days than it used to be. As a consequence, more and more people will be able to make their choice to be on the move, be it on business or holiday, thus contributing to one of the hottest issues currently. Climate change, which has already made its influence felt, will no doubt have significant influence on all of us. What can travellers do to leave less of an environmental footprint and meet not only the needs of the present but also of the indefinite future? The objective of this work is to make the reader think about the effects of current and future trends in tourism on the natural environment.