Introduction
As countries around the world open their borders after a long lasted lockdown, many people are thinking of traveling again and taking a decent vacation. Months of quarantine and restricted movements have made exploration even more attractive, but pandemics have also forced people to rethink their travel habits and the industry as a whole. As the tourism industry begins to recover, it has the potential to build a more resilient and sustainable tourism economy that values the environment while providing economic benefits to millions of people around the world. It is clear that in the future, hotels and hospitality will need to prioritize health and safety while strengthening their commitment to the environment. The essay will discuss how COVID-19 has influenced the sustainability sector of the tourism industry. Particularly, such aspects as energy use, socio-economic growth, the future requirements for tourism business, impact on animals and biodiversity will be covered.
Tourism and Sustainability
Key Literature and Concepts
Pandemic has had a significant impact on a company’s long-term performance. Mubeen et al. (2020) suggests that the role of the CEO in making new decisions to revive economic interests is important. According to Lin and Kishore (2021), in the COVID-19 pandemic, social media channels have provided information to various stakeholders. Leisure, travel, and inbound tourism activities declined more rapidly, resulting in a loss of $ 2.86 trillion, or more than 50% of revenue (Wut et al., 2021). In the first part, this study examines the meaning and context of the current occurrence of COVID-19 (Wut et al., 2021). The study explores how innovation and transformation can help the tourism and leisure industries move to the next normalization (Cuomo et al., 2021). In the time of COVID-19, tourism is one of the most vulnerable industries in the world.
The Changes in Energy Use
Strict lockdowns in the early days of the epidemic resulted in a significant fall in worldwide transit volumes. The current pandemic, COVID 19, is a global issue that includes renewable energy, carbon emissions, economic and health crises, and spillover effects on global businesses such as tourism and travel that are making a significant contribution to the global service economy (Abbasi et al., 2021). Highways, airports, railroads, and waterways were empty without passengers, resulting in higher substantially and brighter skies around the world.
The Impact on Socio-Economic Growth
Tourism, as a key sector for local and national socio-economic growth, is strongly reliant on energy use. To support the transformation, any increase in tourist arrivals necessitates an increase in energy demand (Iorember et al., 2020). As a result, when combined with the corresponding increase in travel owing to increased tourism, it has certain environmental repercussions (Usman et al., 2019; Iorember et al., 2019). The recent breakout of the COVID19 pandemic, which has interrupted global economic operations, has dealt a serious blow to tourism development both globally and in the subregion. Following the relaxing of lockdowns and the start of full internal air travel, there is a need for coordinated strategies to boost tourist arrivals, expand clean energy use, and ensure economic and environmental sustainability (Usman et al., 2019). Pandemics affect not only energy consumption habits but also globalization and tourism, and innovation needs to be rethought for long-term recovery.
Finances for agricultural spending and household welfare programs were also hit by the outbreak. The stock market has been affected by the pandemic and has led to inflation (Goshit et al., 2020; Dabwor et al., 2020). Europe’s travel and tourism industry is the second most affected sector, with arrivals down 58%, followed by Middle Eastern countries by 51% (Joo et al., 2021). Meanwhile, in Africa and the United States, visitor arrivals fell by 47% (Joo et al., 2021). Most travel and tourism studies focus on the impact of socio-economic and cultural factors that are perceived to have a significant impact on the people at their destination (Mamirkulova et al., 2020; Joo et al., 2021). Inbound travel and tourism activities have a significant impact on the community as their positive impact on the arrival of international tourists impacts the social, cultural, and socio-economic growth and prosperity of residents (Jordan et al., 2021). The number of international visitors decreased by 56% from January to May, decreased by 97% in April, and decreased by 98% in May 2020 (Jordan et al., 2021). Since mid-March 2020, outbreaks of the virus have affected travel and tourism activities, leading to the collapse of global travel.
Future Requirements for Tourism Business
The epidemic reveals the potential for completely unexpected disasters, and as a result, resilience is becoming more equitable. COVID enhances both sustainable business relevance and expectations, with 40% predicting future shifts and additional requirements for such businesses (Jordan et al., 2021). Despite the financial difficulties many companies faced in 2020, many companies have doubled their commitment to sustainability and contributed to a safer, more environmentally friendly, and healthier future for 2020 (Jordan et al., 2021). Companies are now recognizing the importance of developing long-term business plans that can absorb major setbacks, while significant human casualties lead to more accommodation.
With COVID-19’s regulations, there was a surge in the hobby in tourism websites that have been best a quick force away or off the standard route, with much fewer crowds. Many protection-aware vacationers started to set up visits in the direction of domestic flights so one can keep away from being uncovered to lengthy multi-step journeys. COVID may also have even stored the sleeper train: fear that flying in 2020 led to an upward thrust in reputation for numerous lengthy-distance rail lines, consistent with one tour operator searching at 2021 European bookings (Zenker & Kock, 2020). While the boom in railway bookings is possible because of protection issues and airport constraints, there is a desire that hobby will maintain for different reasons.
The Impact on Animals and Biodiversity
COVID quarantine around the world has allowed certain animals to invade human territory, but the epidemic has helped protect some of the world’s most economically vulnerable and biodiversity areas. The lack of patrols has increased illegal fishing and poaching, increased deforestation, and left millions of people in extreme poverty (Abbas et al., 2021). This led to the loss of biodiversity as people became increasingly dependent on indigenous timber, bushmeat, and fuel. Increased land use and development increase the risk of infectious diseases by bringing people closer to pathogen-carrying wildlife and disrupting disease-free ecological processes. Nearly 75% of emerging infectious diseases come from other animals, and increased land use and exploitation of infectious diseases by bringing people closer to pathogen-carrying wildlife and disrupting disease-free ecological processes. Nature and its services generate nearly $ 4 trillion in economic value, which is more than half of the world’s GDP (Winter et al., 2020). Biodiversity has traditionally been a lower priority than climate change, but since 2020, government and industry leaders are aware that both need to be addressed (Olsen, 2020). In addition to health, biodiversity is essential to the economy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, since the pandemic is strongly connected with energy use and human activity, it has a significant impact on the environment. The changes that appeared along with the pandemic and lockdowns had changed the approaches to energy consumption and environmental sustainability. Overall, the pandemic has positively influenced the sustainability trends associated with tourism and its consequences for the environment. Such major aspects as biodiversity, climate change, and socio-economic factors are affected by the COVID-19 in the context of the tourism industry.
References
Abbas, J., Mubeen, R., Iorember, P. T., Raza, S., & Mamirkulova, G. (2021). Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on tourism: transformational potential and implications for a sustainable recovery of the travel and leisure industry. Current Research in Behavioral Sciences, 2, 100033. Web.
Abbasi, K. R., Abbas, J., & Tufail, M. (2021). Revisiting electricity consumption, price, and real GDP: A modified sectoral level analysis from Pakistan. Energy Policy, 149, 112087. Web.
Cuomo, M. T., Tortora, D., Foroudi, P., Giordano, A., Festa, G., & Metallo, G. (2021). Digital transformation and tourist experience co-design: Big social data for planning cultural tourism. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 162, 120345. Web.
Dabwor, D. T., Iorember, P. T., & Yusuf Danjuma, S. (2020). Stock market returns, globalization and economic growth in Nigeria: Evidence from volatility and cointegrating analyses. Journal of Public Affairs, e2393. Web.
Goshit, G. G., Jelilov, G., Iorember, P. T., Celik, B., & Davd‐Wayas, O. M. (2020). Asymmetric effects of monetary policy shocks on output growth in Nigeria: Evidence from nonlinear ARDL and Hatemi‐J causality tests. Journal of Public Affairs, e2449. Web.
Iorember, P. T., Goshit, G. G., & Dabwor, D. T. (2020). Testing the nexus between renewable energy consumption and environmental quality in Nigeria: The role of broad‐based financial development. African Development Review, 32(2), 163-175. Web.
Iorember, P. T., Usman, O., & Jelilov, G. (2019). Asymmetric effects of renewable energy consumption, trade openness and economic growth on environmental quality in Nigeria and South Africa. Web.
Joo, D., Xu, W., Lee, J., Lee, C. K., & Woosnam, K. M. (2021). Residents’ perceived risk, emotional solidarity, and support for tourism amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 19, 100553. Web.
Jordan, E. J., Moran, C., & Godwyll, J. M. (2021). Does tourism really cause stress? A natural experiment utilizing ArcGIS Survey123. Current Issues in Tourism, 24(1), 1-15. Web.
Lin, X., & Kishore, R. (2021). Social media-enabled healthcare: A conceptual model of social media affordances, online social support, and health behaviors and outcomes. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 166, 120574. Web.
Mamirkulova, G., Mi, J., Abbas, J., Mahmood, S., Mubeen, R., & Ziapour, A. (2020). New Silk Road infrastructure opportunities in developing tourism environment for residents better quality of life. Global Ecology and Conservation, 24, e01194. Web.
Mubeen, R., Han, D., Abbas, J., & Hussain, I. (2020). The effects of market competition, capital structure, and CEO duality on firm performance: A mediation analysis by incorporating the GMM model technique. Sustainability, 12(8), 3480. Web.
Olsen, D. H. (2020). Pilgrimage, religious tourism, biodiversity, and natural sacred sites. Religious Tourism and the Environment, 23-41.
Usman, O., Iorember, P. T., & Olanipekun, I. O. (2019). Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in India: the effects of energy consumption and democracy. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(13), 13390-13400. Web.
Winter, P. L., Selin, S., Cerveny, L., & Bricker, K. (2020). Outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, and sustainability. Sustainability, 12(1), 81. Web.
Wut, T. M., Xu, J. B., & Wong, S. M. (2021). Crisis management research (1985–2020) in the hospitality and tourism industry: A review and research agenda. Tourism Management, 85, 104307. Web.
Zenker, S., & Kock, F. (2020). The coronavirus pandemic–A critical discussion of a tourism research agenda. Tourism management, 81, 104164. Web.
Cultural Diversity In Modern Society
Culture is a concept that could be hard to understand, let alone measure, sometimes. As we go through with our lives, we meet a wide variety of very different people who carry very different experiences. Sometimes, these people’s worldviews and opinion may vary wildly from what we are used to. In this case, everyone needs to remember that mutual respect is a basic concept every human should employ when interacting with others.
An example of a group of people who are different from me is generation Z or Zoomers, as I myself am a Millennial. Often, I can see that our opinions on some important matters such as environment protection, veganism or queer theory are, in fact, quite different. This becomes a cause for discussions which can quickly turn into conflicts and outright hostility from both sides, which I am not proud of. As a result of these conflicts, I have been called insensitive and blamed for not caring for environment or for being a consumer of animal suffering. Zoomers tend to accuse the people who do not support veganism of paying for cruelty towards animals, as well as they often try to scorn the queer theory and deny the existence of transgender people. I, personally, have been shamed for liking meat, and when I tried to point out veganism’s flaws, I have met aggression and ignorance. I cannot say that I am entirely right in my opinions – in fact, I understand that I am biased – however, I think that no one should be accused of cruelty for eating meat. Moreover, I am also firmly convinced that transgender rights are human rights, and will continue to defend my stand on it.
My expectations now that I know that young people can be not so open about other people’s worldviews have not really changed. In my opinion, humankind always has something to argue about, and the conflicts are a part of our nature. Moreover, truth is often revealed in discussion, and a healthy debate is always welcome when it comes to differences in views. I think my main accountability here is to ensure I am civil and respectful in interactions with other people, even when the issue is sensitive to me or when I am met with aggression. As an adult, I must strive to be open to hearing all arguments to my opinion and refrain from insults, accusations, and victim blaming.
Cultural communication in the modern world is becoming more dynamic and international. Intercultural relations of today presuppose equality of local cultures as opposed to the global unification of culture. Moreover, intercultural communication leads to the enrichment of the national cultures of different regions and countries of the world. The processes of international cultural exchange, of cultural diversity are the basis for the development of civilization, an indispensable condition for movement along the path to progress. Metaxa and Ely (2020) emphasize that “in these multicultural societies of today, people value different things, believe in different authorities, follow different customs” (p. 49). Culture forms systems of reference points for a person, people, nation, civilization, which allows you to determine your place in the world and identify yourself with a particular community. Cultural ties are a constant component of communication between peoples and the ability to convey the originality and aesthetic diversity of your culture is precious to me.
I think that today, it is more important than ever to support cultural pluralism, to protect racial, religious, and linguistic identity of every human. According to Stuart and Ward (2018), “the willingness to engage in integration processes, as opposed to segregation or assimilation, is predicated on the beliefs that diversity is a valuable resource and should be accommodated” (p. 5). The most important question in this regard: what within the world can unite representatives of different cultures? Is it just the inevitability of coexistence within a limited environment or is there a certain internationalism of our planet as a whole? I think that the answer is both – we live and develop together, and thus we should strive for cultural diversity to ensure that we see the world from as many perspectives as possible.
Multiculturalism is, in its essence, a driving force that brings together the differences that make us who we are, and tries to establish peace between many variables of human nature. The multitude of aspects in which lies the self-identification of any group that is bound by its own set of rules, practices, rituals and historical legacy, contains the concept of a culture as we know it. In an ever-going globalization of the world, a person is constantly at the border of many cultures, be it because of their birth and growing up circumstances, travelling, or family setting. Flache (2018) states that “cultural differences continue to remain in many realms of human life, for example, in the form of technological boundaries” (p. 996). A human’s identity is shaped by the cultural experiences they have had, and each of us can represent many different cultures at once.
I think that in order to successfully integrate multiple cultures into one’s identity – and by successfully I mean to be able to share and take pride in them – one needs to understand the impact of each culture. To know and recognize how a cultural experience influences one’s perception of themselves and their life, is, in my opinion, what a person can do to make the multicultural integration as fruitful as possible.
The cultural diversity of different nations and intercultural communication between them is expressed in certain places or events. While each ethnic group celebrates only its own holidays, speaks only its own language, there is no interaction. When people of varied nations are offered an opportunity to tell about their culture, share knowledge, language, customs and holidays, and educate others, then interaction begins. This is the basis of cultural diversity, in my opinion – the willingness to share your cultural legacy with the world, and not hide it only for your own people to see.
When choosing an active life position, a strategy that meets the needs of a modern dynamic, rapidly developing social reality, the individual is more likely to achieve a sense of identity integrity. The open-mindedness allows us to navigate in the surrounding reality and comprehend ourselves from different social positions. If the passive path is chosen, then problems may arise in the formation of a harmonious identity. As a result, a lack of coherence can make it difficult to take full advantage of the opportunities that modern society presents to individuals. Thus, it is crucial for every person to develop their understanding of cultural diversity in order to become a versatile individual.
References
Flache, A. (2018). Between monoculture and cultural polarization: Agent-based models of the interplay of social influence and cultural diversity. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 25(4), 996–1023. Web.
Metaxa, V., & Ely, E. W. (2020). Cultural diversity. Compelling Ethical Challenges in Critical Care and Emergency Medicine, 49–55. Web.
Stuart, J., & Ward, C. (2018). Exploring everyday experiences of cultural diversity: The construction, validation, and application of the normative multiculturalism scale. European Journal of Social Psychology, 49(2), 313–332. Web.
Rutger Bregman’s Statement Of Poverty
Rutger Bregman’s TED talk on poverty approaches the global problem to define core reasons why poverty does not limit the intellectual potential of the poor. The speaker focuses his speech on exploring how despite the popular opinion that poor people deliberately make poor choices, their choices are influenced by poor living conditions (Bregman). The author suggests that eliminating poor living conditions through a monthly basic income guarantee will be more effective than providing the poor with essential goods.
Even though the presented proposal could be effective in eliminating poverty, I do not think that such a program would be possible to implement on a wide scale. In my opinion, such activities would benefit developing countries and regions where most of the population lives below the poverty line. There, in conditions where the majority of the population struggles to live, the implementation of guaranteed income programs could result in a significant increase in quality of living conditions and level of education. Additional income for the population could also provide a foundation for entrepreneurship and the creation of workplaces.
On the other hand, such proposals could result in minimal or adverse outcomes in economically developed countries unless the government provides additional attention to problems connected to poverty. The problems include lack of affordable housing options, low job opportunities, limited access to healthcare, etc., resulting in homelessness, substance abuse, and mental illnesses for the poor population. The problems contribute to the segregation of the poor population, limiting their opportunities for social interactions and development, following the symbolic interactionism theory. Thus, if the proposal also implied additional support for the poor from the government, it would have positive outcomes. Otherwise, the poor population would be unable to turn the additional income into improving living conditions and resort to a functionalism mindset, continuing the struggle to maintain a budget and make poor financing decisions.
While poverty is not beneficial to the development and progress of the world’s economy, there is a group of people and organizations who benefit from such proposals currently not being in place. Banks offer credit cards to the population benefiting from fees and monthly payments and making a profit from selling houses at auctions. As mentioned in Bergman’s speech, fast food companies benefit from offering low-quality yet affordable food for the people who are more interested in filling their hunger now than tier health status. Finally, the speaker mentioned that there would be more talents, e.g., scientists, entrepreneurs, and writers if there were no poverty. However, additional competition is not favorable for the privileged part of society with more access to higher education and higher job opportunities. The competition aspect is also related to the sociological paradigm of the conflict of inequality. The conflict theory suggests that the upper class of society supports poverty and inequality to maintain its power and status. The conflict theory only takes place in economically developed countries, proving that the proposal is suited more for developing countries.
Therefore, I think that Bregman’s approach to poverty and the proposal of guaranteed regular income is more suitable for developing countries. In conditions where increasing the population’s income level would result in significant progress in the economic development of the region and country, the implementation of Bregman’s proposal would have positive consequences. However, in conditions where implementation of the proposal is obstructed by symbolic interactionism and inequality conflict, the proposal could have minimal effects.
Work Cited
Bregman, Rutger. “Poverty isn’t a Lack of Character; it’s a Lack of Cash.” TED, 2017, Web.