Tourism has become an important industry in the last century

Increased travelling and recreation have a significant impact on the natural environment. According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2019), the CO₂ footprint of tourism increased by 40% between 2009 and 2013. Tourism has been figuratively compared to a fire – if you can use it, it is very useful for cooking and getting warm. However, the ignorant use of fire can cause great damage. In connection with this, there is now a need to control the environmental impacts of tourism, to regulate visits to protected areas, and the terms ‘ecotourism’ and ‘sustainable tourism’ have been introduced, which we will introduce on the following pages.