2020-01-13 GC Agenda - Item 10 - Attachment 2 - The Value of Tourism to the Noosa Community October 2019 FINAL REPORT

            visitors that disrupt social norms and/or produce negative changes in values or
            customs; and,
       •    The commercialisation of culture to the point where the ‘soul’ or identity of an area
            is lost.

Environmental Impacts of Tourism

Tourism can have positive and negative impacts on the environment22. In the positive sense,
tourism undertaken sensitively can provide increase recognition and awareness of key
environmental assets/areas. This, in turn, can foster a deeper connection to conservation
and preservation.

Tourism can also bring with it higher levels of taxes and revenue streams, which can be
utilised to fast track and/or introduce a higher level of investment in areas of significance.
This can encourage conservation, protection and regeneration of environmental areas,
and/or provide important community infrastructure that may not otherwise be able to be
funded.

However, if not managed and implemented appropriately, tourism may also impact on
environmentally sensitive areas through:

       •    Overuse of and/or encroachment of urban uses on environmental assets;
       •    Threatening natural resources;
       •    Increasing air and water pollution, as well as increasing waste products and,
       •    Having other local area impacts such as increased noise and litter.




22
     ibid

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