Responsible tourists pay attention to preserving both the environment and culture of place they visit. Some people think it is impossible to be a responsible tourist. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

People are travelling and exploring the world now more than ever, leading to a huge impact on the local environment. While some people believe it is big corporations and governments’ job to protect mother nature, I firmly believe that everyone has a role to play in creating responsible travel and tourism.

Therefore

I have to disagree almost entirely with the given statement. One could argue that it is pointless for individuals to take responsibility to protect local heritage and culture because negative effects on the environment are inherent to the industry. Even though tourists take all kinds of actions by themselves, there are larger issues that are far beyond their capabilities to resolve.

For example

, land-use changes associated with tourism (cutting and destruction of mangroves, excavations and construction) can result in erosion, pollution as well as a negative impact on wildlife migration and breeding patterns. Individuals are unlikely to reverse these results caused by large developers and local governments.

However

, my conviction is that tourists acting responsibly can make a significant difference to local environment and culture protection.

This

can be seen by divers rescuing whale sharks by cutting fishing ropes, not leaving rubbish behind, carrying reusable water bottles, respecting natural habitat and using bicycles as possible as they can to reduce carbon footprint etc. As a guest, we may be unable to exert influence on how the local government reshape their natural resources, but that does not mean we can give up choice to shoulder the responsibility to care for local culture and heritage. After all, cultural heritages and magnificent wildlife are assets of the planet, which benefits humankind as a whole. To conclude, I strongly believe that, as a citizen of the Earth planet, each individual has the responsibility to protect natural and cultural heritage wherever he or she travels, though governments, business and communities must

also

do all they can to create an environmentally friendly tourism industry.