Negative Impacts on Tourism
Human behaviour has influenced the Grand Canyon National Park in many ways, including air and water pollution, wildlife endangerment and noise pollution. The Grand Canyon has an enormously diverse wildlife, including about 89 species of mammal, 355 species of bird, 17 species of fish, 50 species of reptile, 9 species of amphibian and over 1,500 species of plant. Humans have intruded and introduced foreign plant and animal species into the park, which native species have to contend with for food, water, shelter and space. Wildlife is also affected by litter that is dropped in the park recklessly by tourists.
________________________________________________ Environment ____________________________________________________________
Tourists ignorant practices impact factors of the environment, such as climate, wildlife, air quality and waste. Sound pollution caused by scenic and commercial flights over the park have resulted in the disruption of habitats for native animals and in many instances, tourism has negatively impacted the species which could further lead to their extinction or harm to their wellbeing. Figure 1.2 displays the tourists on sight of the Grand Canyon from 2013 to 2015, which exclaims that the Canyon is gaining visitors each year that provides more environmental issues as the canyon would need more transportation methods to visit this natural wonder. Air pollution also creates a haze that makes it hard to see the canyon in some areas, which is created from small particles in the air caused by coal-burning power plants. This also is contributed from organic compound and soot that influence the reduction of the visibility. Additionally, components of the Grand Canyon are decaying due to tourism, which could lead to the destruction of the parameter that could render some places around the canyon as unapproachable. Water in some streams has been tainted with faecal coliform from trespassing cattle and human waste, such as raw sewage running into the streams. The river ecosystems in the park were altered even further when the Glen Canyon Dam was built in 1963 became trapped by the dam in Lake Powell, and the river now runs clear. Air pollution has been immensely generated from nearby urban areas, such as exhaust fumes from vehicles and burning fossil fuels, like coal, oil or gas, which has floated into the Canyon.
Tourists ignorant practices impact factors of the environment, such as climate, wildlife, air quality and waste. Sound pollution caused by scenic and commercial flights over the park have resulted in the disruption of habitats for native animals and in many instances, tourism has negatively impacted the species which could further lead to their extinction or harm to their wellbeing. Figure 1.2 displays the tourists on sight of the Grand Canyon from 2013 to 2015, which exclaims that the Canyon is gaining visitors each year that provides more environmental issues as the canyon would need more transportation methods to visit this natural wonder. Air pollution also creates a haze that makes it hard to see the canyon in some areas, which is created from small particles in the air caused by coal-burning power plants. This also is contributed from organic compound and soot that influence the reduction of the visibility. Additionally, components of the Grand Canyon are decaying due to tourism, which could lead to the destruction of the parameter that could render some places around the canyon as unapproachable. Water in some streams has been tainted with faecal coliform from trespassing cattle and human waste, such as raw sewage running into the streams. The river ecosystems in the park were altered even further when the Glen Canyon Dam was built in 1963 became trapped by the dam in Lake Powell, and the river now runs clear. Air pollution has been immensely generated from nearby urban areas, such as exhaust fumes from vehicles and burning fossil fuels, like coal, oil or gas, which has floated into the Canyon.
________________________________________________ Economy ______________________________________________________________
While the growth of tourism has brought prices up on stores and properties such as the Montelucia Resort & Spa, Scottsdale (see figure 2.5) many locals are paying triple the amount of money when purchasing everyday goods. Tourism have influenced shops stocking products not needed or necessary for locals, which make daily grocery shopping difficult. Another negative impact of tourism in the Grand Canyon is the demand for installing more holiday homes, which makes housing too expensive for local residents. Although there are many jobs open from the park, jobs are mainly seasonal which mostly indicates when the seasons of tourism is low, the employees are low paid while working for long hours.
________________________________________________ Society/culture tourism _________________________________________________________
The native Americans find it hard to inherit their culture as the population continues to grow with the increment of tourism. In the Grand Canyon, infrastructure may not be able to adequate to deal with increased levels of tourism, thus leading to overcrowding and poor sanitation, which may further lead to diseases both to the tourists as well as local people. The intrusion of outsiders in the area may disturb the local culture and create unrest among the people. It has recently been reported by the US government that the Canyon has limited the amount of tour guides that specialise in the heritage of the park, as it is currently becoming rare to find people that have the knowledge of the culture of the park, which negatively impacts the local's culture, as it would be difficult to understand the history when culture is lost. The local people may imitate the lifestyles of tourists through the loss of native customs and traditions. Some people may enter criminal activities to fetch easy money from tourists which leads to increased crime and anti-social activities and loss of moral and religious values. Therefore, due to the influences of tourism, the local communities surrounding the Grand Canyon can be affected culturally and socially.
The native Americans find it hard to inherit their culture as the population continues to grow with the increment of tourism. In the Grand Canyon, infrastructure may not be able to adequate to deal with increased levels of tourism, thus leading to overcrowding and poor sanitation, which may further lead to diseases both to the tourists as well as local people. The intrusion of outsiders in the area may disturb the local culture and create unrest among the people. It has recently been reported by the US government that the Canyon has limited the amount of tour guides that specialise in the heritage of the park, as it is currently becoming rare to find people that have the knowledge of the culture of the park, which negatively impacts the local's culture, as it would be difficult to understand the history when culture is lost. The local people may imitate the lifestyles of tourists through the loss of native customs and traditions. Some people may enter criminal activities to fetch easy money from tourists which leads to increased crime and anti-social activities and loss of moral and religious values. Therefore, due to the influences of tourism, the local communities surrounding the Grand Canyon can be affected culturally and socially.