This article was fisrt published by Al Watan newspaper
In discussions about the world's climate and social crises, the focus is often on the "green" side of the equation. The ocean falls and marine wealth is forgotten because it's a world we benefit from without living in it. Or, as expressed by the United Nations representative Mr. Anthony Guterres at the Ocean Conference 2022, we are currently experiencing what can be called an ocean emergency. This underscores the urgent need to take serious steps to support the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 14 (Life Below Water). From this perspective, the concept of blue tourism has been highlighted. It encompasses tourism and its management where various maritime activities can be responsibly engaged in, contributing to building communities, protecting the environment and marine wealth, and developing the economy. Additionally, it includes continuous and joint research and development efforts among various stakeholders at the local, national, regional, and international levels.
Maritime and beach tourism, in its various forms, attracts many people around the world. It represents an important economic factor for many countries, and the sector is expected to grow by 6.7% by 2026. This growth directly and indirectly causes significant environmental damage. Hence, there is a need to promote more responsible and sustainable tourism practices in coastal and underwater areas, ensuring a positive impact on the community, local culture, environment, workers in maritime tourism, and the economy. The importance of discussing blue tourism at this time is specific due to the global tourism sector's recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The substantial expenditures and revival plans represent a rare opportunity to work hard on changing the tourism industry to make it more sustainable.
The tourism sector also provides a good opportunity for governments and major institutions to implement environmental protection goals by individuals and organizations, ensuring practices that enhance biodiversity conservation and increase tourist attraction through the development of national parks, natural reserves, and other protected areas, including coastlines.
The blue economy, which connects all economic activities related to the sea such as maritime and beach tourism, maritime transport, and fishing, welcomes all solutions that can develop the sector more sustainably, where all parties share in infrastructure, logistics, and energy sources. It's important to find solutions through blue tourism as one of the components of the blue economy to reduce the disastrous effects of poverty and climate change. This calls for the preservation of natural, material, and cultural resources as different lifestyles dependent on the sea in their formation. Focusing on the marine environment in blue tourism makes discussing sustainable solutions for it continuously crucial. This includes promoting marine activities that contribute to environmental conservation, such as diving to clean the ocean floor, where tourists are motivated by love and passion, significantly reducing negative impacts on the marine environment. Marketing tourism also involves working on sustainable strategies that influence tourist behavior to make it more responsible.
Coral reefs and mangroves are among the treasures of the Red Sea, important sources for tourism development, as their locations are home to many living creatures that share our planet. The Red Sea is an important destination for lovers of maritime tourism worldwide due to its natural wealth. Research published in 2022 indicates that the Red Sea attracts more than 1.2 million tourists annually, contributing more than $1.2 billion in income and providing approximately 275,000 jobs in total. Additionally, the Red Sea attracts many investors, individuals, and institutions, particularly for beach tourism, due to the warm climate throughout the year and moderate wave activity. However, the Red Sea region faces many challenges requiring development and the application of the blue economy approach. Many coastal areas rich in natural resources still need development, pollution resulting from infrastructure and tourism services, and the decline and destruction of life around coral reefs. For these challenges, the Red Sea coasts are among the most important areas to be preserved and subjected to sustainable policies.
Under the slogan "Saudi Blue," the Kingdom, led by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has shown a clear interest and desire to develop regional and international cooperation to support Goal 14 (Life Below Water), as announced at the Ocean Conference and the Riyadh Blue Dialogue, summarized in two points. The first is the management, protection, and conservation of the marine and coastal environment. The second is supporting and encouraging scientific knowledge, developing research capabilities, and transferring marine technology. These goals align with Vision 2030, which also includes many plans and strategies aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It's also worth mentioning the efforts of the Red Sea International Company, which announced development plans along the Red Sea coast, with a slogan that prioritizes humans and nature in their operations.
In summary, as an individual, all you need to do during your next maritime tourism activities is to act more responsibly and be mindful that the sea belongs to everyone, including creatures we have yet to discover. Keep the beach clean, don't disturb the coral, let turtles pass peacefully, adhere to resort instructions, and avoid catching what you don't need. And always remember, the sea is a different world, we are its guests, and it's the guest's duty to respect the hosts.
By: Abdulrahman Kamal