Emerging Ocean Industries: Implications for Sustainable Tourism Development

Pressures on the ocean’s natural assets inevitably will increase in the coming years as world population growth, economic growth, and increased international trade generate increasing demands for marine sources of food, energy, minerals, and leisure pursuits. This article explores the consequences for coastal and marine tourism resulting both from its own growth and from the growth in the other established and emerging ocean industries. It estimates the present and future economic value of the world’s ocean industries and the contribution of the tourism industry in particular, identifying the drivers of growth in ocean industries including tourism. Several types of challenges to the sustainable development of coastal and marine tourism, shared in common with other ocean industries, are identified. The article concludes with a discussion of strategies to minimize the adverse impacts of growth so that tourism and other ocean industries can develop in more sustainable ways.