Environmental impacts of tourism in the Gulf and the Red Sea

The Gulf and Red Sea possess diverse coastal and marine environments that support rapidly expanding mass tourism. Despite the associated environmental risks, there is no analysis of the tourism-related literature or recent analysis of impacts. Environmental issues reported in 101 publications (25 from the Gulf, 76 from the Red Sea) include 61 purported impacts (27 from the Gulf, 45 from the Red Sea). Gulf literature includes quantitative studies (68% publications) and reviews (32%), and addresses mostly land reclamation and artificial habitats. Most Gulf studies come from Iran and UAE (64%). Red Sea literature includes quantitative studies (81%) and reviews (11%), with most studies occurring in Egypt (70%). The most published topics relate to coral breakage and its management. A full account of tourism’s environmental impacts is constrained by limited tourism data, confounding of impacts with other coastal developments, lack of baseline information, shifting baselines, and fragmentation of research across disciplines.

► Environmental impacts of tourism in the Gulf and Red Sea are documented in 100 papers.
► 25 Papers have been published about tourism impact in the Gulf, 75 in the Red Sea.
► Gulf tourism literature addresses mostly land reclamation and artificial habitats.
► Red Sea tourism literature addresses mostly diver impacts and their management.
► There is no complete framework of tourism’s potential impacts in either region.