One of the most amazing activities one can experience is without doubt the joy of discovering new places, visiting cultural and historical monuments, admiring the beauty of natural treasures…however, experts are becoming concerned about the negative impact on the popular objects of tourist attention all over the world. The boom of tourism, together with global warming and natural disasters are threatening the state of tourist attractions and according to the latest news, soon, many of these may disappear for good!
Every two years, the World Monuments Fund issues a list of endangered cultural heritage sites. The whole project is not a fool’s crusade to save what cannot be saved. The Watch List has so far identified more than 450 sites in 90 countries. To create the list, the international panel of experts judges nominations by several criteria. Subsequently, money is provided by the organization to help prevent the spreading threat. Thanks to such attention, nearly 75 percent of the individual sites have been taken off the endangered list.
The major threat present the tourists themselves. Their mere presence changes the whole environment and gradually, places such as Machu Picchu, Luxor, or even the Galapagos Islands, Tibet, or the Everglades National Park in Florida are severely endangered. As a result, strict limitations must be implemented in order to prevent further damages.
On the other hand, there are other problems our world is facing, which are rather difficult to solve. Global warming is one of them. The Glacier National Park in Montana, or Mount Kilimanjaro or even the Great Barrier Reef are disappearing quickly. We need to start treating our planet with much more respect and be more careful and respectful when visiting popular tourist sites. If we don’t change our approach, we may lose many of these magnificent remainders of perfection for good.
