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Tourists in a lot of ways can have a heavy impact on a country’s cultural heritage. For example, by booking excursions that are based around the cultural heritage you are encouraging important practices and traditions to be passed down. The same can be said for local artistry, “rising popularity of the markets encourages locals to continue crafting and creating goods that reflect their culture” (Whittaker et al., 2021). Marketplaces that are high foot traffic locations for tourists can be extremely important for a country’s community. For a single community, cultural impacts and economic impacts can go hand in hand. This is pointed out by Nyaupane (2023), “For 44 countries, the tourism industry contributes to more than 15% of total employment.” Tourism can make amazing improvements to a community but there are some things to keep in mind. When traveling to be a sustainable tourist, it’s important to only appreciate the culture and not appropriate it or dampen it. By better understanding different cultures, you are setting up the world for better social outcomes. Coghlan (2023) furthers this point by pointing out that tourism can, “better cross-cultural understanding, mutual empathy and tolerance.”

The country of Bhutan is noteably sustainable as well, it is one of the only carbon neutral countries. Bhutan offsets carbon footprints produced by both locals and tourists alike through hydro-powered renewable energy and its vast forest land, which functions as a natural carbon sink.