The Tourism Council had a featured presentation by Megan Epler Wood of EplerWood International, an international consulting company that focuses on sustainable tourism economies that invest in improved local well-being, as part of its annual meeting at the Spring House on Oct. 6.
Executive Director Jessica Willi introduced Epler Wood as a descendant of James Sands, whose name appears on Settler’s Rock at the north end of the island. Willi said she had first heard Epler Wood speak on the “invisible burden of tourism,” and had invited her to address the Tourism Council on this topic.
Epler Wood described tourism, in general, as being traditionally managed as an “economic growth opportunity” in the “short term,” with little regard given to the sustainability of the industry in any particular place. She described the problems that begin to crop up with tourism over time, such as housing shortages, public safety issues, and excess utility usage. These types of problems can have an effect on the local environment and feelings of socialwell-being, a phenomenon she called the “invisible burden of tourism” on ecosystems and biodiversity, exacerbating tensions in the local community between the “haves and the have-nots,” and leading to feelings
