What is Blue Tourism and What does this Mean for the World?

Last updated: 9 October 2026

Blue tourism is an increasingly important type of tourism. But what is it, why does it matter and how sustainable is it? This article explains.

There are plenty of buzzwords in travel, especially when it comes to sustainable travel. This article explains blue tourism: what it is, the activities it involves, its impacts and what it means for the future of travel.

What is blue tourism?

Blue tourism in general refers to tourism relating to the marine environment such as coastal areas, cruising, beaches and so on. The term likely comes from ‘blue economy’, an economic term relating again to the marine environment – its preservation, exploitation, and regeneration. It is often used in terms of international development, especially when referring to a sustainable approach to developed coastal areas and resources. Coastal and marine tourism are major economic contributors in countries where the coastline (and the sea or ocean itself in some cases) is both attractive and accessible to the general population. According to the OECD, coastal and marine tourism is one of the largest sectors of the global ocean economy.

Blue tourism is also the name of a project, Blue Tourism Opportunities, which focused on ensuring that coastal and maritime tourism around major Regional Seas is managed, governed, and planned in a way which encourages sustainability. It was a research and innovation project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The project is explained in more detail below.

Examples of blue tourism activities 

When it comes to blue tourism in general, there are plenty of activities which fall into this category. They take place all over the world and include:

• Beach-based tourism such as sunbathing, snorkelling, swimming, and visiting beach clubs/bars
• Coastal walks or hikes
• Coastal wildlife watching
• Sailing and/or yachting
• Boat tours such as glass-bottomed boat trips, dolphin/whale watching boat tours, sightseeing cruises, and so on
• Cruises and river cruises
• Watersports such as water-skiing, surfing, wakeboarding, parasailing, and paddleboarding
• Fishing, either from the land or a boat
• Scuba diving

Not all of these are specifically ‘tourist’ activities, but many tourists do engage in these activities when visiting a new location. Beach resort tourism and cruise tourism are two examples of mass-market blue tourism.

Mass-market blue tourism

As mentioned, two examples of mass-market blue tourism are beach resorts and cruises. Beach resorts, typically meaning a coastal area that people visit on holiday which has a lot of hotels, restaurants, bars, retail outlets and excursion opportunities, are a huge part of tourism. They are found almost anywhere that has an accessible beach, from Spain to the Maldives to the beautiful Greek islands. With rental apartments and supersized all-inclusive hotels, there are many different types of holiday to be had within the category of beach resort tourism. 

Cruise tourism is another example of mass-market blue tourism. By their very nature, cruises take place on the water – whether that’s a river cruise with 250 passengers along the Danube or a trip to the Caribbean with thousands of other guests, cruises are a brilliant example of blue tourism. Passengers experience both the open water and a range of coastal ports.

Is blue tourism sustainable?

There is a lot of research into whether blue tourism, at the rate it currently occurs, is sustainable. Blue tourism brings with it a high amount of pressure on the natural maritime resources that make it so popular; for example, cruises generate a lot of waste which has an impact on marine life and the immediate ecosystem. While there are laws and rules in place when it comes to disposing of waste, it is undeniable that there is a negative effect on the environment in terms of pollution. 

And with other examples of blue tourism, we can see almost a catch-22. People want to visit beautiful areas, because they’re so lovely – but the more popular they get, and the more people visit, the less beautiful they become over time thanks to increased footfall and the general negative impact of humans on the environment. A specific example of this is the closure of Maya Beach in Thailand – a stunning location, made famous in Leonardo diCaprio’s The Beach (2000) – in 2018. Located on the island of Koh Phi Phi Leh, the beach is truly breathtaking.

But with 5,000 visitors per day flocking to the bay after seeing the movie and wanting to experience it for themselves, it became severely polluted. Over 90% of the surrounding coral reef died, and the decision was made to temporarily close the beach to tourists. The beach reopened in January 2022, after seeing a welcome return of wildlife in the area, with restrictions in place to limit the number of visitors per day. This in itself presented a further catch-22 situation: the area relies on blue tourism to generate income.

There are of course other impacts of blue tourism in terms of sustainability and the environment for coastal areas. More hotels means more food (and food waste!) as well as more electricity being used, an increase in the amount of transportation vehicles on the road, further noise pollution, and more littering. Natural habitats can be destroyed by the increase in human activity, and there is more pressure put on endangered species too. From soil erosion to the overuse of water, blue tourism has a huge impact on the environment. 

Economic sustainability 

The catch-22 of areas and businesses relying on blue tourism to generate income in coastal areas, has already been mentioned, and it is an important point. But it goes deeper than that; for example, there is a lot of expenditure leakage which occurs throughout the tourism industry. Money spent to visit these coastal areas does not necessarily directly benefit these locations – if you book a stay at a British-owned chain hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh, for example, the bulk of the profit generated from this booking is going to someone in the UK rather than benefiting the Egyptian economy. Put simply, tourist expenditure is not equally distributed across all tourism stakeholders.

Mass tourism in general, and blue tourism in coastal locations, can and often does lead to a rise in the cost of living for local people in these areas. Businesses put prices up when they know they have a captive audience (tourists, in this case) but of course this means that the prices also go up for the people who live in these places. This means citizens have a much lower purchasing power.

On top of this, much of blue tourism is seasonal. People are much less likely to visit gorgeous coastal locations if it’s raining, cold, or windy – tourists prefer to spend their time in the warm sunshine, experiencing clear blue skies and unhindered views. This means there will be times of the year in which locations see a decline in visitors and tourism. In turn, this leads to job insecurity reflected in low wages coupled with a high workload during busy times. Again, it is generally the local citizens who are impacted by this.

The United Nations on blue tourism & the blue economy

The UN recently described the blue economy, relative to blue tourism and sustainability, as something which “comprises a range of economic sectors and related policies that together determine whether the use of ocean resources is sustainable. An important challenge of the blue economy is to understand and better manage the many aspects of oceanic sustainability, ranging from sustainable fisheries to ecosystem health to preventing pollution. 

Secondly, the blue economy challenges us to realize that the sustainable management of ocean resources will require collaboration across borders and sectors through a variety of partnerships, and on a scale that has not been previously achieved. This is a tall order, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) who face significant limitations.”

One of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals is ‘Life below water’ (SDG 14). To this end, they have a vested interest in ensuring that blue tourism is sustainable and continues to be so in order to meet this goal. The goal itself is to Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, and the UN says that current efforts to protect marine life and everything that goes alongside that aren’t enough. They want to decrease illegal fishing and make fishing in general more sustainable, reduce marine pollution, increase scientific knowledge around ocean life and much more. In 2025, the High Seas Treaty (the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction) reached the 60 ratifications needed to come into force in January 2026, creating a framework for new marine protected areas in international waters.

The Blue Tourism Opportunities project

Blue Tourism Opportunities (BTO) was a project co-funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ programme. BTO is an example of the type of partnership mentioned by the UN in their description of blue economy.  The project aimed to identify where they can implement various environmental planning and sustainable management strategies for companies located in areas which see heavy blue tourism. 

Blue Tourism Opportunities say “the blue tourism sector has a special potential to encourage the development of new companies, which entails the implementation of actions that benefit both the improvement of the professional skills of graduates and university students with an entrepreneurial character in the knowledge of blue tourism as a greater involvement of the universities in the incorporation of educational programs of entrepreneurship in blue tourism in their curricula and the corresponding active participation of their professors.”

Essentially, it aimed to educate people about the impact of blue tourism and how to increase its sustainability by presenting information to students and graduates, as well as to universities to use in their course materials. 

Blue Tourism Opportunities’ objectives

The project had four main objectives:

1. The improvement of business skills, including the business social skills of graduates in higher education.
2. The implementation of curricula and training programs in universities that meet the needs of the blue tourism industry.
3. The improvement of the professional competence of university professors in relation to the MOOC method in areas related to entrepreneurship in blue tourism.
4. The use of mentoring as a collaboration and support tool between the university / professor /student on the blue tourism business spirit.

It aimed to achieve these objectives through training and mentorship.

What does blue tourism mean for the world?

In practical terms, blue tourism is made up of the wide range of coastal and marine activities described above.

However, it is also important to understand its environmental impact. The oceans are essential for making the planet liveable, which is why it is so important to protect and conserve them. According to the EPA, the acidity of the ocean has increased by around 25-30% since pre-industrial times- just one example of how human activity has affected marine life. With around 3 billion people relying on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods, protecting the world’s seas and oceans is vital.

There are already signs in which blue tourism is changing in order to be more sustainable. One example is that cruise lines are working to become more eco-friendly. Many new cruise ships run on liquefied natural gas (LNG), which produces less carbon dioxide and far less air pollution than conventional marine fuel, although environmental groups warn that leaks of methane (‘methane slip’) reduce its climate benefits. Cruise lines are also banning single-use plastic, investing in shore power, offsetting carbon emissions and more. Virgin Voyages’ ships have no buffet, a staple of most cruise ships, which cuts down food waste – and their balcony hammocks are purchased from a social enterprise that fosters women’s empowerment in rural Thailand.

Travellers can also help by choosing eco-friendly resorts, booking excursions that benefit the local economy, taking part in beach clean-ups, avoiding single-use plastic and following responsible guidelines when snorkelling or diving- such as never touching coral.

As companies involved in blue tourism become more sustainable, some products may change- for example, certain excursions may be limited or withdrawn- but these changes help to protect the marine environments that blue tourism depends on.

Blue tourism: FAQs

Below are answers to some of the most common questions about blue tourism.

Blue tourism- To conclude

Blue tourism is a huge and growing part of the tourism industry, but it depends on healthy oceans and coastlines. Managing it sustainably is essential for the environment, for local economies and for the future of the industry. If you found this article useful, you may also find these articles helpful-

• Sustainable Tourism Made Simple
• Why you Should Never Swim with Dolphins
• What is Ecotourism and Why is it so Important?
• 14 Important Environmental Impacts of Tourism with Explanations and Examples
• Cruise tourism explained
• What is overtourism?
• 23 Types of Water Transport to Keep you Afloat

About the author

Dr Hayley Stainton is a tourism academic, examiner and the founder of Tourism Teacher. She has a PhD in tourism and more than 20 years’ experience teaching travel and tourism at school and university level. Read more about Hayley