Lesson Plan

• Describe the positive and negative economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of tourism.
• Analyse how tourism dependence, seasonality and carrying‑capacity affect local economies and communities.
• Evaluate a range of sustainable‑tourism strategies (policy, community, environmental, economic, education).
• Apply the concept of carrying capacity to propose realistic improvements for a tourism destination.

• Projector and laptop
• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed handout with the impact table
• Group worksheets for analysis and strategy design
• Sticky notes for brainstorming
• Short video clip on overtourism (optional)

Show a recent news clip of overtourism at a popular destination to capture interest. Ask students to recall what they already know about tourism’s benefits to local economies. Explain that by the end of the lesson they will be able to identify key impacts and design sustainable tourism solutions.

1. Do‑now (5') – Think‑pair‑share: name a place you’ve visited and one positive and one negative effect of tourism there.
2. Mini‑lecture (10') – Using slides, present the four impact categories (economic, social, cultural, environmental) with examples.
3. Group analysis (15') – Each group works on a worksheet focusing on one impact category, listing positives, negatives, and related sustainability challenges.
4. Whole‑class discussion (10') – Groups share findings; teacher links them to concepts of carrying capacity and economic dependence.
5. Strategy workshop (15') – In the same groups, design a sustainable‑tourism initiative that incorporates policy, community, environmental, economic and education measures.
6. Exit ticket (5') – Individually write one key impact and one feasible strategy to mitigate it.

Summarise the main impacts of tourism and the range of strategies discussed. Collect exit tickets to check understanding, and assign homework: research a real‑world destination and write a brief report on its sustainable‑tourism practices.