*4.3. Environmental Aspect*

Particular emphasis is placed on the optimal use of environmental resources, which are fundamental elements of tourism development, while maintaining essential ecological processes and conserving natural resources and biological diversity (UNWTON 2021). A wide range of economic sectors have joined strategies to reduce climate change, and tourism is no stranger. Thus, strategies can be promoted that contribute to lowering the carbon footprint through the management of sustainable destinations and the construction of ecological tourist infrastructure (Urkullo 2015). In this regard, 73.2% of La Florida's residents affirm that they always promote the social responsibility of tourists to protect natural attractions, while 9.4% do so regularly. Nonetheless, this leaves 17.4% with whom local governments must to work to achieve greater awareness (Table 4). Meanwhile, 78.5% claim to actively collaborate in programs, workshops, and training for the care and preservation of green areas, while 15.5% do so regularly. Similarly, 66.8% confirm that they always take into account the conservation of local resources. They also note a commitment from the local government, in which the municipality promotes action and awareness to maintain green areas in good condition.

**Table 4.** Promotion of social responsibility to safeguard natural attractions, active collaboration in workshops, and conservation of biodiversity.


Source: Prepared by the research team on the basis of data from the survey of La Florida's residents.

Excessively high tourist influxes are known to entail a series of negative aspects, e.g., environmental pollution, degradation of ecosystems, soil erosion, and even desertification (Drius et al. 2019). Challenges introduced by overtourism have also been reported in Barcelona, Amsterdam, and Rio de Janeiro (Brtnický et al. 2020).

Our results indicate that, while the community is positively predisposed toward the preservation and care of the environment, it needs a more concrete understanding of what environmental sustainability encompasses. The entire community must be involved in developing plans and strategies, not only in terms of local knowledge but also in taking action and implementing sustainable tourism infrastructure, since the greatest threat to the planet is the construction of new infrastructure (Davenport and Davenport 2006). The seriousness of global environmental problems now requires rapid action at the highest level to avoid catastrophic degradation (Thommandru et al. 2021). Such actions are not only the responsibility of government, but also of each individual, each district, and each community, all of whom must help in any way they can to achieve this objective (Thommandru et al. 2021).

SDGs 7 and 9 assert that tourism activity can incentivize national governments to renew infrastructure and modernize industry. When based on the use of renewable energy sources, this can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mitigating climate change, and implementing new and innovative energy solutions (ONU 2022).
