It is many people’s dream to go to a beautiful island on holiday. However, islands are usually quite small and many of them are unable to deal with the number of tourists that visit them.

Islands are usually most beautiful when few people know about them. As soon as they appear in a newspaper article or on a TV programme, they are likely to have many more visitors. While many locals welcome the money that tourists bring to the economy, tourism can have a negative effect on the environment of a small island.

They cause pollution on land and in the sea. Some governments have decided to close particular islands so that they can recover. However, when these islands open again they still have the problem of too many tourists.

Countries need to find a different solution. Perhaps they should only allow a small number to visit. This is what the Galapagos Islands have done. Only small groups are allowed to visit certain sites and they must travel with an experienced guide. They can only stay in places for a short period of time. This helps to protect the wildlife on the island and in the sea around the island.