NOTE:This paper was published in an international scientific journal International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD). Volume 7 Issue 2, March-April 2023. ISSN: 2456 – 6470
Abstract
Sustainable tourism has become an increasingly popular field of research since the late 1980s. Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability. However, the sustainable tourism debate is patchy, disjointed and often flawed with false assumptions and arguments. This paper is a brief critique of some of the weaknesses in the sustainable tourism literature. In particular, it explores six issues that are often overlooked but must be addressed in research: the role of tourism demand, the nature of tourism resources, the imperative of intragenerational equity, the role of tourism in promoting socio-cultural progress, the measurement of sustainability, and forms of sustainable development. Indicators have been identified for all three aspects of sustainable tourism development - ecological, economic and social. The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) recently proposed the use of selected indicators for sustainable tourism. In order to be useful to tourism sector managers and administrators. The selected indicators are demand-driven; they respond to decision-makers’ need to know and they are practical for most nations or regions.
Introduction
Since the late 1980s, sustainable development has become a buzzword in development studies in general and in tourism research in particular. However, a literature review led the author of this paper to the belief that the ‘muddy pool’ (Harrison, 1996) of debate on sustainable tourism is patchy, disjointed and at times flawed. Indeed, ‘little appears to have been written, in depth, on the meaning and implications of sustainable tourism development’ (Hunter & Green, 1995: 69). Most research ‘had advanced little beyond the stage of formulating and discussing various principles and assumptions’ (Komilis, 1994: 65); while the case studies which explore the ways of applying sustainable principles to practice, often through small eco- or alternative tourism projects, provide at best a micro solution to what is essentially a macro problem (Wheeller, 1991: 93).
Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary. Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices amongst them. Read more by downloading the full paper. Click the link below.
The Concept of Sustainable Development
The Commission further emphasized that sustainable development is not a fixed state of harmony, but rather a dynamic process of changes which ‘are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations’ (WCED, 1987: 46). In tourism, there are a multitude of definitions for sustainability and sustain- able development (Butler, 1999b; Page & Dowling, 2002). The World Tourism Organization (WTO, 2001) prefers the following definition of sustainable development:
Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunities for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, and biological diversity and life support systems.
As the world’s knowledge of global politics evolved the first historical conferences were organized. In 1972, it took place in Stockholm the UN Conference on the environment – the first big world leaders meeting organized by the UN to discuss the human impact on the environment and how it was related to economic development. One of the main goals of this gathering was to find a common outlook and common principles to inspire and guide the world’s population to preserve the “human environment”.
The pursuit of sustainable development thus requires improving the coherence and complementarities of policies across a wide range of sectors, to respond to the complex development challenges ahead. The concept of sustainability has its origins in the environmentalism that grew to prominence in the 1970s.
The explicit idea of sustainable development was first highlighted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN, 1980) in its World Conservation Strategy. Sustainable development is the idea that human societies must live and meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The “official” definition of sustainable development was developed for the first time in the Brundtland Report in 1987. Specifically, sustainable development is a way of organizing society so that it can exist in the long term. This means taking into account both the imperatives present and those of the future, such as the preservation of the environment and natural resources or social and economic equity.
Prosser (1994) highlights four forces of social change that are driving this search for sustainability in tourism: dissatisfaction with existing products; growing environmental awareness and cultural sensitivity; realisation by destination regions of the precious resources they possess and their vulnerability; and the changing attitudes of developers and tour operators. Read more by downloading the full paper. Click the link below.
