CONCEPTS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Tourism is in a unique position compared with many other economic sectors in that it
has a two way relationship with the environment and local communities. Not only does it
have a responsibility towards their conservation and wellbeing, it is also dependent on
destinations being attractive, safe and welcoming. As an economic sector whose
product is the visitor experience, it is well placed to link consumer spending directly to
the local communities and environments in which it occurs.

As referred, the 1987 report, Our Common Future, prepared by the World Commission
on Environment and Development for the United Nations defined a sustainable
development policy as one that " "meets the needs of the present without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." At the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the Earth Summit
and held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the sustainable development approach was further
elaborated and expressed in Agenda 21 that was adopted by the conference.

Since then, many national governments have adopted sustainability as their

fundamental development policy. The WTO has adopted the sustainable approach to
tourism, and applies sustainable development principles in all of its tourism planning
and development studies.

The WTO has defined sustainable tourism as follows: "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, biological
diversity, and life support systems."

Within the framework of this basic statement, principles of sustainable tourism

development can be further elaborated as follows:

Among the principles and imperatives that promote and enhance the vision of
sustainable futures are the following:

 Prudent use of the earth’s resources within the limits of the planet’s carrying
capacity.

 Devolution of top-down decision-making responsibilities to a broader range of the

destination’s stakeholders.

 The abatement of poverty and gender inequalities and respect for fundamental
human rights.
  Enhancement of the quality of life through improved health care, shelter, nutrition
and access to education and income-generating skills.

 Preservation of biodiversity and life support systems for all natural habitats.

 Preservation of indigenous knowledge and ways of living, and respect for the
spiritual and cultural traditions of different peoples.

Guidelines and Principles for Sustainable Tourism

Many destinations are now pursuing strategies which aim to ensure a sensitive
approach when dealing with tourism. Many of these strategies are based on a formal
expression of principles for sustainable tourism. A list of guidelines, techniques and
principles is presented below that are important for national governments, destinations
and organizations who wish to be guided by the ethics of sustainable and responsible
tourism. These guidelines and principles include:

(a) Participation

Residents of a community must maintain control of tourism development by being

involved in setting a community tourism vision, identifying the resources to be
maintained and enhanced, and developing goals and strategies for tourism
development and management. Residents must participate in the implementation of
strategies and the operation of the tourism infrastructure, services and facilities.

(b) Stakeholder Involvement

Tourism initiatives should be developed with the help of broad-based community input.
Participants could include local NGO groups and institutions, volunteer service groups,
the poor, women, municipal governments and their economic development
departments, tourism associations, visitor bureaus, town business associations,
regional representatives of provincial tourism development and any other party which
might be involved in or impacted by tourism.

(c) Local Ownership

Tourism development must provide quality employment for community residents. The
provision of fulfilling jobs has to be seen as an integral part of any tourism development
at the local level. Part of the process of ensuring quality employment is to ensure, as
much as possible, the tourism infrastructure (hotels, restaurants, shops, etc.) is
developed and managed by local people.
Experience has demonstrated that the provision of education and training for local
residents and access to financing for local businesses and entrepreneurs are central to
this type of policy.

(d) Establishing Local Business Linkages

Linkages must be established among local businesses in the tourism industry in order to
ensure tourism expenditures stay within the destination rather than leak out to purchase
imported goods and services for tourists. Local involvement in tourism facilitates the
development of linkages among the service and goods providers within the tourism
destination.

(e) Sustainability of the Resource Base

Sustainable tourism development has to provide for intergenerational equity. Equitable

distribution of costs and benefits of tourism development must take place among
present and future generations. To be fair to future generations of tourists and the travel
industry, society should strive to leave a resource base no less than the one inherited.
Sustainable tourism development must, therefore, avoid resource allocation actions that
are irreversible.

(f) Community Goals

Harmony is required between the needs of a visitor, the place and the community. This
is facilitated by broad community support with a proper balance between economic,
social, cultural and human objectives, and recognition of the importance of cooperation
between government, host communities, the tourism industry and non-profit
organizations involved in community development and environmental protection.

(g) Cooperation

Cooperation between local attractions, businesses and tourism operators is essential

given that one business or operation can be directly affected by the performance or
quality of another. Models of partnerships must be explored in the areas of planning,
management, marketing and funding for tourism ventures.

(h) Carrying Capacity

There is a definite need for the impact assessment of tourism development proposals to
distinguish between plans which encourage mass versus quality tourism. The capacity
of sites must be considered, including physical, natural, social and cultural limits.
Development should be compatible with local and environmental limits, and operations
should be evaluated regularly and adjusted as required

(i) Monitoring and Evaluating

Guidelines have to be established for tourism operations, including requirements for
impact assessment. There should be codes of practice established for tourism at the
national, regional and local levels. There is also a need to develop indicators and
threshold limits for measuring the impacts and success of local tourism ventures.
Protection and monitoring strategies are essential if communities are to protect the very
resources that form the basis of their tourism product to protect the environment (the
tourism resource base) on which it depends.

(j) Accountability

The management and use of public goods such as water, air and common lands should
ensure accountability on behalf of users to ensure these resources are not abused.

(k) Training

Sustainable tourism development requires the establishment of education and training

programmes to improve public understanding and enhance business, vocational and
professional skills especially for the poor and women. Training should include courses
in tourism, hotel management, creation and operation of small businesses and other
relevant topics.

(l) Positioning

Sustainable tourism development involves promoting appropriate uses and activities to

reduce poverty and draw from and reinforce landscape character, sense of place,
community identity and site opportunities. These activities and uses should aim to
provide a quality tourism experience that satisfies visitors while adhering to other
principles of sustainable tourism.

These principles have been discussed in a number of statements and declarations of

the UNWTO including:

 Manila Declaration on World Tourism, 1980.

 Acapulco Documents on the Rights to Holidays, 1982.

 Tourism Bill of Rights and Tourism Code, Sofia, 1985.

 The Hague Declaration on Tourism, 1989.

 Lanzarote Charter for Sustainable Tourism, 1995 (jointly with UNEP, UNESCO,
EU).
  Statement on the Prevention of Organized Sex Tourism, Cairo, 1995.

 Global Codes of Ethics for Tourism, 1999.

 Québec Declaration on Ecotourism, 2002.

To fulfill these imperatives, governments and other societal agents are struggling to find
an appropriate balance between different and sometimes apparently conflicting needs
and value systems. Achieving sustainable tourism development requires that the private
and public sector and the community cooperate as partners in working toward a
sustainable society.

Individual tourism resource management decisions need to be made with the increased
understanding of all these dimensions if the goal of sustainable futures is to be attained.
Achieving sustainable futures requires the development of appropriate tourism on a
continuum where growth decisions, development viewpoints and sustainability issues
are balanced with the environment and economy.

Sustainable development through tourism requires an approach to the sector which is

itself sustainable. Expressed simply, sustainable tourism can be defined as ‘tourism that
takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts,
addressing the needs of the visitors, the industry, the environment and host
communities’

It is important to appreciate that while a range of specific impacts and benefits of

tourism can be found at a local level, making tourism more sustainable is equally a
global challenge. Moreover, sustainable tourism is not a special form of tourism; all
forms of tourism should strive to be more sustainable.

An agenda for sustainable tourism

In 2005 UNWTO and UNEP prepared a guide for policy makers on making tourism
more sustainable. This expanded on what is required of destinations in pursuing
sustainable tourism, through setting out 12 aims, which are:.

Aims for Sustainable Tourism

1) Economic viability: To ensure the viability and competitiveness of tourism

destinations and enterprises, so that they are able to continue to prosper and deliver
benefits in the long term.

2) Local prosperity: To maximize the contribution of tourism to the prosperity of the host
destination, including the proportion of visitor spending that is retained locally.
3) Employment quality: To strengthen the number and quality of local jobs created and
supported by tourism, including the level of pay, conditions of service and availability to
all without discrimination by gender, race, disability or in other ways.

4) Social equity: To seek a widespread distribution of economic and social benefits from
tourism throughout the recipient community, including improving opportunities, income
and services available to the poor.

5) Visitor fulfilment: To provide a safe, satisfying and fulfilling experience for visitors,
available to all without discrimination by gender, race, disability or in other ways.

6) Local control: To engage and empower local communities in planning and decision
making about the management and future development of tourism in their area, in
consultation with other stakeholders.

7) Community wellbeing: To maintain and strengthen the quality of life in local

communities, including social structures and access to resources, amenities and life
support systems, avoiding any form of social degradation or exploitation.

8) Cultural richness: To respect and enhance the historic heritage, authentic culture,
traditions and distinctiveness of host communities.

9) Physical integrity: To maintain and enhance the quality of landscapes, both urban
and rural, and avoid the physical and visual degradation of the environment.

10) Biological diversity: To support the conservation of natural areas, habitats and
wildlife, and minimize damage to them.

11) Resource efficiency: To minimize the use of scarce and non-renewable resources in
the development and operation of tourism facilities and services.

12) Environmental purity: To minimize the pollution of air, water and land and the
generation of waste by tourism enterprises and visitors.

These aims relate equally to economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism,
which are closely interrelated. They reflect underlying principles of environmental
responsibility, social inclusion and local engagement and are fully in line with the
UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, which has been endorsed by the UN
General Assembly (UNWTO, 1999).

The 12 aims provide an agenda for sustainable tourism in SIDS as in any other
destination. Tourism policies should be designed to be in line with this set of aims. The
specific aims have particular consequences for SIDS and these are brought out later in
this chapter.
More recently, the worldwide agenda for sustainable tourism has been further
articulated by the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, which are described below:

Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC)

The GSTC, which were launched in 2008, were developed in collaboration with the
UNWTO and various other public and private sector bodies and institutions. While they
were developed for tourism businesses and form the basis for accrediting enterprise
certification schemes, they are also being adapted to cover destinations.

The criteria cover:

• Management processes, including having a long term sustainability management

system in place and providing related training and information;

• social impacts, generating benefits to the local community and avoiding exploitation;

• cultural impacts, protecting heritage sites and traditions and encouraging appropriate
use and reflection of them;

• environmental impacts, conserving resources through purchasing policies and

measuring and minimising consumption, reducing pollution and respecting biodiversity
and landscapes.

Some sustainability certification schemes for businesses operating within SIDS are
already related to the criteria. Their influence is growing through the market place and a
number of sizeable tour operators, multinational service providers and global distribution
systems and on-line travel agents have committed to them.

Tourism Trends
An important part of understanding the nature of tourism is to appreciate a number of
trends that will influence the tourism planning and development process. These trends
include:

 Cultural and natural environments continue to attract growing numbers of visitors

as mass tourism continues to increase.

 Recreational travel trends show an increase in travelers.

 Technological advances in many areas including transportation, information

systems and communication are revolutionizing business practices.

 There will be a considerable change in tourist demographics. Affluent singles will

be responsible for the increase in short-term exotic vacations. As their numbers
 decrease, so will the dollars spent on these vacations. Affluent families with two
incomes will be a lucrative market. They will want an experience combining
culture, recreation, shopping, excellent restaurants and urban amenities.

 There will be a substantial increase in the number of elderly tourists.

Faced with these changing tourism trends, an increasingly competitive global market
and growing environmental concerns and regulations, organizations providing tourism-
related services have to develop innovative strategies and actions to ensure tourism is
developed and managed in a sustainable and responsible manner.

Tourists are more likely to have traveled before and as a result they are more
sophisticated consumers. They know where they want to go, how they want to get there
and what they want to do once they reach their destination.

Blessed with good health, good pension plans and newfound freedom, the over 55s of
many countries are traveling in increasing numbers. It is important those responsible
understand international, regional and domestic trends in their planning and
management.