Tourism and the Environment - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies

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effect relationships between tourism and the

environment. Through their measurement and use, managers can more effectively do the following:

In effect, indicators seek to identify speci c cause

Identify emerging issues, allowing prevention or mitigation

Identify impacts, allowing action before they cause problems

Support sustainable tourism development, identifying limits and opportunities

Promote management accountability, developing responsible decision making built on knowledge

Two types of indicators are of value to tourism managers:

Core indicators of sustainable tourism have been developed for general application to all

destinations.

Destination-speci c indicators are applicable to particular ecosystems or types of tourism.

Destination-speci c indicators fall into two categories: ecosystem speci c- and site-speci c.

Supplementary ecosystem-speci c indicators apply to particular ecosystems (e.g., coastal areas, parks

and protected areas, or mountainous regions). Site-speci c indicators are developed uniquely for the

particular site. These indicators re ect important factors of the site that might not be adequately

covered by the core and supplementary ecosystem-speci c indicator sets but are nonetheless needed

for management of the particular site.

Examples of such indices that were developed by an expert task force for the United Nations World

Tourism Organization are given in Table 17.1. By identifying desirable levels of each indicator for a

TABLE 17.1 Core Indicators of Sustainable Tourism

Indicator

Speci c Measures

Category of site protection according to IUCN a index

Site protection

Stress

Tourist numbers visiting site (per annum/peak month)

Use intensity

Intensity of use in peak period (persons/hectare)

Social impact

Ratio of tourists to locals (peak period and over time)

Development control

Existence of environmental review procedure or formal controls over development of site and use densities

Waste management

Percentage of sewage from site receiving treatment (additional indicators may include structural limits of other

infrastructural capacity on-site, such as water supply)

Planning process

Existence of organized regional plan for tourist destination region (including tourism component)

Critical ecosystems

Number of rare/endangered species

Consumer satisfaction

Level of satisfaction by visitors (questionnaire-based)

Local satisfaction

Level of satisfaction by locals (questionnaire-based)

Tourism contribution to local economy

Proportion of total economic activity generated by tourism only

Composite Indices b

Speci c Measures

Carrying capacity

Composite early-warning measure of key factors affecting the ability of the site to support different levels of tourism

Site stress

Composite measure of levels of impact on the site (its natural and cultural attributes due to tourism and other

sector cumulative stresses)

Attractivity

Qualitative measure of those site attributes that make it attractive to tourism and can change over time

a IUCN, International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

b The composite indices are largely composed of site-speci c variables. Consequently, the identi cation and evaluation of the indicators composing these indices require on-site direction

from an appropriately trained and experienced observer. In the future, based on the experiences in designing composite indicators for speci c sites, it may be possible to derive these indices

in a more systematic fashion. See the case studies for Villa Gesell and Peninsula Valdes for application of these indices.

Source: United Nations World Tourism Organization.