Tourism, Development and the Environment - Tourism and Development: Concepts and Issues - page 251

as others suggest, the term sustainable development has been applied to so
many processes and objectives that is has become almost meaningless
(Sharpley, 2009b).
It is argued here that the principles of environmental managerialism
which have underpinned tourism development planning in the Western
world hold little relevance to the social, cultural and ecological characteris-
tics of many developing nations. Indeed, the sustainable tourism discourse
offers little beyond a well trodden and, in many ways, superficial reconstitu-
tion of mainstream developmentalist ideas, espousing the primacy of econ-
omy over ecology, of bureaucratic planning over local participation and of
designation over consultation. A more relevant interpretation of tourism
sustainability - both in terms of what it is and how it is to be achieved - is
necessary if the competing demands of tourists, governments and host com-
munities are to be reconciled in the future. Sustainability is a more eclectic
theoretical concept that broaches diverse natural, social and economic dis-
ciplines and which recognises underlying socio-political structures and
issues of governance as key factors in environmental management. In the
years ahead, as the world's poorest nations continue to be increasingly
drawn into the global phenomenon of tourism and if sustainability - in its
broadest environmental, economic, social and political context - is to be
achieved, important lessons must be learned from the wider environment
and development discourse. Indeed, with due consideration to local social
and environmental determinants of sustainability, tourism, far from being
an agent of degradation, can actively enhance the environment and promote
local development.
The concept of sustainable (tourism) development cannot be fully add-
ressed without an understanding of the forces that gave rise to a widespread
environmental consciousness and the subsequent adoption of sustainability
as a global development objective. Therefore, the chapter begins by briefly
reviewing the origins of the alleged 'environmental crisis' facing the global
ecosystem and the early responses, manifested in the emergence of the envi-
ronmental movement in its various guises (see McCormick, 1995). It then
considers the origins and differing interpretations of sustainable develop-
ment as the prevailing development ideology that seeks to establish the
middle ground between the competing objectives of, on the one hand, envi-
ronmental sustainability and, on the other hand, economic development
and growth. The manner in which a tourism planning 'blueprint' has
embraced sustainable development is then explored before the final part
of the chapter argues for the need to go beyond that blueprint, with the
issues of environmental governance and ecological sustainability providing
the foundation for a new interpretation of the tourism-environment rela-
tionship. First, however, and as a framework for this chapter, it is important
to emphasise the complexity and multi-dimensionality of the tourism
'environment'.