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elsewhere in the literature, a disjuncture clearly exists between the rhetoric
of sustainable development and its successful implementation both within
and beyond the tourism sector. In other words, it has proved difficult, if not
impossible, to map the specific socio-economic process of tourism develop-
ment onto the more general framework of sustainable development. To an
extent, this has resulted from the nature and characteristics of tourism itself
but, more particularly in the context of tourism's environmental conse-
quences, it has been argued here that sustainable tourism development has
'failed' as a result of the environmental managerialism inherent in sustain-
able (tourism) development principles. In other words, the imposition of
a universal blueprint for tourism development, a set of 'meta-principles'
founded on mainstream planning and designation processes, is inappropriate
given the diverse developmental contexts and needs of tourism destinations,
particularly in less developed countries.
Importantly, sustainability, which represents the resource element of the
sustainable development process (Lélé, 1991), is a broader concept than
simply the conservation or protection of natural resources based upon neo-
Malthusian principles. Rather, it refers to the capacity for continuance of any
one ecosystem and is, therefore, a function of complex interrelationships
between society and natural resources, a myriad of socio-economic and polit-
ical structures, and local scale management decisions. Thus, although there
can be no simple, universal remedy for tourism's troublesome track record,
the complex dynamics of human-environment relationships have long been
ignored by development planners. It is, therefore, not surprising that sustain-
able tourism remains an illusive objective. Nevertheless, the cross-disciplin-
ary approach to sustainable tourism is forging a clearer understanding of
those conditions necessary for sustainability to be achieved.
The concept of sustainability not only provides a 'good example of how
alternative strategies can challenge the dominant assumptions of develop-
ment' (Sneddon, 2000: 535), but it also adds practical value to understanding
the complex socio-environmental conditions influencing, and influenced by,
tourism. In particular, it provides the basis for recognising and taking into
account the environmental, social, economic and political structures, and
their interrelationships, that are unique to any tourism development context.
Of course, the degree to which the concept of sustainability can be opera-
tionalised within the tourism destination planning and management process
rests partially upon the structural context of tourism development, such as
national political and economic policies, and aspects of local-level political
relationships revolving, for example, around gender and ethnicity. At the
same time, the increasingly globalised nature of the tourism production
system and its inherent power relationships cannot be ignored.
Nevertheless, there are numerous examples where tourism can sustain
communities, conserve environmental resources and genuinely serve the
socio-economic and spiritual rights of future generations. Frequently, this is
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