Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are adopting environmentally sound policies (Diamantis, 1999; Middleton &
Hawkins, 1993, 1994). Similarly, tour operators are increasingly developing
products, in particular 'eco-tours', that at least appear to be based upon envi-
ronmental principles whilst 'responsible' holidays appear to be an increas-
ingly popular experience sought by tourists (Goodwin, 2011; responsibletravel.
com). Nevertheless, it is also interesting to note that, as Forsyth (1995) iden-
tified in early research, there continues to be little evidence of a common
development and business philosophy according to sustainable principles
across the travel and tourism industry whilst, from a consumption point of
view, recent years have witnessed little or no decrease in the demand for the
traditional, summer-sun package holiday (see also Chapter 12). For example,
in 2012 some 14.5 million overseas package holidays were sold in the UK, not
surprisingly fewer than in the 1990s but, despite the internet-fuelled growth
in independent travel, still representing over 40% of all outbound leisure
travel from the UK (Mintel, 2013).
Despite the apparent continuing support for and adoption of the princi-
ples of sustainable tourism development, however, they remain the subject
of intense debate. That is, it remains unclear whether the concept of sustain-
able tourism represents, on the one hand, a viable and realistic set of guide-
lines for developing and managing tourism, based upon a solid theoretical
understanding of the relationship between tourism and the broader develop-
ment process, or, on the other hand, a politically attractive objective that is
unachievable in practice.
Certainly, as discussed in Chapter 2, the emergence of sustainable tour-
ism development has mirrored, perhaps accidentally (although it has been
argued that sustainable tourism represents the logical end of a journey from
'idealism to realism' (Dowling, 1992)), the advent of its parental concept,
sustainable development, as the dominant paradigm of development. At the
same time, as knowledge and understanding of the relationship between
tourism, the environment and development has evolved, so too have new
perspectives on tourism development theory and practice, suggesting that
sustainable tourism is the logical outcome of increased knowledge of tourism
theory and practice. This evolution of tourism theory has, according to Jafari
(1989), passed through four identifiable stages, namely advocacy, caution,
adaptancy and knowledge, and, as mentioned in Chapter 2, it is not coinci-
dental that these stages parallel to a certain extent the evolution of develop-
ment theory. This process can be reviewed and summarised as follows:
Advocacy
During the 1960s, a period synchronous with its actual rapid growth,
tourism was positively viewed as a vehicle for national and international
development. Reflecting neo-classical modernisation ideology, the develop-
mental potential of tourism was considered to lie in its contribution to
Search WWH ::




Custom Search