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and environmental policies at the national level also need to be taken into
consideration whilst a variety of international factors, such as air transport
regulations, environmental accords, trade agreements, bilateral visa arrange-
ments and so on may also be relevant. Nevertheless, the destination capitals
framework allows destinations to plan for and develop tourism of a nature
and scale that meets local needs and makes best use of local resources to
optimise the flow of benefits from tourism. In other words, destinations may
follow significantly different tourism development paths dependent upon
their needs/objectives and capitals.
Conclusions
It has long been recognised that sustainable tourism development requires
a global, holistic perspective. That is, sustainable tourism development is, in
theory, but one of innumerable socio-economic processes and institutions that
potentially contribute to broader sustainable development policies. Implicitly,
therefore, the principles of sustainable development should also be applicable
to tourism on a holistic, global scale, rather than manifested in discreet, 'alter-
native' developments. However, as argued here, tourism, as a specific economic
sector and social institution, does not fit easily onto the sustainable develop-
ment template. Issues of ownership and control, scale, political-economy and
tourism consumption all serve to challenge the fundamental principles of, and
requirements for, the achievement of sustainable development and, as a con-
sequence, 'sustainable tourism' has become defined by the local rather than
global. Therefore, it is not surprising that, although making reference in par-
ticular to a report on Scottish tourism, it has been observed that in general 'no
example of the successful application of sustainable development of tour-
ism has been found' (Butler, 1998a: 31). The conclusion must be, therefore, that
there is a need to divorce tourism, as a development agent, from what has
proved to be the restrictive paradigm of sustainable development.
This is not to say, however, that the principles of sustainable develop-
ment are of no relevance to tourism as a specific socio-economic activity. As
stated above, in particular circumstances small-scale, 'ecotourism' develop-
ments may in fact represent the optimal development option, at least on a
local basis. Moreover, there are a number of lessons that are applicable to all
forms of tourism development. For example, it is essential to view tourism
as an integral element of broader development policy, and one of a variety of
potential developmental vehicles, in order to achieve optimal resource alloca-
tion. Similarly, environmentally sound production and consumption prac-
tices should be encouraged on both ethical and commercial grounds although,
at the same time, a degree of pragmatism is required to counterbalance the
inherent idealism of 'sustainable tourism', in particular with respect to the
consumption of tourism services (Chapter 12).
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