Sustainability and tourism visions

Abstract

Sustainability has become the organising concept for tourism management over the last twenty years. Essentially the concept of sustainability is a straightforward one, stressing the notion of stewardship of the environment for future generations. However, the practical implementation of sustainable tourism planning and development is more difficult. This is partly because tourism has traditionally had a short-term focus, driven by profit and return-on-investment and has failed to take a longer-term more strategic view, particularly of the stewardship of its resources.

Nonetheless it is now recognised that the resources that form the basis of tourist attractions from the environment, through cultures to the built heritage- have a finite capacity to take visitation. Once the carrying capacity of these resources is exceeded, they deteriorate and visitation may be affected. There is a range of approaches to adopting sustainable tourism management, mostly based on the concept of carrying capacity. These approaches range from simple accreditation and self-certification of eco-tour operators, through community-based planning exercises along the lines of "limits to acceptable change" to grander destination visioning exercises.

Whilst the many approaches to sustainability are a step in the right direction, it is in the area of strategy and visioning that tourism must develop expertise. In order to be truly sustainable, a destination has to take the longer-term view. Indeed, any attempt at sustainability is by definition taking a long time horizon. Increasingly, destination strategic plans are termed destination visions as all stakeholders are, rightly, involved. In part, this involvement of all stakeholders ensures adoption and implementation of the plan, but it also resolves potential conflicts. The public sector normally acts as a catalyst for such visions. This is because they have the authority and the overview to coordinate stakeholders and other sectors of the economy.

Destination strategy or visions allow destinations to take control of their own future developments and direction. Then concept of the tourism area life cycle is useful here, envisaging destinations moving through a "product life cycle" from birth, to maturity and eventual decline. In order to counter the inevitable birth to death analogy of such a cycle, the implementation of a vision or strategy for a destination can "hold" it at a desired stage on the life cycle or move it up or down the life cycle. Such a plan or vision demands both a supply and a demand side approach with significant marketing and planning inputs. Only by recognising the potential of these destination visions or strategies can tourism become a truly sustainable sector, focussed on a long-term time horizon and an acceptable economic sector in terms of both the environment and the community.