Category: Free Essays

Sustainable Tourism Development

Objective

The aim of this assignment is to;

To discuss how stakeholders can benefit from planning of tourism developments as well as to converse the benefits and weaknesses of public/private sector tourismplanning partnerships by referencing to a current example.
To evaluate the different approaches to tourism planning and development by considering its features, the significanceofinteractive planning systemsand processes in tourism developments and the types of approaches available to measure tourist impacts
To assess the need for planningfor sustainable tourism by considering the factors that may hinder it and to inspect the different stages in planning for sustainability.
To analyse the different issues related to tourism development planning by looking at the implications of balancing supply and demand, the moral and ethical issues of enclave tourism as well as the methods of resolving a conflict of interest.
To investigate the socio- cultural, environmentaland economic impacts of tourismin developing countries and emerging destinations

Methodology

The information in this project was obtained by the lectures, textbooks and the World Wide Web. For the completion of this project the consultant has decided to use both methods of primary and secondary information.

Primary information is one of the best ways to collect first hand information this information will be collected by asking question via questionnaires, interviews and surveys.

To arrive at a completion the consultant had to make a decision that secondary information will be necessary in the Researching of the information. So in order to collect the secondary information the consultant has decided to use magazines, book, blog and the internet. This will help in planning and the development of tourism.

Rationale

This project was formed from a case about two companies A Consultation company and a small business. The tourism development in Jamaica and the Ministry of tourism that is using a consultant company in the development and planning of tourism. The project will focus on the influx in the Spanish hotels that have been invested in Jamaica that are serious concern that Jamaica is heading in an unsustainable direction as it relates to the tourism industry and its development. In this project you will notice how the stakeholders can benefit from planning of tourism, the discussion of the advantages of public and private sectors tourism planning partnerships drawing on a current example. The analyzing the tourism development and planning at different levels of the evaluation of the significance of the interactive planning system and processes in the tourism developments.

The factors that may prevent and obstruct sustainable tourism will also be analyzed, also the different stages in planning for sustainability.

The moral and ethical issues of enclave tourism will be evaluated.

Literature Review

What is Sustainable tourism? “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”

According to The Institute of International Auditors/Global (2011) “Public sectors consist of government and all publicly controlled or publicly funded agencies, enterprises and other entities that deliver public programs, goods or services. It is not, however always clear whether any particular organization should be included under the umbrella.“Stakeholder is a process is actors (persons or organization) with a vested interest in the policy begin promoted. These stakeholders, or “interested parties,” can usually be grouped into the following categories: international/donors, national political (legislators, governors), public (ministry of health, social security agency, ministry of finance), labour (unions medical associations), commercial/private for profit, non profit (nongovernmental organizations foundations), civil society and users/ consumers.” Was define by Kammi Schmeer (1999).

World tourism organization stated that the tourism is a social cultural and economic phenomenon which entails the movement of the people to countries or places that are outside their usual environment for personal or business purposes. These people are called visitors and tourism has to do with their activities, some of which imply tourism expenditure. This maybe tourist or excursionists, residents or non residents.

Task 1.1

Discuss how stakeholders can benefit from planning of tourism developments with reference to a current case study.

Tourism can deliver short andlong term economic, environmental and socio-cultural effects on a destination. Careful consideration needs to be given to the decisions made throughout the planning process, and thereare many advantages, and disadvantages, of involving a broad range ofstakeholders during the decision-making process, if medium and long-term oriented, understand that their “capital” is not only their investment andinfrastructures, but also the natural and cultural environment. Therefore, theystart considering tourism development in a more sustainable way.

1.2 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of public/private sector tourism planning partnerships drawing on a current example

In the tourism industry, there are examples where partnership arrangements are highly effective for the success of tourism planning and development. Since the public sector is concerned with the provision of services, the resolving of land-use conflicts and the formulation and implementation of development policies, and the private sector is mainly concerned with profit, partnerships between the private and public sector on various issues can benefit destinations.

Task 2.1

Analyze features of tourism development planning at different levels.

There are three types of different levels in tourism development:

International level – Tourism planning at the international level involves more than one country and includes areas such as international transportation services, joint tourism marketing, regional tourism polices and standards, cooperation between sectors of member countries, and other cooperative concerns.

A? National level – Tourism planning at the national level is concerned with national tourism policy, structure planning, transportation networks within the country, major tourism attractions, national level facility and service standards, investment policy, tourism education and training, and marketing of tourism.

A? Regional level – Tourism planning at the regional level generally is done by provinces, states, or prefectures involving regional policy and infrastructure planning, regional access and transportation network, and other related functions at the regional level.

2.2 Evaluate the significance of interactive planning systems and processes in tourism developments.

This is because interactive planning is focused in systems thinking and is based on the belief that an organization’s future depends at least as much on what it does between now and then, as on what is done to it. The organization will then create its future by continuously closing the gap between its current state and its desirable current state.

Interactive planning has three unique characteristics:

Interactive planning works backwards from where an organizationwantsto be now to where itisnow.
Interactive planning is continuous; it does not start and stop.
Interactive planning lets the organization’s stakeholders to be involved in the planning process.

2.3 Evaluate the different methods available to measure tourist impacts.

The analysis of socio-ecological tourism-based systems requires new, qualitatively different evaluation schemes that enable an integrated assessment of ecological, social, and economic factors through the use of appropriate indicators related to the ecosystem service concept. People, indeed, begin to understand more clearly that human societies are dependent on the ‘services’’ and ‘‘functions’’ provided by the earth’s physical, chemical and biological systems. Ecosystem services include the production of goods (seafood, timber, and precursor to many industrial and pharmaceutical products), basic life-support processes (pollination, water purification, and climate regulation), life-fulfilling conditions (serenity, beauty, and cultural inspiration), preservation of options (conserving genetic and species diversity for future use), and the assimilation of waste products (Daily, 1997). Nature-based tourism is strongly dependent on the quality of the environment more than any other form of tourism. Even eco-tourism, however benign it may be, will have some impacts on the environment (see e.g. Modelling socio-ecological tourism-based systems for sustainability), and therefore it requires management and control like any other resource exploitation activity. The amount by which resources are exploited is a critical tourism parameter because tourism must satisfy two constraints at the same time. First, ecological quality and integrity ofresources must be maintained, to make sure they remain attractive to tourists as well as to residents (see e.g. Indicating fragility of socio-ecological tourism-based systems). Second, the quality of recreational experience by tourists also must be maintained, and this is based not only on the quality of natural environment, but also on the levels and the nature of interactions between groups of users and residents and their perception of environmental quality

Task 3.1

Justify the introduction of the concept of sustainability in tourism development.

The tourism planners have started to rethink the objectives for the development of the industry as a result of three factors:

The tourist is changing, wishing for greater involvement with local people and many are conscious of the economic, social and environmental impact of their visit.
They seek an integrated experience involving multiple activities so that the interaction with community increases
Local communities are becoming sensitive to the effect tourism is having on their lifestyles, culture, and the environment and can resent its intrusion.

A tourism enterprise that meets these three principles will “do well by doing well”. This means running a tourism business in such a way that it doesn’t destroy natural, cultural, or economic resources, but rather encourages an appreciation of the very resources that tourism is dependent on. A business that is run on these three principles can enhance conservation of natural resources, bring appreciation to cultural values, and bring revenue into the community and be profitable.

3.2 Analyze factors that may prevent/hinder sustainable tourism.

The factor that prevents/ hinders sustainable tourism in a country is politics that have to with the acquisition of power, allocation or resources and administration of public affairs. Political Ideologies, Distribution of Wealth, Changing Class Boundaries, Natural and Manmade disaster.

Tourism challenges such as religions, Social structures, Employment and Seasonal Fickle and Fragmentation also Regional Economic Problems.

3.3 Analyze different stages in planning for sustainability

Task 4

Evaluate methods of resolving a conflict of interest to ensure the future well-being of a developing tourism destination

4.2 Analyze the implications of balancing supply and demand

4.3 Evaluate the moral and ethical issues of enclave tourism

Task 5

Compare current issues associated with tourism development in a developing country and an emerging destination where the impacts of tourism are different.

Recommendation

Conclusion

Tourism development has both positive and negative effects on a tourism destination. Communities are very often threatened with unwanted developments and face problems from unplanned or carelessly planned tourism expansion. In order to overcome these multi-faceted problems, comprehensive tourism planning is needed to maximise the benefits and minimise the costs or disadvantages of tourism development through the involvement of the local community who have to live with the tourists and the costs and benefits they bring.

The above literature review indicates that although there is a strong argument for the need for planning in tourism development. However, it is not important only to design a development plan but also to implement it. Therefore, it is necessary to develop policies that will be widely accepted by the local community. Planners and governments should consider the fact that there are limits to how much tourism a particular destination could absorb. Destinations need to consider these limits and plan their tourist industry accordingly. Planners and governments must continuously measure environmental and socio-economic impacts of tourism, in

Order to ensure long-term benefits for residents and tourists alike without damaging the man-made and natural environment.

Tourism has been seen by many governments as an economic development

Strategy and if a destination area wishes to maintain tourism as a long-term

Activity, it should be concerned through planning to differentiate its product from

Competing destinations through better preservation of its environment and culture, understanding the needs and desires of the local community and increased Awareness in the community as to what the industry means in terms of costs and benefits.

Jadi Ellis

3.2 Analyze factors that may prevent/hinder sustainable tourism development.

Factors that hinder or boom tourism, as there are different destinations so there are as many different types of travelers and as well different individual experiences.

Travelling should be affordable however, cost is the primary factor that can affect the industry both local and international travelers. Cost do not limited to the ticket alone but the general price travelers will meet in the country of choice.

Crime and violence within the society are significant barriers to the achievement of sustainable development, as it affects not only social well being but also economic development. Jamaica’s high incidence of crime has resulted in loss of investments, in addition to direct effects on sectors such as tourism from which the country obtains most of its foreign exchange earnings. Although the overall number of crimes reported decreased marginally in 2001 compared with previous years, there were increases in major crimes in the island. Of growing concern has been the fact that most recent incidents of violence have been interpersonal in nature and this makes it harder to control.

Another factor is safety. This is a primary concern of travelers of all types. Safety becomes particularly important when traveling abroad and to under develop countries. Widespread political unrest can cause even the most adventurous tourist to avoid visiting unstable countries. Outbreak of communicable diseases can also hinder tourism industries, especially because returning to home countries can be difficult during outbreaks. For instance, swine flu and H1N1 stopped many people from traveling abroad. Domestically, the crime rate of tourist areas, specifically traffic safety and incidents of petty theft, negatively affect the tourism industry. For theme parks, the safety record can also be a negative factor.

Though every traveler arrives at their destination with an expectation of different types of amenities, the lack of certain amenities could deter even the most adventurous traveler. For instance, easily attained transportation is a major concern for both the budget and the luxury traveler. If public transportation is difficult to understand, unreliable or dangerous, budget tourists traveling abroad may be deterred from visiting your country. The same thing goes with private transportation for luxury travelers. Other amenities that affect tourism include clean water, affordable food and housing, easy visa processes and access to reliable medical care.

The changes in global climatic conditions will result in increased temperatures, rainfall and sea level rise and more frequent hurricanes, droughts, and so forth. Weather plays an important role in the tourism industry. As most travelers to West Africa seek warm or mild temperatures with little rain while on vacation, areas that are prone to wet or cold weather do not thrive in the tourism economy. Climate change will impact not only on biodiversity and natural resources but on social development. The impact of sea level rise on the tourism industry could be profound if it results in increased beach erosion. The island’s two major international al airports are at sea level. Weather plays an important role in the tourism industry. As most travelers seek warm or mild temperatures with little rain while on vacation, areas that are prone to wet or cold weather do not thrive in the tourism economy. Rainy and cold seasons see decreased amounts of visitors throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America. Similarly, incidences of extreme weather and national disasters prevent many travelers from visiting certain areas, as safety becomes a primary concern during these times.

Jamaica is vulnerable to several natural hazards e.g. hurricane, tropical storms, flooding and landslides due to its geographical location. Flooding and landslides are the most recurring hazards. Priority actions must be geared toward disaster mitigation and rehabilitation, and reconstruction in light of the October to November 2001 flood damage in the parishes of Portland and St. Mary. The magnitude of the damage in these two parishes has highlighted the need for proper land use planning and zoning regulations and enforcement. These entire factors can prevent sustainable tourism in Jamaica as well as other countries.

3.3 Analyze different stages in planning for sustainability

Bringing sustainability into action not only requires a solid communication and coordination framework, but it also requires the ability to balance dynamic tensions between environmental, economic and social dimensions (Gunn, 2002). The challenge lies in developing approaches that integrate and address these issues throughout public policy and planning processes (Gunn, 2002).With a wide variety of stakeholders, it will be ever more imperative for planners and decision-makers to balance these diverse challenges and needs and translate these elements into effective policy decisions. Population growth, increased automobile dependency, energy usage and supply, air quality, education access, affordable housing, water scarcity are just a short list of the numerous issues that need to be addressed through leadership and stewardship (Gunn, 2002). By developing sustainably-conscious planning processes we can begin to mitigate the impact of current issues and challenges and place ourselves in a better position to be proactive towards new challenges in the future.

To truly embody sustainability practices and ensure thoughtful implementation there needs to be an understanding of what needs to be done at each stage of the planning process (Gunn, 2002). Due to the complexity of sustainability, different processes and applications will have different effects on other areas or stages within the process. It is important to understand not only what needs to be done at each stage, but also understand how these processes and applications affect and relate to knowledge accumulation, vision, action and evaluation. Generally, the planning process is comprised of the following stages:

Stages in the planning of tourism process:

1.Define the goals and objectivesbasically, objectives for tourism should be a sub-set of the overall objectives (either implicit or document) for the nation, its economy, people and the social structure within an area. There are, however, no hard or set rules as to what the objectives should be (Gunn, 2002). In general, however, tourism objectives should deal with growth leading to increased standard of living, employment levels, and opportunities for intellectual growth, enhancement of the investment potential in an area or country. Cumulatively, tourism objective should describe the set of conditions under which a favorable decision should be made (Gunn, 2002).If the data indicate that reasonable objectives for tourism development can be met, this will generally lead to a decision to proceed with a conceptual planning study. As a first step towards preparation of conceptual plan for tourism development, a market study begins with a determination of the type of tourism business which exists and can be expected.

2.Identify the tourism systemand carry out a survey- this stages deals with which clients you expect to have, what you need to do(Gunn, 2002).. Carry out the survey on social and cultural patterns such as the carrying capacity and settlement patterns, on the cultural and heritage attraction within the area, wildlife, vegetation, coastal and marinas and also carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the location to find out the negative and positive impact of the area (Gunn, 2002).

3.Evaluate alternatives of the analysis– in this stage the information collected from the survey is analyze (Gunn, 2002).

4.Select and implement–this is the stage where the information collected from the survey is analyze and the put policies and plan in place to help develop the process (Gunn, 2002).

5. Provide recommendations- recommendation should be made to improve progress

6.Monitor and evaluate– Monitoring the progress periodically is very crucial to get the best results. Preparation of a plan document is not an end in itself (Gunn, 2002). The task of the planner does not end when a plan for three years, five years of seven years has been prepared. A system of constant revision and monitoring of the plan progress should be a part of the exercise of the planning (Gunn, 2002).

Successful tourism planning and development means, serving both tourists and local residents, tourism should serve the community first and the tourist second, tourism development must be compatible with other activities in the area and be supported by the local population, the tourism plan should be closely coordinated with other local and regional planning efforts, if not an integral part of them (Gunn, 2002).

Sustainable Tourism Principle and Implication

Introduction

Globally, tourism has developed from 25 million worldwide voyagers in 1950 to 693 million in 2001 and by the year 2020 is expected to be two times as of now^. Thus, tourism has significant effect on numerous critical sphere of Society: the economy, the cultural and social viewpoints and nature. Notwithstanding, Unsustainable ill-advised tourism development can affect contrarily on all these aspects. In the long-haul, this can have deliberate outcomes for everyone. From few years a specific consideration has been provided for the relationship between environment and tourism.

“First official formulation of sustainable tourism may be found in Manila Declaration (1980) and in the agreement between World Tourism Organization (WTO) and United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), which was followed by the WTO’s definition of sustainable tourism as a tourism- ‘leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled, while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems. Sustainable tourism products are those which are operated in harmony with the local environment, community, and cultures, so that these become the permanent beneficiaries and not the victims of tourism development’. This definition has been structured on the basis of the sustainable development definition contained in the famous Brundtland Report. As it may be noticed, the definition above is based on three pillars, namely social, environmental and economic sustainability”. Santonocito, S.D (2009)

UNWTO refine sustainable tourism definition.

“Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”

Sustainable tourism advancement management practices and guidelines are useful to all types of tourism in all form of destinations, also in mass tourism and the different niche tourism sections. Sustainability standards refer to the monetary, environmental and socio-cultural parts of tourism advancement, and a suitable equalization must be made between these three extents to insurance its long haul sustainability.

Accordingly, sustainable tourism ought to:

Make ideal utilization of natural assets that constitute an important component in development of tourism, caring for necessary ecological processes and assisting to take care of biodiversity and natural heritage.
Respect the cultural and social authenticity of host people, preserve their traditional values, build and living cultural heritage, and contribute to cross-cultural and tolerance.
Ensure reasonable, long haul financial operations, providing the fairly distributed socio-economic advantage to all stakeholders, including balance employment and community service to hosts, and helping poverty reduction.

Sustainable tourism growth needs the educated participation of all appropriate stakeholders, and additionally solid political initiative to guarantee wide cooperation and unity building. Obtaining sustainable tourism is a constant process and it obliges consistent monitoring of effects, introducing the vital preventive and whenever necessary, corrective measures

Sustainable tourism ought to additionally keep a remarkable visitor satisfaction and guarantee a genuine experience to the voyagers, increasing their knowledge about sustainability issues and sustainable tourism practices have to promote amongst them. (UNWTO)

According to Horobin, H. et al. (1996)

Reports the preparatory discoveries of a study looking at the relationship between issues of sustainable improvement and the operations of small-scale tourism organizations. Shows that itemized polls were managed in the Yorkshire Dales National Park to owner administrator of small-scale tourism firms. States that the study looked to set up information levels, mentality towards sustainability, and response taken to ensure environment. Uncovers that the examination then looked to make what attributes of the organizations and their holder supervisors may lie behind these. Proposes that in spite of the fact that there is a great deal of sensitivity for the general standards of sustainability, there is general perplexity around the expression “sustainability” and even “ecological concern”. Reports an extent of response, yet an absence of valuation for how these may give an account of with a coherent business plan of action, irritated by an surprising absence of data, which is fairly something that needs to be tended to by the different open offices in the field. Prescribes that it may be conceivable to distinguish the aspects of those entrepreneurs who are well on the way to be responsive to the sustainable tourism’s principles

According to Gupta, V. (1999)

Religious journeys have occurred for so many centuries without bringing the adverse ecological, social and cultural effects connected with tourism. Typical characteristics of religious journeys are: not an inordinate burden on the surroundings ; useful to nearby communities; happen at sure times of year just; individuals convey their own particular gear and buy food, etc; pilgrims are peaceful, well behaved and law abiding; killing creatures or taking from nature is unthinkable. A few lessons could be gained from these for present day tourism.

According to Gibson, A. et al.(2003)

Applying the system of Eco tourism to a city environment is a comparatively new idea however an idea that benefits improvement in different urban communities. The idea of Eco tourism (urban green tourism), as initiated by Toronto’s Green Tourism Association, it is a working illustration that exhibits how a city can advertise itself, distinctive organizations and attractions to give an one of a kind tourism experience and produce interest for sustainability. This investigation seeks to framework how urban green tourism will be a impressive approach to tending to the concern of tourism in urban communities: development, waste, and so forth, and exhibits how sustainable tourism alternatives can exploit the existing characteristics of a urban areas. The association pushes local organizations, associations, natural and cultural characteristics through its guidebook, green sketch and Website to instruct voyagers and industry to greener practices.

According to Jamrozy, U. (2007)

Reason – The motivation behind this paper is to prescribe a change in the tourism marketing paradigm far from monetary benefit necessities to sustainability. The sustainability methodology follows a comprehensive, integrated perspective of marketing, taking everything in mind to social impartiality, environment security, and monetary liveability. The investigation tries to look at the evolving model for the tourism the earth.

Design/methodology/approach – The paradigm transformation regularly happens by following the development of marketing methodologies from handling, deals, and a buyer introduction to showcasing options, for example, responsible, green, societal, causal and relationship marketing. Acclimating a living framework tourism to tourism showcasing, a sustainable tourism marketing miniature integrates tourism into a bigger comprehensive connection and concentrates on marketing a personal satisfaction for all stakeholders in the framework.

Discoveries – While other methodologies to tourism marketing incorporate societal thought, for example, tourism impacts and ecological division methods, this research recognizes the triple bottom line as additional sustainable goals in tourism marketing and embraces an integrated aspect on tourism marketing.

Research limitations/implications – The model recommends a paradigm change that needs to be investigated further.

Down to earth suggestions – The paper delineates how tourism marketing might be integrated into additional sustainable urban marketing techniques.

Originality/value – Instead of sighting tourism as a independent for revenue driven industry, the model recommends a joining of tourism into a comprehensive, sustainable, personal satisfaction marketing methodology of living communities

According to Jayawardena, C. et al. (2008)

Reason – The motivation behind this paper is to give bits of knowledge to the applicable past examinations, philosophy and projects; and sustainable tourism improvement in the Niagara area.

Design/methodology/approach – Each of the main four part of this paper focus into particular areas. Results from first class examinations including 47 masters are accompanied by a compact literary works survey on sustainable tourism. The paper then examinations the idea of financial sustainability and analysis the results from a sketch for sustainable tourism improvement.

Discoveries – This paper examines the financial pillar of sustainable tourism by plotting the negative and positive financial impacts of the global industry of travel and tourism. Although checking the relative aggressiveness of the travel destination of world; with a concentrate on Canada’s execution, it blueprints plan of action for Niagara locale to improve its competitiveness to backing sustainable tourism.

According to Kaul, H. (2009)

Reason – The paper expects to give a comprehensive point of view on different dimensions of sustainable tourism. The exchange with key practitioners verifies the issues that have recently been distinguished.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper joins examination of government records and in addition experiences from experts. The paper examines affairs of sustainable tourism, industry’s strengths, challenges confronted and policy suggestions for the administration.

Discoveries – The paper investigates the monetary significance of sustainable tourism by plotting the strength and challenges of the tourism industry of India. The paper has suggestions for the administration and firms as far as speculation in hospitality training, infrastructure and better work for living practices.

Viable suggestions – The paper gives a guide to a portion of the initiatives that administration and industry could accept.

Originality/value – It joins together a policy viewpoint for industry stakeholder and government

According to Bowman, K. (2011)

Reason – The motivation behind this paper is to look at the state of sustainable touristy certification in flourishing nations and to present methodological and functional critiques and enhancements.

Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes methodological refinements of fuzzy rationale and near dissection dependent upon fieldwork in seven nations.

Discoveries – Sustainable tourism projects ought to be generally planned with local logos, to a great extent performance based, and aggregation ought to be dependent upon fuzzy logic ideas of fundamental and jointly sufficient characteristics of sustainable tourism.

Originality/value – The paper utilizes political science ideas of state limit and methodological developments of fuzzy rationale to give keys to great sustainable tourism certificate programs in developing nations

According to Padin, C. (2012)

Reason – The motivation behind the paper is to depict the idea of sustainable tourism planning, building the theoretical establishments, the segments that make up the model, and the connections that guarantee the sustainability of a vacationer destination.

Design/methodology/approach – Tourism planning is dependent upon the standards of sustainability and is characterized by three measurements: ecological, monetary and cultural tourism improvement.

Discoveries – The objective of complete tourism planning is to attain monetary development and proficiency, guaranteeing effectiveness and social equity by settling the fundamental necessities of the populace and on the premise of stable and consistent environmental frameworks.

Research limitations/implications – The confinement of this research is the requirement to confirm the changing elements raised and check the vigour of the miniature in an application.

Useful suggestions – Finding the right harmony between these three dimensions is important to guarantee exhaustive long haul sustainability, while discovering plentiful references of hypothetical and theoretical structures of sustainability are dependent upon the triple bottom line, as alluded to later in this paper.

Originality/value – The paper’s contribution is to propose, inside the model itself, the systems of relation between the three extents and the connections around them, underscoring the imitativeness of the “stakeholders” the process.

According to Giudici, E. et al.(2013)

Reason – The aim of this paper is to keep tabs on assessing the rich cultural immaterial legacy of Sardinia Island, and how such a legacy can help the execution of tourism throughout the low season. The reason for existing is additionally to confirm if the improvement of impalpable legacy attractors could be an operator for the sustainability of the tourism of Island.

Approach/methodology/design – A qualitative methodology is utilized as a part of request to investigate a various research endeavour: the multifaceted outflows of the Holy Week. It is a cultural occasion that constitutes a piece of the Christian celebration of Easter, which is portrayed by conventional processions and antiquated ceremonies far reaching in different towns and urban areas around the island.

Discoveries – In Sardinia Island, intangible cultural heritage gives an extra chance to build the level of tourism.

Research limitations/implications – This study has its restriction: it centres just on a particular typology of occasion. Further studies ought to be mulled over so as to investigate if many different sorts of occasions have the ability to expand tourism in the low season, and to advertise it on a maintainable viewpoint.

Originality/value – This study of heritage tourism in islands gives data about which little has been composed. Also, it could offer a skeleton for other Mediterranean and somewhere else’s island destinations

According to Ali, A. et al. (2014)

Purpose – The point of this examination is to closer view information and communication technology (ICT) as an inventive methodology for sustainable tourism advancement of places. ICT is the innovation needed for data preparing which encourages information handling, data offering, correspondence, seeking and choice. This paper focuses on the Abernathy and Clark model and its advantage in applying ICT as inventive in overseeing Sustainable tourism.

Design/methodology/approach – An internet survey was managed to destination administrator and to e tourism specialists. Destination administrator were chosen as they were recognized as the individual answerable for the generally administration of a Destination Management Organization. E tourism masters were distinguished as somebody who owns exceptional skill, learning and aptitudes on ICT provisions to tourism and offered ability on which went from such field as electronic circulation, recommender frameworks, user-created content, online groups, portable technology, technology acknowledgement, tourism systems and Web 2.0. This was pursued by semi-organized meetings.

Discoveries – These ICT apparatuses were discovered to be inventive for data administration and dispersion for discriminating decision making. Innovation was encouraged through the utilization of ICT for Sustainable tourism by prompting a superior comprehension of the tourism item, following, measuring and assessing, anticipating patterns, creating organizations and captivating and supporting stakeholder connections.

ICT might give novel methods for approaching marketing, vitality observing, waste administration, and correspondence for destinations

Conclusion

The significance of incorporating an ecological dimension in vital administration forms has developed throughout the most recent decade, leaving no trade unaffected. Ideas, e.g., sustainable tourism advancement, sustainable tourism, and sustainable standards have been debated, and an audit of the tourism literature without any doubt shows two separate discussions ways.

From one perspective, we have investigator or researcher who have kept tabs on characterizing and comparing distinctive ideas with related to sustainability and for sustainable tourism that have created guidelines.

From other perspective, case studies based articles are there which are describing sustainable tourism development projects on their successful rates, by this we conclude project is outstanding or unsuccessful.

All the articles, reports and books investigated for present study focus on sustainability and tourism reveal that tourism as an industry has responded (or at least attempted to respond) to the guidelines given in report “Our Common Future” prepared by Environment and Development by the UN Commission in report. But most of the response came in maturity or later maturity stage of destination.

Sustainable tourism planning is to distinguish the stakeholders and open correspondences with them. NGOs, Local communities and the tourism industry all require to team up to help grow sustainable tourism ventures that are economically feasible and locally beneficial.

References

Ali, A. and Frew, A. (2014), “ICT and sustainable tourism development: an innovative perspective”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 2-16

Bowman, K. (2011), “Sustainable tourism certification and state capacity: keep it local, simple, and fuzzy”, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research,VOL. 5 NO. 3, pp. 269-281

Brundtland Commission (World Commission on Environment and Development)(1987), Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Gibson, A., Dodds, R., Joppe, M. and Jamieson, B. (2003), “Ecotourism in the city? Toronto’s green tourism association”, International Jouurnal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 15/6, 324-327

Giudici, E., Melis, C., DessA±`, S. and Ramos, B., “Is intangible cultural heritage able to promote sustainability”, International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 101-114

Gupta, V. (1999), “Sustainable tourism: learning from Indian religious traditions”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,11,2/3, 91–95

Horobin, H. and Long, J.(1996), “Sustainable tourism: the role of the small firm”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 8/5 ,15–19

Jamrozy, U. (2007), “Marketing of tourism: a paradigm shift toward sustainability”, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 117-130

Jayawardena, C., Patterson, D., Choi, C. and Brain, R.(2008), “Sustainable tourism development in Niagara: Discussions, theories, projects and insights”, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 20 No. 3, pp. 258-277

Kaul, H. and Gupta S. (2009), “Sustainable tourism in India”, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism

Themes, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 12-18

Padin, C. (2012), “A sustainable tourism planning model: components and relationships”, European Business Review, Vol. 24 No. 6, pp. 510-518

Santonocito, S.D (2009), “Sustainable Tourism and Carrying Capacity in The Mediterranean Area Focus on Sicily”, 3rd Irt International Scientific Conference – Vol.1.

^Sustainable Tourism Development In Regional South Australia (2002), South Australian Tourism Commission, ISBN 1 876702 76 1

Sustainable Tourism, United Nation World Tourism Organisation, http://sdt.unwto.org/content/about-us-5

A government that effectively manages tourism creates benefits for all stakeholders. Effective management is avoiding negative impacts through a combination of general protective measures; regulations to control development; and financial restraints (Cohen, 1978; Hjalager, 1996). Improvement of the environment can be achieved by ensuring that development is harmonious with the overall plan for the destination (Batra & Kaur, 1996). Necessary tourism infrastructure such as roads, airports, parks, and visitor centers are also the responsibility of government (Jamal & Getz, 1995). Maintenance of infrastructure and facilities is expensive and residents, through property taxes, should not be the only group to bear this burden (Wong, 1996). Residents benefit when tourists spend money in the local economy and create jobs, as well as from the development of infrastructure that residents also utilize (Wong, 1996).

Residents in mass tourism destinations such as Hawai’i depend on tourism for their standard of living (Liu, Sheldon, & Var, 1987). Because tourism development usually involves a tradeoff between economic benefits and environmental or cultural costs, residents cope by downplaying the negative impacts based and emphasizing the economic gains to maintain satisfaction with their community (Dyer et al., 2007; Cavus & Tanrisevdi, 2003; Faulkner & Tideswell, 1997). Residents with the most economic gain are the most supportive of the tourism industry (Harrill, 2004).

Cavus & Tanrisevdi (2003) found that the development process controlled by planners was the primary factor in residents’ negative attitudes towards tourism. When residents perceive that the costs of tourism outweigh the benefits, feelings of resentment and irritation towards tourists can develop and lower community satisfaction (Doxey, 1975; Faulkner & Tideswell, 1997; Ko & Stewart, 2002). Residents who feel that they have a voice in tourism planning are more positive towards tourism (Cavus & Tanrisevdi, 2003). According to Choi & Sirakaya (2005), sustainable tourism is the development pathway to minimize the negative impacts of tourism. There are many ways to make tourism more sustainable but few tools for evaluating and testing a sustainable tourism framework (Choi & Sirakaya, 2005). Audits and resource valuation evaluate tourism’s costs and benefits so that they can be fairly distributed to stakeholders (Warnken et al., 2004; Wen, 1998). Limiting tourism growth (such as carrying capacity or limits of acceptable change) can also make development more sustainable (Cohen, 1978; Butler, 1980; Gossling, Peeters, Ceron, Dubois, Patterson, & Richardson, 2005; Christensen & Beckmann, 1998; Ahn et al., 2002). In these approaches, government management and stakeholder cooperation are necessary to reach a consensus for how to manage future tourism development. This is why Understanding residents’ perceptions are critical to fairly distributing the environmental, social, and economic costs and benefits of tourism; thus, ultimately increasing sustainable tourism development (Twining-Ward & Butler, 2002).

Host Community Attitudes and Perceptions about Tourism Development

This study aims at identifying the relationships between residents’ socio- cultural, economic and environmental aspect and their attitudes towards tourism by focusing on a small community where tourism is in the development stage. By conducting this research, the author hopes to come across the residents’ attitudes and capture their current perceptions about tourism development in their area. Moreover, this research is being done because most authors agree that initial community attitudes toward tourism are critical to community involvement in the industry (Murphy 1981), the formation of destination image (Echtner & Ritchie 1991).

Attitudes are defined as “a state of mind of the individual toward a value” (Allport 1966, p. 24) and as “an enduring predisposition towards a particular aspect of one’s environment” (McDougall & Munro 1987, p. 87). Attitude of host community to tourism based development can improve if there is a boost in the tangible and indescribable settlements the host community can receive by being in based development (Choi & Sirakaya, 2006). As Attitudes are based under this understanding, this is why some researchers came to a conclusion that residents’ attitudes toward tourism are not simply the reflections of residents’ perceptions of tourism impacts, but the results of interaction between residents’ perceptions and the factors affecting their attitudes (Lankford et al.1994). Some preceding researches have proved that some most important impacts of tourism are identified along with its variables, however the theory is underdeveloped: “Currently there is limited understanding of why residents respond to the impacts of tourism as they do, and under what conditions residents react to those impacts” (Ap 1992, p. 666). Husband (1989) also addressed this issue by saying “There is, so far, no theoretical justification of why some people are, or are not, favorably disposed to tourism” (p. 239).

Various issues can persuade perceptions of the host community about positive outcomes of tourism development. Support will depend on the degree of benefits perceived. The participation of community will be discussed later on in the literature review. The acceptance of local values can also be an important factor that leads to the achievement of a tourism based development (Alexander, 2000). However over a certain period of time many findings detected that host community perceptions’ in the direction from tourism may have more positive attitudes. People who depend on tourism industry or having a better economic benefit may possibly have a higher degree of positivity than other inhabitants who do not benefit from a tourism development (lankford and howard, 1994; Jurowski, Uysal, and willimas, 1997; Sirakaya , Teye and Sonmez,2002 ).

Lindberg and Johnson (1997) mentioned that people having higher economic impacts from tourism may have more positive attitudes. However Travis (1984) has stated that it’s not only an economic characteristic such as the opportunity for jobs creation or capital generation that needs to be considered by the host community. The socio-cultural and environmental aspects are also very important. For Choi and Sirakaya (2005), the most community should also have a better environment in term of infrastructures and improved amenities such as leisure and recreational activities. They describe tourism as consisting of various supports and any development in the tourism field should ensure the protection of the culture of host community, alongside the protection of the environment.

In order to clarify the relationship between the impacts of tourism and residents’ attitudes toward tourism, several models have been developed. One of the most influential models is Doxey’s Irridex model (1975) which suggests that residents’ attitudes toward tourism may pass through a series of stages from “euphoria,” through “apathy” and “irritation.” to “antagonism,” as perceived costs exceed the expected benefits. This model is supported by Long et al.’s (1990) research results, which indicate residents’ attitudes, are initially favorable but become negative after reaching a threshold.

To have a better comprehension about the relationship between the impacts of tourism and residents’ attitudes toward tourism, several models like Butler Tourism Life cycle Area and Doxey Irridex model. have been developed. One of the most dominant models is Doxey’s Irridex model (1975). The Irridex model indicates that residents’ attitudes toward tourism will change overtime. It suggests that residents’ attitudes and reactions toward tourism contain a sense of homogeneity (Mason et al. 2000). Conversely, this concept was challenged by some research findings that reported heterogeneous community responses and diverse residents’ attitudes simultaneously existing in a community (Brougham et al. 1981,Rothman 1978).

Critics about Doxey Irridex Model and Butler Tourism Area Life cycle

Butler (1980) took a more complicated approach. He argued that tourist areas go through a recognizable cycle of evolution; he used an S-shaped curve to illustrate their different stages of popularity. Butler stated that there are six stages through which tourist areas pass. These include the exploration stage, involvement stage, development stage, consolidation stage, stagnation stage, and decline stage. His study also reveals that evolution is brought about by a variety of factors, including changes in preferences and needs of visitors, the gradual deterioration and possible replacement of physical plant and facilities, and the change of the original natural and cultural attractions, which is responsible for the initial popularity of the area. Furthermore this model is supported by Murphy’s (1983) research results, which reveal the distinct attitude differences among residents, public officials, and business owners in three English tourist centers. Although Butler’s model addresses the difficulty of residents’ attitudes toward tourism, researchers still lacked theories explaining relationships between residents’ attitudes and tourism impacts until Ap (1992) applied social exchange theory to tourism.

According to the theory, exchange will start, only when there are irregular inaction forms. Ap (1992) suggests that “residents evaluate tourism in terms of social exchange, that is, evaluate it in terms of expected benefits or costs obtained in return for the services they supply” He also argued that when exchange of resources is high for the host actor in either the balanced or unbalanced exchange relation, tourism impacts are viewed positively, while tourism impacts are viewed negatively if exchange of resources is low. Social exchange theory has been examined as a theoretical framework by researchers to describe residents’ attitudes toward tourism impacts (Perdue et al. 1990, McGehee & Andereck 2004).

However mason and Cheyen (2000) stated that that the representation of Butler ‘assumes a degree of homogeneity of community reaction’. Butler (2006) supported his model by suggesting that ‘a consistent evolution of tourist area can be conceptualized’. Different phases at a particular destination may not be understood without mistakes. The demonstration hence should be concerned only to some extent as the phase itself differs from one tourist area to another. (Tosun,2002).

The Doxey irridex model gives a clear view of how host community attitude changes over a period of time. It mentions host community perceptions, reactions and attitudes in the direction of tourism (Manson et al.2000). This can be a conflicting principle because some research came to a conclusion that various host community attitudes and perceptions may exist in the community, (Brougham et al.1981, Rothman 1978). Akis, Peristanis & Warner (1996) disapprove the Irridex Model and The Tourism Life Cycle and view it as too simple, because both models give a few hint of changing host community perceptions and attitudes over time. Other researchers like Lankford and Howard (1994, P.135) opposed against the model of Doxey(1975) because positive and negative factors that affect the perceptions and attitudes of host community are not given much consideration.

As the tourism industry keeps on changing, this may be a reason why we must give this industry continuous support for its related development. Andereck & vogt( 2000) stated that it is considered that optimistic attitudes towards tourism may entail the encouragement for further tourism development. If there is any delay in tourism project development this can be due to frustration towards tourists. Mill and Morisson (1984) even mention that, ‘an acceptance of tourism cannot be built unless the benefits of tourism are made relevant to the community’. Attitudes and perceptions of host community at a destination is of utmost importance in the accomplishment of tourism development alongside the development of the industry at large also, (Hayword,1975), (Heenan, 1978), and Hiller (1976).

There is a broad belief perception and attitudes of host community in the direction of tourism outcomes are apt to become essential planning and policy concern for flourishing development and expansion of existing and potential tourism programs, (Ap,1992). Host community attitudes and perception is very important as it will influence their behavior towards tourism, (Andriotis and Vaughan, 2003).

Sustainable tourism is now recognized when tourism is well planned, developed and managed in a controlled, integrated and sustainable manner. With this approach, tourism can generate substantial economic benefits to an area/region, without creating any serious environmental or social problems. Tourism’s resources will be conserved for continuous use in the future.

Therefore this report covers the issues, approaches, techniques and principles for tourism planning at the national and regional level of planning and management of tourism at the national level because Cancun development both involved the national and regional planning.

Cancun is one of the most important tourist destinations in Mexico. From being a fishing village 30 years ago, today it a well visited resort. Cancun is located at Yucatan peninsula, in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Cancun is connected by bridges to the mainland and has a 20km Hotel Zone which is about 200m wide with shores on the Caribbean Sea, and also enclose is large lagoon.

There are over 150 hotels and resorts in Cancun with more than 24,000 rooms and 380 restaurants and most of it all welcome families. Four million visitors arrive each year in an average of 190 flights daily.[citation needed] The Hotel Zone of Cancun is shaped like a 7 with bridges on each end connecting to the mainland

Beside Cancun, is the Mayan Riviera and check out Playa del Carmen, Xcaret and Xel-Ha. The ancient Mayan ports which is now been converted into modern-day paradises. Also nearby is Tulum, a fascinating archaeological zone by the sea. It was the only walled city built by the Mayans.

Source: http://www.visitmexico.com/cancun

The Development Plan and Policy

Mexico national tourism plan was to expand the international tourism industry which by 1960 the government approved the project to promote the international tourism industry to the less unknown region and local rural areas. The Mexican government choose 5 new resorts for development because the main tourist attraction then was just the natural environment and main historic sites. This bought about the creation of Cancun which was part of Mexico’s long-term national development strategy

Cancun actually plan was first developed in the 1967 by the government under the Mexico National Tourism Plan but development did not start until 1970 when FONATUR, the Mexican Federal Government’s agency in charge of fomenting national came in place

The initial Tourism policy was articulated around the interrelated sets of objectives

Open up a road from Puerto Juarez to the island,

Design a Master Development Plan and

Build a provisional air strip

The Master Plan came about three items

To build tourism zone where there will be no residential area surrounding it, like a tourism passage with hotels, shopping centres and golf courses installed

To build a residential zone for the permanent residents

Building an international airport atone side on the mainland south of the island

The tourism zone plan development which was divided into three phases. The first comprised the area from Bahia de Mujeres to Punta Cancun and the coast up to the inner limit of Bojorquez Lagoon; the second phase ran from Bojorquez Lagoon to Punta Nizuc, and the third from Punta Nizuc south, to the limits of the territorial reserve.

There are four distinct phases in Cancun’s development, characterized by times of growth and crisis: From 1969 to 1975;

From 1976 to 1983;

From 1984 to 1989;

From 1990 to 2007

At some time during these periods of growth, seemingly insurmountable problems darkened expectations for the area- a lack of regular flights, the 1982 devaluation, natural disasters, the collapse of North American tourism due to the terrorist attacks of September 11 and, more recently the hurricane Wilma back in October 2005. Nevertheless, the city has demonstrated its ability to bounce back on each occasion.

By 1976, Cancun was firmly established as a tourism destination: 18,000 inhabitants, stable migratory patterns, more than 5,000 jobs, 1,500 hotel rooms and 100,000 visitors in the winter 76-77 season.

The sudden spurt of growth prior to 1982 caused an ecological imbalance in the lagoon system, requiring corrective measures. From 1983 to 1988, Cancun registered explosive growth with more than 12,000 hotel rooms and another 11,000 projected or under construction and more than 200,000 inhabitants.

From 1989 to date, Cancun has been the nation’s most dynamic city. It contributes a large percentage of Mexico’s tourism-related revenue and accounts for much of Quintana Roo gross domestic product. There are currently more than 500,000 inhabitants in the urban area. Cancun has become the country’s largest tourism resort and is the most prosperous city in the Yucatan Peninsula. It is also the Caribbean’s premier destination, surpassing even the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.

Strategic for Managing resorts

Tourism as extensively damage the lagoon, the sand dunes as to the extinction of species of animal and fish and also the rain forest which surround s the island as been destroyed. Until recently after 20 year the Mexico government decided to limit project along the coast to prevent further damage to the island.

Environmental problem: Deforestation. This is caused by the over construction of hotels, restaurant and other tourism catering facilities and it also causes wildlife destruction and further environmental damages

Impact and effect: medium and regulation

Type of measure: regulatory standard. No regulatory body or law for controlling tourism development

To achieve the management and control of Cancun some sustainable indicator have to be consider

Carrying Capacity

Cancun’s carrying capacity has been exceeded to a point where the benefits of tourism are beginning to significantly diminish. Therefore the government established a carry capacity standard. The carrying capacity of Cancun can be defined as the threshold of tourist activity beyond which facilities are saturated (physical capacity), the environment is degraded (environmental capacity), or visitor enjoyment is diminished (perceptual or psychological capacity). Among these three capacities the latter two are the most relevant to Cancun’s current situation.

Regulatory improvement

In Cancun, the government of Mexico established local and regional zoning laws that restrict development and bans development in conservation zones of the Cancun-Tulum corridor, locate in the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo

Land use

Formally, development is guided by a master plan affecting land use and building patterns. The plan limits the number of floors of hotels, guarantees public access to beaches, and preserves the five mile zone separating the tourist zone from the City of Cancun in the mainland

Actions Taken for Competitiveness

Product development action: how to make attractions better

Market development

Re-launch of Cancun

Quality assessment

Managing and Co-ordinating actions

The Competitiveness Program of Cancun as been considers into 5 important components:

Product Development: Physical Recovery of the Tourism Product is based on rescue and rehabilitation projects, such as the rescue of beaches, ecological rescue and lagoon maintenance, restoring and the rehabilitation of the central zone of Cancun city, reforestation and signage, remodelling of the Convention Centre, and other important modernization and rehabilitation programs

Re-Launch of Cancun: Have as its purpose a qualitative transformation of the city’s image and the adding of new values. In this section, projects are being developed, such as Puerto Cancun as a large international yachting attraction, a multimodal transport terminal in order to define a new policy in municipal public transport, a sub-aquatic museum and artificial reefs, a project to construct a race car dome, and enlarging the Cancun airport.

Quality Assessment: Raise Service and Quality Levels: through the recognition of the workforce’s efforts, collaboration among different tourism business sectors and the facilitation and systematic improvement surveillance of visitor experience. This includes specific actions such as the Mexican Caribbean Quality Tourism Norms, tourist safety, facilitation of immigration and customs systems in the airport, utilizing protected areas, and a centre of business linkage.

Market Development: New Marketing for Cancun will attend to the problems of Cancun’s image, and includes actions such as new promotional and marketing campaigns, which revalue the destination’s attractiveness, as well as the development of new tourist products, principally other than the sun and sea niche.

Managing and Co-ordinating actions: Long-Term Planning for the State of Quintana Roo in the Year 2025: considers that in the next few decades, tourism as economic development will consolidate around the tail end of the state.

Conclusion

From 1989 to date, Cancun has been the nation’s most dynamic city. It contributes a large percentage of Mexico’s tourism-related revenue and accounts for much of Quintana Roo gross domestic product. There are currently more than 500,000 inhabitants in the urban area. Cancun has become the country’s largest tourism resort and is the most prosperous city in the Yucatan Peninsula. It is also the Caribbean’s premier destination, surpassing even the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.

Mexico’s National Trust Fund for Tourism Development

The sustainable development of tourism has become a global major task which aims at achieving the objectives of biological preservation, prevention of climate change, and natural resources’ conservation to ensure the long-term prosperity (Narasaiah 2004). In order to obtain the positive outcomes, it’s necessary to concentrate on the impacts and implications of a destination’s environmental, economic and social areas (Sofield 2003).

Brisbane is the capital city of the Australian state Queensland with an approximate 200 million population and it’s a green and diverse city with a splendid climate. It also has become one of the fastest growing economic cities and the major business hubs in Australia. Brisbane’s outstanding economic performance mainly relies on its tourism-related industries (ABS 2010). A number of 5.8 million arrivals to Australia during the year ended October 2010 has increased 5% when is compared to the same period of last year. Besides, an expectation of 20 million international arrivals will be received by the year 2020. The tourism industry has played an important role in Brisbane’s economy whereby it becomes the third-most popular destination after Sydney and Melbourne (TA 2010).

Therefore, the sustainable tourism development is an ideal execution which is balancing the social, economic and environmental areas to ensure long-term sustainability in both mass and special interest segment of a destination’s tourism industry (Black and Crabtree 2007).

Sustainability of Brisbane’s tourism
Natural resources

Being the heart of Queensland, Brisbane has the wealthy energy and water resources so that it can be able to contribute to the development and execution of sustainable energy and climate change policies to maintain adequate energy supplies for the tourism-related industries (Australian Government 2010). The beaches, mountains, rivers and bays of the city have made it a destination with lively nature. It’s also rich in heritage which can simply reveal by the architecture and art of the city. However, Brisbane is now facing the problems of greenhouse gas, peak oil and climate change. It is now taking measures to enhance the energy security and manage the natural resources (BCC 2010).

Hence, Australia’s abundant natural resources have been the key accelerator of its economic prosperity and international competitiveness. This is the reason that the sustainability is a crucial issue for both business and government in such a country with unique natural environment.

Developmental strategy

The Australian Tourism Board released the ‘National long-term tourism strategy’ which practised the long-term policy to position the tourism industry as economically vibrant and sustainable industry in order to further its sustainable development (Australian Government 2010).

The tourism industry of Australia will double over the next ten years due to the substantial growth in both nature-based tourism and ecotourism. The ecotourism is a nature-based tourism which is involving the education and explication of the natural environment so that it can be conducted to be ecologically sustainable. It’s able to help Brisbane’s cultural components and the ecological sustainability of natural environment to obtain opportune gaining to the local community and long-term conservation of the resources (Fennell 2003). Australia is well-known for its ecotourism after it has made the great achievements in the developments between various stakeholders which are including government, industry and community groups (TQ 2002).

Brisbane is increasing the reverse and connectivity of bush land to provide extra protection of natural areas; it can also improve the carbon pollution and the climate changes (BCC 2010). Furthermore, Australia has set up the sustainable population strategy to make sure that it can reply to the variations in its population to develop a sustainable Australia. The strategy is aim at improving the present and future generations with more suitable recognitions and managements to the influence of population changes (AG 2010). It also can direct the development of principles to meet the population needs of Australia’s future. All of those strategies which have been mentioned above will become the strong means to ameliorate the sustainable tourism development of Brisbane.

The issues of sustainable tourism development
Social impacts

The growing complexity of communities and the relationships between them pose significant challenges for the sustainable development of tourism (Hall and Richards 2000). For example, the Brisbane City Council has worked with the social development industry to improve the living and working environment more sustainable. It also provided the grant to encourage the sustainable tourism development in the community such as roads, buildings, green spaces, and tourist attractions of the city (BCC 2010). One of the most obvious reasons is that the growing number of population and tourists will inevitably influence the quality of local residents’ lives (Faulkner 2003).

Brisbane is deeply concerning on the sustainable development since a growing number of domestic and foreign people like to buy their second and retired homes to spend their lives here after discovered through tourism. This may also help to conserve its heritage, culture and classical architecture in order to maintain the charms to the international market because the tourism will influence the culture and nature environment (Horner and Swarbrooke 2004).

The productivity of labour plays an important role in affecting the sustainable tourism. Brisbane has developed a Multicultural Employment Infrastructure Program to assist the skilled people from high unemployment migrant into appropriate occupation of tourism industry such as hotels, restaurants, attractions, etc. and thus creating more sustainable employment outcomes for the local society (TA 2010). The sustainable development with the good encouragement can help to provide large training opportunities and great employment for the residents. The positive labour productivity growth of Australia tourism was contributed mostly by the accommodation and transport services industries from 2003 to 2009 which has been indicated in Figure 1.

There is an issue that Brisbane is making efforts to dispose the gender discriminations in the tourism industry because of only 36% of female managers. The other major jobs are diminutive such as housekeeping, kitchen work, waitress, etc. and thus Brisbane is trying to improve this situation and providing better chances or conditions for the women in the tourism industry (Helium 2010).

Another social issue is that the Aboriginal culture has become a tourism product due to a growing area of tourism interest after it was exposed by Australia to the international tourism market. It has enhanced the economy and improved the quality of life for the Aboriginal people. The Aboriginal culture also helps to differentiate Australia as a distinctive destination from its global competitors of the marketplace (Butler and Hinch 2007).

However, the tourism will have the negative impacts on society in term of the activities of local community. The reason is that the tourism development may result in the loss of its cultural identity by playing up to the perceived demands of the tourists, especially the international markets. For example, some historical buildings in Brisbane are now facing demolition or reconstruction due to the new construction plans of city council. The community is under a debate of the purpose of these buildings and the value of attractions in the future because some local committees are trying to protect these heritage properties (Moore 2010). Hence, the local society has to always focus on not to meet the anticipated touristy ideals in order to ensure it can conserve its own culture or heritage in a right direction.

Figure 1 Average annual labour productivity growth in tourism industries (%)

Source: TRA 2010.

Environmental impacts

A destination will strengthen its policies on protecting the environment due to the rapid growth of tourism industry. However, the environmental impacts can also bring the negative outcomes to the nature-based tourism (Jafari 2000).

Brisbane is now facing the worst flash floods coming from the Toowoomba city. The floods entered Brisbane with the floods level of 4.5 metres which is expected higher than 1974’s peak. A large number of shops in the central business district have closed because of the floods. More than 10,000 properties and 200,000 people have been influenced in the New Year floods. Many residents and visitors are forced to evacuate out of the disaster areas. The Queensland Tourism Board mentioned that flooding and heavy rains had hit the tourism industry badly with lots of roads, rail links and airports were blocked (ABC 2011).

The destination will also take actions to minimising the negative environmental impacts for the sustainable tourism development (Jafari 2000). Nowadays the Australian tourism is tending to the ‘low carbon travel’ because of the carbon pollution of the country. Both locals and tourists are encouraged to experience the low-carbon vacation and lifestyle so that a lot of tour packages have been provided on village or vineyard journeys (TA 2010). Hence, Brisbane pro-actively works on sustainability positivity will be better positioned than its competitors to survive as the travellers grow more environmentally conscious in selecting their destinations.

The environmental auditing is required by legislation as a self-regulative implementation which can be valuable controlling tool in order to achieve the sustainable tourism development (Jafari 2000).

Being one of the largest cities of Australia, Brisbane has invested in dealing with the greenhouse gas emissions, climate changes, and use of fossil fuels. The reason is that Australia is one of the most carbon-emitting countries and thus Brisbane is taking actions to improve the environment which is affected by its growing tourism industry. It has identified that the public transports and rail freights are the key factors to handle the reduction of carbon emission; nevertheless the Australian tourism is so dependant upon its international and domestic aviation links due to its unique geography. Therefore the airline industry of Australia increased the fuel prices when the tourism was affected directly (TTF 2008).

The environmental influence of tourism has also motivated the destinations to concentrate responsibly in enhancing the quality of their environments and lives (Elliott and Thomas 2009). Australia is challenged to solve the variety of environmental issues since the global community is focusing on the ‘green tourism’. Brisbane has developed the Climate Adaptation project which is aiming to set up the climate changes strategies and policies of climate adaptation to help the tourism and increase the local livelihoods through the sustainable tourism (TA 2010). This can help the city to recognise the risks of future climate change in sustainable tourism and ensure that the strategies are flexible to face the challenges within a right direction.

Economic impacts

Sustainable tourism is acting an important role in economic aspect of the community and global levels by minimising the negative impacts to ensure sustainable use, as well as providing sufficient tourism revenue to reinvest an affirmative segment of investments (UN 2001).

The Australian tourism is acknowledged by its regional communities as a significant economic driver due to its strong competency to provide a large number of jobs and income. The total expenditure from the tourists has increased by 5% to about AU $59 billion since 2008. The state of Queensland was the highest area where the visitors spent the most to its regional tourism. Besides, Australia has created a Tourism Impact Model for local councils to operate the economic impacts of tourism and therefore it can efficiently generate the income of tourism to improve the industry (TAV 2008). The sustainable tourism development is always measuring the economic activities so that it can obtain and focus the future impacts to the industries. This has become a cardio tonic for Australian economic growth.

The tourism industry has the capacity to bring grant benefits when it also has to utilise the costs on host communities. The benefits and costs of tourism are contributed equally. Instead of concentrating great efforts on advertising tourism or on measuring all of the benefits and costs, the regional development may become an effective tool to achieve larger return from the efforts that the communities are able to increase the tourism’s net revenue (Moscardo 2008). Australia is applied itself to increase the tourism’s net economic contribution to its economy and to foster an industry which is promoting the regulations of economic responsibility and sustainable tourism development. For instant, the state of Brisbane, Queensland has provided a ‘Smart State’ program with $120 million to develop a state where knowledge and innovation drive economic growth to solve the challenges of the technology industry and improve the quality of tourism (TA 2010). Therefore, the positive economic influence of tourism will rely on the way it managed and planned.

The tourism has to always concern on the economic areas when it is planning for the sustainable tourism because the economic issues is not only provide positive achievements but also affects the tourism negatively (Sofield 2003).

The Australian dollar strengthens currently to make lots of overseas travellers who are forced to tighten their purse strings. The impact of the stronger Australia dollar will make it to become a more expensive destination for the overseas visitors. Some hotels were affected by this issue as the business of international customers dropped five percent when compared with the previous months. This also meant that the overseas travellers would spend less time in Australia. Furthermore, the impact of the flash floods in Brisbane has also caused about AU $6 billion in damage which is including the budget of reconstruction and the raise of food prices. This may affect the local business which provides the products and services to both residents and tourists, especially in hotels and restaurants. They will hardly cut down the costs to attract the domestic and international tourism (PMN 2011). Both the stronger dollar and floods impacts of tourism industry will shorten Australia’s economic growth in 2011.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility is the persistent guarantee by business which contributes to the economic development through improving the quality of the local communities and the life of labour force. It is an effort of the companies to develop significant relationships between the corporate division and the remaining of the society (TA 2010).

The Australian airline Qantas Airways Limited have announced a new three-year partnership with the tourism board to promote and strengthen Australia as a desired tourist destination through marketing campaigns, business and trade events. It will have an effective outcome due to Qantas as one of the strongest brands in Australia and being known as the world’s top long distance airline. The company has a significant strategy which is encouraging its employees to participate the Australia sustainable tourism programs to ensure that they will bring the social responsibility into their work. The programs are including the education about the link between climate changes and sustainability in business and the conservation of Australia’s land care. The company will awards its staffs after they have showed the proactive leadership to carry out the environmental schemes throughout the business (Qantas Airways 2010).

The Qantas airline is committed to the sustainable growth of Australia in order to promote and enhance its distinctive destinations and environment. The airline spends almost AU $3 billion on the jet fuel and emits large amount of carbon and exhaust gas. Qantas has taken steps to reduce the carbon emission by signing contract with a US fuel producer Solena. They considered building a trial plant to convert waste into bio-fuel. The source of the bio-fuel includes food packaging, scraps and tree cuttings. Besides, Qantas is trying to improve its water efficiency in all aspects of its operations by investigating procedures to reduce consumption of potable water, such as use of the grey-water and aircraft wash-water recycling. The organisation’s target is to reduce 25% of water consumption by 2011 to foster sustainable tourism (Brisbane Times 2010). The airline will conclude a feasibility study for the waste-based of aviation fuel within one year and thus the bio-fuel will be trialled on aircrafts. The bio-fuel and the water conservation will be the key components of its environmental strategy of sustainable tourism.

Moreover, Qantas has launched an annual award for those who perform excellent in Australia sustainable tourism since 2008 (Qantas Airways 2010). This award can motivate the local communities to improve the business environment of the society and thus it can help to promote the country to become one of the top sustainable tourism destinations.

Australia announced that the grants of tourism development program had been provided to support the sustainable growth in the tourism industry by developing creative products and services, contributing to long-term economic development, and creating high quality visitor experiences and services.

Brisbane has supported a project ‘Brisbane Ambassadors for Life: Sustainable tourism development’ which is proposed by the local hospitality organisations. It’s an innovative program designed to create sustainable economic value by attracting overseas students, leisure, and convention visitors to the greater Brisbane region. Some of them will become ambassadors for Brisbane in other countries, with Brisbane’s sister city relationships to generate increased visitation and length of stay in Brisbane (TA 2010).

Conclusion

The sustainable development of Brisbane’s tourism is in a steady process which is influencing to its social, economic and environmental areas because sustainable tourism is significant to Australia’s cultural and natural wealth. The government has provided a lot of sustainable practices to support the development of tourism and encourage both domestic and international tourists to explore the treasures of Australian tourism. This will also motivate the corporations and stakeholders to resolve the challenges and collaborate to improve the tourism industry so that it can provide the social and economic gains to the destination and survive in such a high extent of the global competition.

Today, the Australian tourism is rapid growing industry which has significantly contributed to the country. It has affected the lives of communities and developed variety of sustainable programs for its tourism development. However, Brisbane is currently facing a series of problems which are including the damages of the flash floods, the raise of food prices and the carbon pollution. Especially the floods, it will cost Brisbane a large amount of funds to reconstruct the disaster areas. These critical issues will be the difficult tasks for Brisbane to settle in its sustainable development. Therefore, the measures of sustainable development will be focusing on the current consumptions of the industry in order to satisfy the needs of the future generations. Moreover, it may guide the policies as well as implementations to be a powerful tool towards the sustainable tourism of Brisbane.

Introduction

Tourism is an ancient phenomenon and already the people during the times of the Mesopotamian society travelled. However, tourism only started to expand significantly post-Cook are of 1880 and mass tourism appeared post-war 1950’s (Weaver and Oppermann, 2000). Following were rapid, uncontrolled and unsustainable tourism destination development as can be observed on the Spanish Coast, where large hotels make the once regional, physical and social structures indistinguishable from many other mass tourism coastal areas (Richards and Hall, 2000). This chaotic mass tourism has led not only to irreversible environmental, socio-cultural and economical damages, but also has it made those destinations undesirable to tourists. And in fact; “There are examples from almost every country in the world, where tourism development has been identified as being the main cause of environmental degradation” (Lickorish and Jenkins, 1999:85).

Therefore, sustainable tourism development seems to be one of the fad words of modern tourism management, and is thus on all the tourist companies’ agendas.

The following assignment will investigate the issue of sustainable tourism, how “serious” and complex the subject really is? It will by no means be an extensive assignment, due to the time and word limitations at hand. Therefore further research would need to be undertaken to gain a full picture of the issue.

Discussion

Sustainable development and ethical tourism?

Sustainability is a contemporary issue in tourism development that came in fashion during the past 20 years (Winpenny, 1991). Considering the Brundtland Commission in 1987, development is sustainable when “it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (1987, cited in Winpenny, 1991:3). A different definition of sustainability is offered at the Globe ’90 Conference in Vancouver: “Sustainable tourism development is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that we can fulfil economic, social and aesthetic needs while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems” (Tourism Stream Action Committee 1990, Ledbury cited in Hein, 1997:30). These definitions show how complex the subject of sustainability is in its very nature of having to encompass so many things. And also “In the USA GNP per capita is $24,240 whilst in Kenya it is $964. Are the needs of either countries population met? And who is to decide what these ‘needs’ are? The UN? Or perhaps the World Bank, who service the ‘needs’ of developed economies by removing greater wealth from Africa through dept repayments than is injected through meagre aid budgets? This reality – that some people meet their needs by preventing others from meeting theirs – is overlooked” (Butcher, 2003:131). Therefore leaving the choices those countries (third world) are faced with is to accept aid or investment on the terms offered, or not accept them at all (Butcher, 2003: 123). Now the question is, is this really sustainable, and most of all ethical?

The impacts of tourism are divided into three elements; economical, environmental and socio-cultural (Coltman, 1989). Therefore, it could be argued that the sustainable discussion should be looked at in those three headings. According to this concept of sustainable tourism there are three points that are to be achieved through tourism development:

Increasing economic value of tourism
An improvement in the life quality of people
Protection and responsible use of natural resources (Keyser, 2002)

McKercher (1993:131) states that “the inherent vagueness of “sustainability” is its greatest weakness” and he notes on how the term is used to legitimize and justify activities and policies by the industry and the conservation movement for mutually exclusive activities. McKercher is not the only one supporting views along this notion. Smith and Duffy (2003) argue that business ethics is about reacting to customers’ values and expectations and is merely an attempt to improve an industries image and thus increase its sales.

Along with this fad for sustainability, many new terms for alternative tourism have emerged. Hein (1997) actually suggests that many of those new forms of tourism, like green, progressive and alternative tourism is purely a reaction to the contemporary green and environmental movement that we are experiencing in Western societies. Therefore, that would then imply certain superficiality and that this whole trend is more about attracting customers, rather than being really concerned about sustainability. However, Fennell (2003) on the other side notes that the trend has initiated many new fashionable tourism forms, like ecotourism, which when applied properly, should be beneficial. However, caution should be the word to consider, as those labels are easily abused as marketing tools.

The chances of marketing abuse is debatably encouraged by the argument that consumers are driving this movement at least partially, as their demands are changing when it comes to the consumption of tourism services. Goodwin (cited in Jenkins et al. 2002) argues that the movement for responsible forms of tourism is beginning to impact mainstream consumer preferences. And Butcher (2003) notes that there has been an important shift to a growth in ethical consumption, not only in tourism, taking Body Shop as one success example.

And while this ethical tourism is debatably having a clean image of being “good”, it may not be all as shiny as it sounds. “Ethical consumption ends up moralizing about exaggerated problems between people, hosts and tourists, and moreover, neglects an assessment of the social inequalities that characterize relationships between nations” (Butcher, 2003:3). He also argues that the promotion of nature-based tourism shows little prospects in regards to the potential to address the real problem, namely the poverty and inequality.

A good example is Ethiopia and the case of the 5 star Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa. The owner of the hotel was praised for his sensitive treatment and re-homing of the shack-dwellers who used to live there. However, the area of this luxurious hotel is surrounded by poverty. And for being in one of the poorest countries in the world, it is questionable of how moral it is to rub such wealth of a luxury 5 star Sheraton Hotel into the faces of the people who have to live under extreme poverty (Smith and Duffy, 2003).

Codes of ethics and chain of distribution and the impact on the tourism industry

Firstly one should outline what exactly a code of ethics is. A “….codes of ethics or conduct are lists designed to elicit a change in behaviour of particular stakeholder groups; a form of compliance for acceptable behaviour at a tourism setting” (Fennell, 2003:11).

Environmental commitment, responsibility, integrated planning, environmentally sound management, cooperation between decision makers, and public awareness, are according to Genot (1995, cited in Fennell, 2003) the core principals of any code of ethics.

One can easily recognise the complexity of the subject, especially when considering that it has to be applied to everyone involved in the tourism process and hence all the chains of distributions. Arguably a code of ethics could have positive impacts on the tourism industry and its channel of distributions. Simply because it would clarify what exactly ethical and sustainable development and tourism is. However it would prove almost impossible to monitor al the chain of distribution outlets. And also may the codes be against certain chains own value system, which bring us to the locality of ethics which will be discussed later on in the assignment. Wheeler (1994, cited in Fennell, 2003:186) is also critical of the implementation of codes of ethics and the sustainability and ecotourism trends, and so he notes: “… a never-ending series of laughable codes of ethics: codes of ethics for travellers; codes of ethics for tourists, for government and for tourism businesses. Codes for all – or, more likely, codeine for all…. But who really believes these codes are effective?”

In Zimbabwe there is the aid-funded Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (Campfire). Limited ecotourism and game hunting are organized here where the revenues support the rural population. While this is advertised as appropriate development but is this symbiosis per se a good thing? (Butcher, 2003). And moreover, how is it going to be possible to ensure that everyone adheres to the code of ethics, when the people are rural and unable to identify with the Western values and ethics system?

Fair trade and ethical tourism

Ethical tourism has been said to be synonymous with sustainable tourism, alternative tourism, appropriate tourism or sympathetic tourism (Hall and Lew, 1998). Hall and Lew (1998) argue that it is Western values and ethics that provide the base for the implementation of the concept of ethical tourism, and in thus impose its Western culture on the host domination. Is this then ethical in itself?

Following are some examples for fair trade and ethical tourism initiatives illustrated in the case of the Gambia:

Fair Trade practices in tourism (just like Fair Trade bananas) are being established by the Gambia Experience in conjunction with Tourism Concern (Author Unknown, 2002).
TUI and First Choice take part in a revolutionary scheme to raise awareness of under-aged prostitution. Therefore the Crimestoppers lines in the UK now accept calls from holidaying British people. Those tourists have on their flight into the Gambia been taught the signs, and encouraged to report inappropriate behaviour of under-aged prostitution (Baldwin, 2004).
The Gambia Tourism Concern has various initiatives; a street newspaper called Concern Magazine, an in-flight video aiming to raise awareness and encourage appropriate behaviour (Smith, 2002) and there is a weekly radio programme for the locals, educating them about issues of tourism (Williams, 2002). This debatably is to inform both, the tourist and the locals, of appropriate ethical behaviour towards the other party.
Conclusion

The definition of sustainability and hence the term sustainable tourism can be interpreted in various ways, and thus makes measurement a difficult task. It is questionable whether sustainability in tourism really does exist as there are always some aspects of concern. However, sustainability and ethical consumption seems to be in fashion, and hence making the possibilities of the terms being (ab)used for marketing purposes even bigger.

To clarify the standards for sustainability, ethical codes should be implemented across the tourism industry. However, this again in itself might pose an unethical aspect, as it might impose culturally dependable aspects on host communities, and what is right in one community, may not be right in another community. Also would it be impossible to control the adherence of the different chains of distribution units.

To conclude, it could be said that there is no single answer to this complex conundrum of sustainable and ethical tourism. And while there may be some superficiality in its use within the industry, it may be questioned whether it is not at least better to have some effort, than none at all.

References

Author Unknown (2002) Small operators push change, Travel Trade Gazette UK & Ireland, 26/08/2002, Issue 2528, p20

Baldwin N. (2004) Sex tourism fight scores first victory, Travel Weekly: The Choice of Travel Professionals (Reed), 20/08/2004, Issue 1732, p68

Butcher J. (2003) The Moralization of Tourism, Sun, Sand … And Saving The World? London; Routledge

Coltman M. M. (1989) Introduction to Travel & Tourism, An International Approach, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold

Fennell D. A. (1999; 2003) Ecotourism, An Introduction (2^nd edn.), London; Routledge

Hall C. M. and Lew A. A. (1998) Sustainable Tourism, A Geographical Perspective, New York; Longman

Hein W. (1997) Tourism and Sustainable Development, Hamburg; Deutsches Uebersee-Institut

Jenkins T., Birkett D., Goodwin H., Goldstein P., Butcher J. and Leech K. (2002) Ethical Tourism, Who Benefits?, Reading: Hodder & Stoughton

Keyser H. (2002) Tourism Development, Cape Town: Oxford University Press

Lickorish L. J. and Jenkins C. L. (1997) An Introduction to Tourism, Oxford; Butterworth-Heinemann

McKercher B. (1993) The unrecognized threat to tourism, Can tourism survive ‘sustainability’?, Tourism Management, April 1993.

Richards G. and Hall D. (2000) Tourism and Sustainable Community Development, London; Routledge

Smith M. K. (2003) Issues in Cultural Tourism Studies, London; Routledge

Smith M. and Duffy, R. (2003) The Ethics of Tourism Development, London; Routledge

Weaver D. and Oppermann M. (2000) Tourism Management, Brisbane; John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

Williams S. (2001) The Gambia, African Business, Jul/Aug 2001, Issue 267, p44

Winpenny J. T. (1991) Values for the Environment, London; HMSO

Bibliography

Cooper C. and Fletcher J. and Gilbert D. and Wanhill S. and Shepherd R. (1998) Tourism Principles and Practice (2^nd edn.), Harlow; Longman

Heery E. (1992:825) The management of international Tourism (Book Review) Journal of Management Studies, Nov. 92, Vol. 29, Issue 6, p825

Middleton V. T .C. and Hawkins R. (1998) Sustainable Tourism, Oxford; Butterworth Heinemann

Sharpley R. and Telfer D.J. (2002) Tourism And Development, Clevedon; Channel View Publications

Theobald W. F. (1996:2005) Global Tourism (3^rd edn.), San Francisco: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann

Witt S. F., Brooke M. Z. and Buckley P. J. (1991) The Management of International Tourism, London: Unwyn Hyman Ltd.

To what extent can tourism be sustainable in developing countries?

Introduction

Tourism Sustainability

Conclusion

References

Introduction

When one looks at monetary flows, along with the creation of jobs, the tourism sector represents one of the largest industries globally^[1]. The preceding aspect is an important one, as tourism provides the opportunity for small and medium sized (5 through 500 employees) businesses to form, along with micro enterprises that typical consist of fewer than six people, and usually represent family operations^[2]. These types of enterprises create employment opportunities, and in tourism, particularly in developing countries, the influx of tourist money provides openings for street vendors, cart food services, transport, and other self employment^[3]. An example of the importance of micro enterprises and SME’s is provided in an International Finance Corporation report authored by Hallberg^[4] that states these types of firms represent the majority of employment. She points out that in Ecuador firms with less than 50 employees represents 99 percent of all enterprises in that country, and 55 percent of employment^[5]. In the case of Bangladesh, enterprises with less than 100 employees represented 99 percent of all companies, employing 58 percent of all workers^[6].

The preceding has been brought forth to provide the context for this examination in the extent that tourism can be sustainable in developing countries. The point being made is that the hard currency flows represent an economic benefit that is important not only in tourism monies spent, but also as a basis for foreign investment and the creation of opportunities for foreign businesses to set up operations, with tourism as the entree.

The foregoing economic benefits represent a critical facet in approaching and understanding the importance of tourism to developing countries. The preceding importance also holds true for developed countries as well. The importance of tourism in developed countries is brought forth by the Assistant Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Geoffrey Lipman, who stated “Showing the full economic impact of the sector in the Index will enhance travel & tourism’s relevance for policy-makers…The Index makes clear that, although industrialized states currently dominate, poorer countries have a massive potential to be the leading force in international tourism,”^[7]. The significance of mentioning this Report in the context of this examination is that it provides an analysis of key drivers regarding competitiveness, which are thirteen pillars, as represented by “1. policy rules and regulations, 2. environmental regulation, 3. safety and security, 4. health and hygiene, 5. prioritisation of travel and tourism, 6. air transport infrastructure, 7. ground transport infrastructure, 8. tourism infrastructure, 9. information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, 10. price competitiveness, 11. human capital, 12. national tourism perception, and 13. natural and cultural resources^[8].

The benefits to a country and its populace as a result of tourism can have long term implications economically, however, the foundations, as set forth by the foregoing pillars, indicates that attaining such a goal requires commitment and a national plan to achieve.

Tourism Sustainability

The preceding brought forth the complexities involved in conducting tourism, highlighting that it is not a segment that can be entered into lightly if long term and sustainable results are to be achieved. An example of the Index illustrates the foregoing:

Chart 1 – Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index – Regulatory Framework

Segments 1 through 5^[9]

Pillars

1. Policy 2. Environment 3. Safety 4. Health 5. Priority

Rules Sustainability Security Hygiene T&T

Country

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Albania

104

3.69

93

4.08

71

4.93

59

476

104

3.55

Argentina

91

3.95

107

3.94

98

4.45

40

5.62

70

4.23

Austria

22

5.04

53

4.63

21

5.85

37

5.72

32

4.92

Bangladesh

114

3.31

121

3.71

129

2.83

117

2.11

122

2.77

Bolivia

127

2.88

104

3.98

92

4.53

14

6.51

91

3.81

Botswana

74

4.13

68

4.42

50

5.26

97

3.24

82

3.95

U.K.

5

5.54

10

5.56

65

5.01

41

5.58

43

4.69

U.S.

19

5.22

100

4.02

119

3.75

44

5.50

21

5.26

Chart 2 – Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index – Regulatory Framework

Segments 6 through 10^[10]

Pillars

6. Air 7. Ground 8. Tourism 9. ICT 10 Price

Transport Transport Infrastructure Infrastructure Compettive

Country

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Albania

112

2.20

116

2.55

86

2.53

86

2.16

90

4.33

Argentina

67

2.94

90

3.05

53

3.91

54

3.03

41

4.94

Austria

29

4.25

10

6.03

1

7.00

20

4.88

104

4.17

Bangladesh

116

2.12

69

3.56

122

1.29

122

1.52

10

5.44

Bolivia

108

2.25

114

2.59

99

2.21

106

1.81

14

5.32

Botswana

77

2.72

72

3.50

78

2.80

92

2.05

6

5.49

U.K.

4

5.65

11

5.85

16

6.18

9

5.46

127

3.44

U.S.

2

6.34

19

5.45

6

6.74

13

5.23

105

4.18

Chart 3 – Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index – Regulatory Framework

Segments 11 through 14^[11]

Pillars

11. Human 12. Affinity 13. Natural 14. Cultural

Resources Resources Resources

Country

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Rank

Score

Albania

58

5.03

6

6.32

130

1.87

75

2.17

Argentina

60

5.01

74

4.69

12

5.01

41

3.29

Austria

19

5.62

23

5.45

37

4.00

11

5.59

Bangladesh

107

4.26

125

3.95

100

2.61

109

1.44

Bolivia

98

4.60

116

4.18

15

4.86

62

2.45

Botswana

124

3.36

58

4.85

31

4.20

113

1.37

U.K.

7

5.87

90

4.54

27

4.35

4

6.28

U.S.

5

5.91

114

4.29

2

6.04

7

5.83

The preceding Charts provide a summary look at the varied areas that a country needs to consider in order to make tourism work in the face of the high rate of competitiveness. It points out the comparative facets inherent in generating tourism as well as a basis for understanding areas of deficiency and potential strengths in crafting a plan for sustainability. In order to increase and build the tourism sector, the country, its business community as well as populace need to be able to contribute as well as participate in the process. Britton^[12] helps us to understand that tourism entails “…travel flows; microscale spatial structure and land use of tourist places and facilities; economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts of tourist activity; impacts of tourism in third world countries; geographic patterns of recreation and leisure pastimes; and the planning implications of all these topics” as vital areas. In order to arrive at the point of sustainability in tourism, third world countries have to have or be in the process of developing the underlying structures that create and generate attraction for potential visits, with the understanding that other locales are engaging in the same objectives^[13].

Thus, sustainability means building upon what currently exists via definitive plans to maintain present levels, and of course enhance them in order to compete effectively. Richards and Hall^[14] advise that sustainable tourism represents a broad range of issues, which the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index illustrated^[15]. It, sustainable tourism, includes cultural facets, social accountability, environmental practices, economic considerations, quality of life, safety and security issues in terms of crime and policing. Universally, there is no agreed upon framework for sustainable tourism as the conditions, circumstances and allied facets for countries differ. However, sustainability in tourism is a real factor, one that demands the coordinated and concerned effort of the government, businesses and populace to work. In understanding the sustainability aspects and why such is important, one needs to be mindful of the economic ramifications that are the foundation for the importance attached to tourism by all countries, not just developing ones^[16]. Tourism is an economic pursuit, and as such it aids a country, and more specifically city and or region to grow, improve and earn currency from travellers, investment, and new business openings^[17]. The importance of tourism as an economic force is evidenced by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which developed the first legally binding multilateral agreement that deals with trade in the tourism sector^[18]. Its main provision sets forth the elimination of barriers to prevent foreign service providers and investors from participating in market access^[19].

In order to make tourism sustainable, governmental policies, standards and practices need to ensure that there are a series of planned steps to enhance the efforts in the tourist sector, which unfortunately is not usually the case in developing countries^[20]. Usually, in developing countries, efforts to promote tourism have been initiated and implemented by the private sector as well as in some cases citizen’s groups^[21]. The foregoing represents a core issue in that these types of efforts are doomed to be short term actions based upon surges in popularity of an area generated by avant garde travellers that have discovered a quiet, generally unspoiled location, and other disjointed means that does not have an official plan behind it^[22]. As shown by the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index^[23], competition in the tourism segment is marked by a broad number of underlying foundations that require concerted efforts and involvement on the part of the aforementioned government, private business sector, and community. Obvious facets that require government participation on a defined level represent marketing and promotional activities through an official tourist agency, the long term and consistent development of infrastructure related areas such as airports, transport, roads, and other support factors^[24].

The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development^[25] points to the importance of national, regional and local governments in planning for sustainable development as the “…providers of social services, builders of economic infrastructure, regulators of economic activity, and managers of the natural environment, local authorities have many direct instruments at their disposal to influence development”. The U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development^[26] adds to the preceding by telling us that planned tourism activities are essential to ensure that the local communities have a level playing field in terms of inclusion and involvement concerning the economic wealth generated by tourist activities, along with planning to minimise environmental impacts, and improvement of the social welfare. Tourism is an industry that competes with like locations on the international stage, with many developing countries organised for this area in a concerned manner.

To compete on this level, sustainable tourism must operate like a business. Place or destination marketing is a hallmark in the process, which Gold and Ward^[27] advise “… is defined as a process whereby local activities are related as closely as possible to the demands of the targeted customer … (with the intention) to maximise the efficient social and economic functioning of the area concerned, in accordance with whatever wider goals have been established”. Each locale has to identify its special features and communicate the advantages that it has to prospective travelers through concerted efforts. Products and services offered by companies are geared toward the long term, noted by their comprehensive marketing, promotional and related plans to seek competitive advantages, and induce consumer trial^[28]. To be effective over the long term, sustainable, destinations need to treat their locales in the same manner that companies do.

Conclusion

Sustainable tourism in developing countries represents an important economic aspect that can help to spur foreign investment in a broader sphere of industrial areas outside of tourism if conducted in a concerted manner. The importance of the preceding is that tourism is an important economic tool that can be utilised for broad range of areas that can benefit a developing country if its government has the vision, commitment and foresight to see the real world implications and demonstrated successes that tourism can bring.

As pointed out, tourism represents a commitment to infrastructure, marketing, promotion, and the involvement of the private business sector along with the local communities that will be impacted to set the foundation for programs, facilities, business opportunities and commercial realisations that benefit the locale. Tourism is a means to change external opinions and perceptions of an area through internally directed programs such as place marketing. While some destinations may have been discovered by travellers or writers and became trendy ‘in spots’ that position will dwindle for the next ‘in spot’ unless the government takes notice and seizes the opportunity to make the location one that stays on the tourist radar. In other instances, locales can be put into the tourist arena as a result of their special circumstances and conditions, such as weather, beaches, lakes, snow, forests, wild animals, monuments and ancient cities, cultural festivals and the like, Whatever the nuance, the building of travel requires planned infrastructure to enhance the experience. Easy transport access, rent cars, power, Internet lines, police, etc. Sustainable tourism requires sustainable efforts in order to make it work.

References

Apostolopoulos, Y., Gayle, D. (2002) Island Tourism and Sustainable Development: Caribbean, Pacific, and Mediterranean Experiences. Praeger Publishers. Westport, CT, United States

Beirman, D. (2003) Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis: A Strategic Marketing Approach. Allen & Unwin. Crows Nest, New South Wales

Britton, S. (1991) Tourism, capital and place: towards a critical geography of tourism. Vol. 9. No. 4. Environment and Planning Development

Bull, A. (1995) The economics of travel and tourism. Longman Press. Melbourne, Australia

Coleman, S., Crang, M. (2002) Tourism: Between Place and Performance. Berghahn Books. New York, New York, United States

Duffy-Smith, M. (2003) The Ethics of Tourism Development. Routledge. London, United Kingdom

Font, X., Bendell, J. (2002) Standards for Sustainable Tourism for the Purpose of Multilateral Trade Negotiations. World Tourism Organisation. Madrid, Spain

Gold, J., Ward, S. (1994) Place Promotion: The Use of Publicity and Marketing to Sell Towns and Regions. John H. Wiley & Sons. New York, New York, United States

Hallberg, K. (2001) A Market-Oriented Strategy for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises- International Finance Corporation. Discussion Paper 40. Washington, D.C., United States

Mahdi, A., Osman, M. (2000) An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Small and Micro-Enterprise Finance in Employment Creation. Retrieved on 6 January 2009 from http://www.iceg.org/NE/projects/labor/epicfinal.pdf

Mowforth, M., Munt, I. (2003) Tourism & Sustainability: Development and Tourism in the Third World. Routledge. London, United Kingdom

Richards, G., Hall, D. (2000) Tourism and Sustainable Community Development. Routledge. London, United Kingdom

Porter, M. (1980) Competitive Strategy: Techniques of Analysing Industries and Competitors. Free Press. New York, New York, United States

The U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development (1999) Tourism and Sustainable Development: The Global Importance of Tourism. The U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development. New York, New York, United States

UNCTAD (2002) Growing Micro and Small Enterprises in LDCs. UNCTAD, New York, United States

United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (1999) Tourism and Sustainable Development: Sustainable Tourism, A Local Authority Perspective. United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, New York, New York, United States

World Economic Forum (2007) The World Economic Forum’s First Ever Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report. 1 March 2007. Retrieved on 6 January 2009 from http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest Press Releases/Tourismpressrelease

World Travel and Tourism Organisation (1999) The Global Importance of Tourism. Commission on Sustainable Development. World Travel and Tourism Organisation, New York, New York, United States

1

The term sustainable is used for a tourism which does not affect or damage the destinations tours economy, environment and the tradition culture. Therefore the prime purpose of sustainable tourism is to do everything they can in order to that tourism remain positive experience of people of tourism destination together with tourist alike.

Marcel Proust has write about tourism that there are many people who want to see the entire world with their own pair of eyes but the real journey would be when they will try and see the one single place but with the eyes of hundreds of people. Tourist can make their holidays exciting and enjoyable together with making sure that sustainability requirement of tourist destination by looking for and following diversity and promotion of sustainability when selecting tourism destination.

The following are the few basic criteria given by an organization called global sustainable tourism group

Demonstrate effective sustainable management
Maximize social and economic benefits to the local community and minimize negative impacts.
Maximize benefits to cultural heritage and minimize negative impacts.
Maximize benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts

The name Disneyland is very well known as being a resort for the holidays and recreational activities. It is located in the Marne-la-Vallee, which is a comparatively a new town can be found with in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The exact location of Disneyland is about 20mile or 32 kilometres always from the Paris centre and located in the commune of Chessy, Seine-et-Marne.

The Disneyland of Paris, France is made up of two theme parks, seven wonderful cosy comfortable hotels owned by Disney with one retail, dining and entertainment district. Disney land was in operation since the year 1992 and is first Disney resort which is located not inside into the United States.

The estimated figures show that the number of visitors to both Disneyland Park and Walt Disney studio part were about 15 million in 2009 and that makes it most visited place in Europe.

The key fact relate with how the creation of Disneyland in Paris affect tourism revenue for France.

The total visitor who tour France some 4.8% visited Disneyland as part of their trip

Disneyland has attracted around 0.2 billion people since its inception.

1/3 of our foreign visitors combine a visit to the Resort and to Paris

In 2008, 6.43% of foreign tourist spending in France was generated by foreign visitors at the Resort

5th largest hotel accommodation capacity in France (after Paris, Lourdes, Lyon and Nice): over 8,000 hotel rooms and apartments in vacation residences (5,800 in Disney Hotels)

71% of all room-nights sold in the Seine-et-Marne department and 10.11% for the Ile-de-France region

France’s leading integrated business tourism venue: 2 convention centres host 1,000 business events every year in more than 23,500 sqm dedicated to seminars and conventions

Disney Village, the leading urban leisure centre in Ile-de-France (after Paris).

Sustainability, including identification and actions to correct any areas of un-sustainability.

The history of Disneyland from the creation of it shows that this project was result of public and private partnership which leads to creation of one of the leading destination for tourism. Together with Disneyland, a new town with name of Val d’ Europe. Both projected took almost thirty long years and used a land 1943 hectares.

There is an ongoing partnership within the framework of a “decision-making triangle”, associating the French Government, Euro Disney and local authorities including the Ile-de-France Regional council, the Seine-et-Marne Departmental Council and the Val d’Europe New Town Association (SAN) which encompasses five municipalities (Bailly-Romainvilliers, Chessy, Coupvray, Magny-le-Hongre and Serris).

the development of Disney started when Walt Disney company had identified the location for their European resort in Marne-la-Valle which was a relatively newly develop town in France but the company estimate that due to it central location it will attract a market of large number of people because of ease accessibility which is estimate at around 310 million potential visitor. But the government of France want it in lle-de-France due to number of reason such tax revenue, employment etc and most importantly they wanted to sustain environment and therefore during the implementation of this project every possible step is taken in order to not only follow the norms but to protect environment (not only the natural environment but the preservation of demographic characteristic, structure of the building and employment issues etc were also part of it) and therefore make project more sustainable from its very inception.

The Disneyland resort project were conducted in the environment where regulation were high and that make this project more sustainable as the most common problem with deregulation is that sustainability issues went into background.

This environment of high social regulation is the basic characteristic of french deregulation model as France were not yet ready to follow free market and privatization as way of controlling and monitoring and governing the industries.

The company is now in discussion with France government for further development of resort which will ensure the well being of population in that of part of the France together with improving investment in sustaining environment.

The company is very well committed to sustainability of its resort and therefore have got very detail plan in order the resort as prime sustainable tourist destination which not only limited to Europe but the whole world and therefore company’s approach towards sustainable environment, improving quality of life of its employee and local community in which it operate and especially company promote children and families in particular and make the resort number one choice for every child and environmentally conscious families who are looking for the best but sustainable tourist place.

The company is involve in number of project whose main emphasis is on the fulfilment of needs children and families and make special donation and participate in charitable activities related with children and arts. The major factors which make Disneyland resort a renown in name sustainable tourist destination is its commitment towards maintaining a sustainable environment but Disneyland Paris doesn’t stop it here but together with involving and donating generously to charities dream world improving lives of thousands of people if not million of people through creation of employment, contribute in economic growth by purchasing local material and products, hire services of local community for various initiatives, with all of these Disneyland Paris contribute in national tax revenue.

In order to promote and sustain the development of local community through education and learning as company hire people and provide them necessary training and together with that Disneyland Paris support those employees who improve the local community and has system of Cast Member in place through the company ensure that people got training from company become active citizen of their communities and help those people who desperately need help.

Disneyland Paris has created a separate department named as community relations department in order look after the community in which it operates. There is another program which is named as Disney Volunteers program in which company sponsor the voluntary actions of employees.

Since its beginning Disneyland Paris has special focus on environmental impact of its activities and taking environmental stewardship is its legacy and company has taken some real steps towards making environmental steward a part of its culture and consideration to environmental impact of its policies and decisions as automatic and embed process and part of the Disneyland culture.

How the destination has been and is being managed to achieve sustainability

Regarding environmental impact Disneyland Paris has recently publicize its environmental goal which will result in better management of the impact of its activities and decision on environment and will also inspire the visitors to promote sustainability.

The basic approach which Disneyland resort has followed in past and will continue to do so in future is based on effective use of and conservation of water, energy and ecosystem together reducing substantially the carbon emission, reducing the waste.

Disney land has announce in 2006 that it would increasing its renewable energy as of energy with at least 15% of its total energy requirement will be from renewable source which will have positive on environment .

Disneyland has taken solid and concrete step towards implementation of recycle bin across the resort and in that connection since last year 2008, there were twenty new recycle bin were put in place across the Walt Disney Studio park that’s another step in right direction by Disneyland, shows that Disneyland resort is fully committed to the sustainability objectives and is taking steps towards reduce its carbon footprint in order to protect environment.

Another example of Disneyland’s solid commitment towards improving the environment and sustain the climate is the use fully certified plastic bags which are made up of 80% of recycle material which is very encouraging step and is protecting and environment climate alike while these plastic bag are truly certified from an independent agency that is recognized for environmental labelling in Europe.

Disneyland has collected waste weighted around ten tonnes since 2008, as it is fully committed towards making Disneyland a sustainable tourism destination and environmentally responsible company.

Disneyland has one of the effective and efficient strategies towards reducing its energy requirement through effective and efficient use of existing energy resource, one of these strategies is installation of motion detectors across the 139 banglows which can automatically control lighting and therefore will save the energy and reduce the environmental footprints of Disneyland resort.

Together with the motion detectors there is water conserving showers as a replacement for bath tubs which are very effective reducing the wastage of water. These bath tubs were installed in combination with tin roof, picture window walls which make sure the natural light comes in.

Disneyland but the story is not finish here as Disney land has taken further step towards reducing wastage of water by installing 185 hand dryers which are made up of high technology but the good things is that they take 80 % less energy than traditional hand dryers in order to preserve the climate and reduce energy use while these hand dryers will also reduce the wastage paper towels which is another positive step from Disneyland in order to make it a real sustainable tourism destination.

Like any other resort water is very important for Disneyland as it has very crucial role to play in Disneyland magic and experience and that’s why is one of the areas of sustainability and environmental protection on which Disneyland has taken concrete steps and make the prime efforts to use water resource as efficiently as possible and Disneyland hope to achieve this through onsite environmental management system operate by control team which ensure the consumption of water reduced and it work by helping the maintenance people to perform effective control over the consumption of water.

The Disney company is world wide known for following an aggressive policy to achieve sustainability and as matter of fact company installed a new synthetic skating rink which replace its ice rink and this development will result in efficient usage of water resource together with energy and most importantly it will avoid the ise refrigent fluid which is not environmentally best option.

Disland has installed Rockefeller Plaza skating ring which will result in reduction in wastage of water as it will be permanently iceless and therefore that makes it the largest open air rinks in the entire Europe.

Disneyland Paris is fully aware of the threat climate change poses and therefore did every possible efforts to reduce its environmental footprints and in consistent with this strategy the Disneyland is considering taking a bold step by introducing a commuter plan which will make sure that car use is minimize as much as possible and will result optimization of travel regarding business, the project is estimate to take five more years.

In order to take immediate steps Disneyland has encourage staff on less usage of car by offering them exciting incentives, an example of is availability of scheme which encourage Cast Members towards the usage of public transport instead of personal vehicle by offering them incentive of paying 65% of cost of travel by company. Currently some 28% of total Cast members are availing this opportunity and using public transport therefore saving the carbon emission.

Another program implemented by Disneyland is regarding the carpooling which is already launched and Disneyland considering expanding this program, due to effective of this program towards the goal of sustainable environment.

This statement is proved through discussing the various plans and strategies Disneyland Paris have taken in above paragraphs. The company has another program with the name of “Green” which is program design to raise awareness across the globe and through which Disneyland give sufficient powers to its Cast Members in order to make them able to reduce their environmental impact and as result of this program Disneyland has reduce the use of bottled water by around 60% by creation of 335 water fountains backstage, a significant number of (almost over thirteen hundred) cardboard across the resort are recycled and they are replace with cardboard compactors and not only this but there were less usage of paper by an estimated of 8% were also result of this program and by the way the paper used is 100% recycled with duly certified.

Conclusion:

Disneyland is an environmental responsible and sustainable company which not always adhere to follow minimum requirement but take critical step necessary in order to achieve sustainability across all the boundaries.

Disneyland Paris has always show itself as a leader in order to achieve sustainable development and implement sustainable policies and is firmly dedicated to create an internal working environment which safe and sustainable. Disneyland Paris has invested significant resource in developing and implementation effective and efficient training and development program for its Cast Members to make this step a example for other companies to follow in order the a sustainable and environmentally aware society. Disney land support its Cast Member through offering various option together with providing them all the require tool and technique in order make them live a life which is healthier.

The number of people applying to become Cast Member in Disneyland shows that the company is putting significant resource in its program and Show Company’s commitment towards suitability.

Disneyland is truly a sustainable tourist destination with all the policies in place and implemented effectively in order to make it ensure that environment is protected and green house gas emission are reduce and together with other objective Disneyland is fully committed towards improving the lives of its employees and community through taking various initiative.

As per the discussion in the annual meeting, please find attached the business report focussing on the environmental issues caused by the company’s cruise tourism. A detailed analysis of the problems faced is stated in this report, it also discusses the existing scenario of our company; ecotourism suggested as a corrective measure for business sustainability is critically analyzed while recommendations and suggestions of the concerned issues are mentioned which might give an opening for strategy shift.

I hope this report caters to your requirement and is useful in resolving the issues concerned.

Yours sincerely,

Upali Aparajita

Senior Strategic Director

Executive Summary

This business report addresses the impacts of cruise tourism offered by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. on the environment and its related issues. It aims to attend the necessity of Ecotourism as a sustainable business for the company.

Although Royal Caribbean (the world’s second largest cruise with 23.8% of world’s market share) has contributed positively to regional growth by diversification, creating job opportunity, earning foreign reserves but it has diverse issues related to economic, socio cultural and the environment. However the main focus will be on environment which is strongly affected by the increase in cruise lines and there is a need to protect the ecosystem.

The issues pertaining to the environment arises because of three important reasons; lack of proper waste management, selection of improper tourists destinations, and lastly because cruises doesn’t restrict to the number of visitor carrying capacity of the tourism destinations, resulting in site congestion, gathering of wastes, deterioration of archaeological and historical sites. Tourist destinations should be wisely selected by the company. Instead of choosing fragile destinations as a part of cruise itinerary it can consider national parks, flora and fauna etc. Cruise doesn’t have proper waste management. Harmful wastes are released into the water body thereby affecting the aquatic habitat as well as marine environment. Royal Caribbean was found guilty of illegal dumping of wastes to the sea and obstruction of justice in the late 1990s, for which the company has pledged to clean up its act and in 1999, it also paid a fine of $ 18 M (Environmental Crimes Section, 2004). These hefty fines not only add up to the financial expenses of the company leading to huge losses but also affect the brand image.

Even if cruise tourism is the fastest growing business of the travel industry however if the growth is not planned properly it may cause economic, environment and socio-cultural impacts on tourist destinations. Thus, the need for responsible tourism is highly recommended for the sustainability of the business, which can be achieved by ecotourism. Ecotourism is defined as the “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well being of local people.” (TIES, 1990) This is one form of tourism, which addresses the negative impacts associated with mass tourism through the implementation of sustainable practices. Its impacts and benefits are critically analysed and it was recommended for the company to implement it.

Necessity of Ecotourism as a sustainable measure for Royal Caribbean
1. Introduction

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. was founded in 1969 and it is the world’s second largest cruise company. The company has been instrumental in changing the cruise industry from a trans-ocean carrier service into a vacation option in and of itself. It offers a variety of different itineraries and its ships call at more than 160 destinations in the Caribbean, Alaska, Europe, Bermuda, Mexico, New England, Canada and many more. “Royal Caribbean International” and “Celebrity Cruises” are the two separate brands maintained by the company. It is a Liberian corporation that operates globally, however majority of its passengers are from North America. Main competitors are Carnival Corporation, NCL Corporation, and Star Cruises Ltd.

The main objective of this report is to identify the issues, analyze the impacts of the issue on the sustainability, recommend a solution to fix the issue, find out its benefit, and its implementation by the company making it a sustainable business.

The issues and challenges faced by Royal Caribbean cruises in terms of social, economical and environmental factors are discussed in this report. RCCL was convicted with the criminal charges of ocean pollution for illegal dumping of wastes and oil spilling in its water body by U.S. federal government. This raises the key issues of corporate responsibility that affects the company’s operation and the difficulties of regulating the fast growing cruise industry. The environmental aspect is crucial which needs to be considered sensibly and cruise tourism should be viewed from the lens of responsible tourism.

The problem that was identified with the cruise tourism of RCCL was the improper waste management which lead to ocean pollution thus affecting the marine as well as terrestrial environment. The poisonous oil leakage from the vessels killed people and also had harmful effects causing deadly diseases. This impacted the environment as well as society. The economy of the company was negatively impacted because Royal Caribbean had to pay heavy penalty for polluting the environment. This raises the issue of sustainability because for the company’s long term business, it is essential to have a balance between these three factors. Ecotourism is suggested as a tool for sustainability. However it is important to critically analyze the potential of ecotourism as a strategy for development, evaluate the impacts and benefits of ecotourism, and the ways to improve ecotourism practices and policies for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

2. Issues

With the increase in popularity of leisure tourism, the company focuses on providing adventure, relaxation and entertainment to passengers from across the globe and tourist destinations as a part of the cruise package deals. It is not only essential to maintain the splendour and beauty of such destinations as it is linked to the environmental performance but the future of tourism also depends on it. Also it needs to protect the marine life which is the base of shipping industry. Cruise ships, passengers and the crews generate a high volume of wastes, pollutants into the water body which affects the marine environment. Royal Caribbean was found guilty of illegal waste-handling practices where the executives disposed the toxic waste into the Alaska’s Inland Passage waters polluting the marine environment and for which it has to pay a fine of $18 M. Just a month after the first guilty pleas, the ship illegally dumped oil waste overboard. Royal Caribbean reported that incident to federal officials and dismissed two employees. The $9 million and $18 million fines each set a record for the largest pollution penalty for a cruise-ship company. Together, the $27 million that Royal Caribbean paid exceeds the $25 million fine imposed on Exxon for the environmental damage caused by the grounding of the Exxon Valdez (Fishman, 2000). These pollution scandals not only increased the expenses but also affected the company’s gracious public image. The socio- cultural issue in Haiti has also put Royal Caribbean under a heavy media fire. The company brings the vacationers to a private resort maintained by it in Labadee, Haiti, which is 60 miles away from the earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince (Bennett, 2010). Ms. Martinez, Manager Corporate Communications said, “the company is very sensitive to the idea of delivering a vacation experience so close to the epicentre of the earthquake,” but given the financial and social challenges the country is now facing, it needs the positive economic benefits Royal Caribbean’s cruises provide. Despite Royal Caribbean’s various pledges to the Haiti relief effort, donating a $1 M as relief fund, the company is charged for bringing cruisers to this place. Moreover, they said the cruise line should never have tried to mix its commerce and humanitarian efforts in telling its side of the story.”This strikes a nerve with people, and the brand will take a hit.” (Bush, 2010).

In a nutshell, the main issue figured out was cruise tourism which had the serious problems like lack of provision for waste disposal leading to environment and economic crisis, destination selection raising social issues. We will further analyse the effects of cruise tourism in this report.

Impacts of Cruise Tourism on the Environment

The cruise tourism is likely to have effects on various aspects of the maritime and terrestrial environments. There is always a high possibility of oil spills by the ships in the sea which is very difficult to clean up in the cold remote locations. The impact of vessel activity in the breeding ground and feeding areas of marine mammals risks the wild life and is an area of concern. Whereas the terrestrial environment is affected by the numerous passengers who often make shore visit to places of natural and historical interests as a part of their cruise holiday package, either by speed boats, zodiac or helicopters thereby creating noise pollution and destroying the archaeological sites. Another potential threat is there to the flora and fauna of the place because these species have low tolerance capacity which leads to the destruction of the ecosystem. Not only this, there is a social and cultural disruption among indigenous people whose communities play host to cruise visitors on an increasingly regular basis.

While cruise tourism has the potential to disrupt local communities it also has the capacity to enrich them. It can contribute positively to the economies of remote communities and also can be viewed as an environmentally sustainable option.

Aspects of global environmental change with relevance to cruise tourism

The effects are on three sectors: Infrastructure, Access, and Attractions. Cruise tourism increases the open water which leads to storm surges and shoreline erosions. This creates structural damage and raises construction and engineering problems. An effect on Access is because of declination in sea-ice extent causing extended shipping season and melting of glaciers also causes iceberg hazards. Effect on the attractions is because environmental changes alter local activity possibilities, changes scenic values locally and variations in ecosystem lead to alterations in distribution and abundance of existing animal species (Gissling & Hall, 2005, p. 44).

3. Recommendations

Royal Caribbean should adapt Ecotourism business to address the sustainability dimensions which will provide a diversity of economic benefits to the company, environment and the community. The benefits of implementing this sustainability practice will reduce operating costs, protect the brand image, provide credible marketing advantage, increase client base, and improve the business efficiency.

It is recommended for Royal Caribbean to discourage mass tourism because travelling in small groups helps to conserve energy and the waste needs of passengers are managed in a better way, thereby having low impact on the environment. The travellers should be educated on practices respectful to the local environment and the benefits of small-group responsible tourism. So limit in cruisers number will help to protect the local tourism infrastructure for future generations.

Cruise destination should be selected wisely because travel to unspoiled virgin areas is harmful and may damage areas of the environment that are exceedingly rare and fragile. It should sail to nature based places like national parks, areas of conservations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle should be the strategy for waste management. It should recycle all materials like glass, plastic, paper etc. Water bottles can be reused; special processing of wastes such as toner cartridges, wooden pallets and cooking oil should be done by approved shore side vendors. The outstanding garbage can be reused in some countries as road fill, or can be treated as special waste for further processing or disposed of in a landfill. The unconsumed foodstuffs by the guests can be sent to the crew galleys; remaining food scraps can be treated inside the vacuum system of the ship and can be discharged to the sea. Similarly water waste is filtered and purified into potable water.

Tour can contribute financially toward the local economy and nature conservation. It should contact the local guides, local activity providers for the travel guide to the local places; the cruisers can purchase from the local buyers thereby promoting the local business, visit the national parks.

Support the integrity of local cultures by integrating tours within the cultural fabric of the sites. The passengers should be encouraged to stay in local hotels, visit places, and participate in activities that foster meaningful interactions with them. It helps in providing employment, encourages cultural exchange and strengthening of intercultural understanding and tolerance for both guests and hosts.

Ecotourism

Martha Honey defines as “Travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strive to be low impact and (usually) small scale. It helps educate the traveller, provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, and fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights.” (Honey, 1999, p. 25)

Advantages of Ecotourism

It can help in protecting the ecosystems, preserving natural areas and increase the tourism.

Increase the awareness on environment; educate people about the consequences of exploiting natural resources.

Help in providing employment to the local and regional people, e.g. selling of handicrafts, local food items etc.; this also creates some entrepreneurial skills.

Increases foreign reserves of the region, enhances economic growth.

Raises the warmth to multitude country’s political, environmental and social climate

Cultivate a feeling of pride and community through a revival or safeguarding of customary beliefs, practices and enriching techniques.

Untouched destinations and natural activities may become a craze for tourists creating scope for ecotourism.

Diversifying the tourism package into interesting events such as halt in country boats, trail walks etc. will help retaining the revenue generated with the local people and promote local economy.

Figure 1: Sustainable Development Triangle (World Conservation Union, 2003)

Utilizing the above figure of sustainable development triangle we can say that ecotourism puts a balance between these three sides i.e. economy, environment, and the society. For the long term development of a company it is necessary to be sustainable; Ecotourism will bring future and current benefits as well as work as a form of sustainable development.

4. Implementation

As an implementation to the suggested recommendation, Royal Caribbean is considering the new criteria for destinations in a cruise ship port of call. The global chief officer & VP at RCCL, Jamie Sweeting says, “We feel a responsibility in working with destinations to try to increase the positive and minimize the negative impacts of our visitations.” (Wilkinson, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, 2012)

A third party verification of its land excursions adhering to Global Sustainable Tourism Council-recognized standard by 2015 will be done as announced by the company. After the final GSTC Criteria for Destinations are in place, they will provide another standard by which Royal Caribbean can judge ports of call.

St. Kitts & Nevis is the new port of call as decided by RCCL. There are new attractions like “Sugar Train”, Plantation house, lush forest trekking, catamaran ride to Nevis where the guests can have beach barbeque for the tourists/guests at Basseterre, capital of Southern Caribbean where most of Royal Caribbean’s voyages stop. Maintaining the quality of these experiences means integrating the guidelines of sustainability, which St. Kitts & Nevis is now doing with the help of a GSTC consultant. (Wilkinson, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, 2012)

Exhaust gas scrubbers are installed on smokestacks, superior wastewater purification are there on the vessels. RCCL has already started implementing measures to treat all kind of wastes like solid waste, water waste and air waste. Newer RCL ships have highly developed systems like reverse Osmosis systems that use only 35 percent of the electricity consumed by older units to convert sea water into potable ship water.

In order to preserve the environment from dumping things overboard RCCL has also initiated its “Save the Waves” program. Each ship has recycled about 20,000 aluminium cans every week, and the company purchased more than one million pounds of recycled products each year. (Royal Caribbean International, n.d.)

There is 4 % reduction in fuel consumption, 3% in NOx emissions, refrigerant loss by 33% and onboard water consumption by 6% and cut its solid waste generation by 32%. (Royal Caribbean International, 2008)

5. Conclusion

Ecotourism is a win-win solution for destinations where the conservation efforts for the environment are also associated with the livelihood opportunities of the local people. For ecotourism to be effective in its true sense there is a need to develop a proper ecotourism package which should be different from the existing mass tourism packages.

Royal Caribbean’s plan to implement Ecotourism as a sustainability measure is indeed a commendable decision. The company’s initiative to sponsor programs such as setting new criteria for selecting holiday destinations, running programs like “Save the Waves” with mission as reduce, reuse, recycle will certainly help it for a long term development and overcome the challenges to sustain its business. Although RCCL’s investment will be more on these sustainable measures but it will not have a negative impact on the environment, social image and the economy as well because there will be no threat for hefty fines for creating pollution.