ST 22
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
MODULE #1
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?
“Sustainable Development is development that meets the needs of present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (Brundtland report)
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE TOURISM?
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 (UNWTO)
Sustainable Tourism is:
Environmentally responsible travel and visitation to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate
nature (and any accompanying cultural features, both past and present) in a way that promotes
conservation, has a low visitor’s impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic
involvement of local peoples.
(World Conservation Union, 1996)
PRICIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Sustainable tourism should not be regarded as a separated components of tourism, as a set of
niche products, but rather as a condition of the sector as a whole, which should work to become
more sustainable.
According to the UNESCO (n.d.) the principles of sustainable tourism are the following:
1. Ecological sustainable
Make optimal of environment resources that constitute a key element in tourism
development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to converse natural
heritage and biodiversity.
2. Economically viable
Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all
stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning
opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
3. Ethically and socially equitable
Respect to socio-cultural authenticity f host communities, conserve their built and living
cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and
tolerance
Ecology
Environment,
Natural Resources
Customer
Satisfaction
Sustainable
Tourism
Socio-Economy
Local and National
Economic, and social
development, job creations
and working conditions
Business
Profitability
Socio-cultural
Descent
Work
Monuments, cultural
heritage, ethnic groups,
living cultures, local
culture indigenous groups
1. Environmentally the activity has a low impact on natural resources, particularly in protected
areas. It minimizes damage to the environment (flora, fauna, habitats, and water, living
marine resources, energy use, contamination, etc.) and ideally tries to benefit the
environment.
2. Socially and culturally the activity does not harm the social structure or culture of the
community where it is located. Instead it respects local cultures and traditions. It involves
stakeholders (individuals, communities, tour operators, government institutions) in all phases
of planning, development, and monitoring, and educates stakeholders about their roles.
3. Economically it contributes to the economic wellbeing of the community, generating
sustainable and equitable income for local communities and as many other stakeholders as
possible. It benefits owners, employees and neighbors. It does not simply begin and then
rapidly die because of poor business practices.
HISTORY OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM CONCEPT
1948 The International Union for the Protection of Nature is founded.
1954 Harrison Brown publishes The Challenge of Man’s Future
1961 The World Wildlife Fund, now the World Wide Fund for Nature was established
1962 Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring, which discusses the interconnections between
the environment, the economy, and social wellbeing.
1968 The Club of Rome is established.
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1980
1982
1987
1988
1989
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
Friends of the Earth forms as a non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to protecting
the planet from environmental degradation.
The First Earth Day is proclaimed in San Francisco.
The Founex Report on Development and Environment calls for integration of
environment and development strategies.
The UN Conference on the Human Environment is held in Stockholm.
Young published the Tourism: Blessing or Blight which drew attention to the negative
impacts of tourism.
IUCN published the World Conservation Strategy (WCS).
The UN approved the World Charter for Nature.
The World Commission on Environment and Development publishes Our Common
Future, also known as the Brundtland Report
The UNWTO defines sustainable tourism as “…the management of all resources in such
a way that economic, social, aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural
integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity, and life support systems.
Barbier, Markandya, and Pearce published the Blueprint for a Green Economy where
they argued for placing a greater value on the environment in relation to economic
growth.
Wood and House published The Good Tourist which tried to influence tourists’ behavior
by making them aware of the potential negative impacts of tourism.
The UN Conference on Environment and Development is held in Rio de Janeiro;
agreements were reached on Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the
Framework Convention on Climate Change, and non-binding Forest Principles.
UNEP and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives published the
“Tourism and Local Agenda 21: The Role of Local Authorities in Sustainable Tourism.”
Turner et al. presented a sustainability spectrum, ranging from very weak to very
strong sustainability positions.
The WTO holds the World Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Lanzarote, Canary
Islands, Spain.
The UN publishes A Practical Guide for the Development and Application of
Indicators of Sustainable Tourism.
Delegates to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change signed the Kyoto
Protocol, which commits developed nations to reducing overall emissions of several
greenhouse gases and mechanisms to encourage the North-South cooperation on
emissions reduction.
The UNWTO published the Guide for Local Authorities on Developing Sustainable
Tourism.
The UNWTO published the Global Codes of Ethic for Tourism.
The UN Millennium Summit shifted the focus of development to poverty and multiple
deprivations.
In the Biological Diversity and Sustainable Tourism, the Convention on Biological
Diversity, UNEP and the UNWTO recognize that tourism being a biodiversitydependent industry needs to be committed to protecting the diversity of life on Earth.
2002
2003
2003
2004
2005
2006
2008
2012
2013
2014
2015
The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg marks the tenth
anniversary of the UNCED.
The WTO issued the Djerba (Tunisia) Declatration on Tourism and Climate Change
where the organization called on tourism organizations at all levels to address and
adapt to climate change.
UNEP and the International Center for Local Environmental Initiatives publish the
Tourism and Local Agenda 21: The Role of Local Authorities in Sustainable Tourism.
The UNWTO published the Cooperation and Partnerships in Tourism: A Global
Perspective.
Indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations: A Guidebook (2004)
is the result of an extensive study on indicator initiatives worldwide, involving 62
experts from more than 20 countries.
UNWTO and UNEP published Making Tourism More Sustainable – A Guide for Policy
Makers.
Al Gore published An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global
Warming and What We can Do About it.
Climate Change and Tourism – Responding to Global Challenges.
The UN Conference on Sustainable Development gathers in Rio de Janeiro to mark
the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Rio Synnut.
The UN proposes a Global Action Programmed on Education for Sustainable
Development After 2014 in response to the UN resolution made during the UN
Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 2014 UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in
Aichi-Nagoya marked the end of the UN Decade of ESD and saw the launch of the
Globval Action Programmed on ESD.
The year 2015 marked the deadline for achieving the MDGs formulated in 2000.
17 SDGs