Environmental management of a tourist destination: A factor of tourism competitiveness

Abstract

Although research to date has addressed various elements of destination competitiveness there has been little attempt to systematically and comprehensively study the environmental competitiveness from the managerial perspective. Since the Calgary tourism competitiveness model brought a systematic approach to tourism competitiveness research, this paper selectively uses its management element as a tool to link the competitiveness and environmental management. Following the model the destination management is divided into two parts: (1) managerial and (2) marketing efforts. This paper studies them from environmental perspective. First, destination environmental competitiveness can be increased by appropriate managerial efforts related to environmental impact (EI), and environmental quality (EQ) management. Second, the destination competitiveness can be enhanced through certain environmental marketing activities. Further, environmental management is categorised into groups: management by codes of conduct, by self-developed environmental practice, by certified or awarded best practice and by accreditation schemes. Their usefulness for environmental destination management and competitiveness is evaluated.