Vulnerability of the Landscape as a Tool for Determining a Suitable Model of Tourism Development

Abstract

Tourism is known as a developing human activity with major impacts on the local landscape as it produces significant anthropogenic pressure. In recent years, due to globalization and the growing economic power of the population of developed world, it has become one of the most important industries and has grown globally. Along with its development, its impacts on the environment are also growing in direct proportion. Therefore, new tourism models are being created which focus on the reduction in their adverse impacts. To design a proper model of tourism development that is sustainable and environmentally friendly, a complex knowledge of the local landscape is necessary. This paper presents a method for examining the actual state of the landscape and its thresholds by assessing its vulnerability to external impacts. The method is based on the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of landscape components perceived as primary receptors of the effects of anthropogenic activities. A comprehensive database on the landscape enables a transparent and complex evaluation of its current state and potential use. Moreover, it enables us to set its vulnerability, which represents the threshold value for suggesting the appropriate development activities, taking into account the preservation of its required quality for sustaining the points of interest for future tourists. The proposed method can help to determine the sustainable land use of the area and thus better design a model of tourism that is sustainable.