Sustainable Tourism Indicators Research Articles

Identifying Sustainable Tourism Indicators of Urban Destinations in Developing Countries Using DEMATEL-ISM

Identifying Sustainable Tourism Indicators of Urban Destinations in Developing Countries Using DEMATEL-ISM

Managing mass tourism in mountain ecosystems through instrument of sustainable tourism indicators

Managing mass tourism in mountain ecosystems through instrument of sustainable tourism indicators

Importance of the Ramsar Site Labudovo Okno for Sustainable Tourism—Evidence from Vojvodina Province

The Ramsar Site Labudovo Okno (LO) is located in Vojvodina, on the left bank of the Danube. It covers an area of 3733 ha. This wet habitat is valuable for different ecosystems, among which the most important are those inhabited by rare bird species. The main natural resources are wetlands, created by the Danube in this shallow part of its flow. Thirty-seven sustainable tourism (ST) indicators were used to assess the current status and future prospects of tourist growth in the LO. For this study, a total of 625 respondents (255 tourists and 370 residents) were asked through a questionnaire to evaluate the current tourism and the impact on their satisfaction. Additionally, they showed that some resources are either misused or not used sufficiently, which has a detrimental effect on the LO. Part of the research was to determine how satisfied respondents were with ST. Although tourism in LO still has no important mass features, the respondents’ satisfaction with sustainable LO tourism is present to a significant extent. This is vital for ST and the creation of local tourism strategies, because the need for greater valorization of natural and social values, as well as the establishment of the roles of all subjects of tourism development, has been noticed. Certainly, nature-based, ecotourism, scientific research, and nautical and bird-watching tourism must be the primary forms of tourist movements in the LO.

Outcome mapping the absorptive capacity of destination marketing/management organisations to use sustainability data to inform policy

It is complex to explain how sustainable tourism indicators are incorporated in the governance structures of destination marketing/management organisations (DMMOs) to inform policymaking. This paper develops realist evaluation methods to explain under which conditions four European DMMOs adopt a relevant group of indicators (acquisition), to provide meaning to these indicators (assimilation), which creates the conditions to make indicator-informed decisions (transformation) that can eventually generate benefits attributable to the use of indicators (exploitation). The methodological novelty of this paper is the use of outcome mapping to systematically outline the process of data collection and analysis to reach the context-mechanism-outcome configurations explaining the factors that facilitate or impede the absorptive capacity in these DMMOs. Interventions to increase the uptake of sustainability indicators need to create better opportunities for DMMOs’ formal and informal learning; to use indicators to disrupt prevalent mindsets; with easily understandable data that is perceived as relevant to their needs.

Local sustainable tourism indicator

La cuestión de la sostenibilidad afecta a todos los sistemas económicos y su influencia llega mucho más allá, ya que nuestra economía está pasanda de la esfera industrial hacia la "nueva economía" en el próximo milenio. Este hecho es especialmente relevante para el sector turístico en las Comunidades Europeas. Durante los últimos años se ha dedicado mucho interés y trabajo al turismo sostenible a escala europea e internacional y se debate sobre la necesidad de busqueda de indicadores para el turismo sostenible, indicadores que podrían englobarse en cuatro apartados: indicadores de turismo local sostenible, principios de la sostenibilidad, necesidad de indicadores de turismo local sostenible y proyecto de indicadores europeos de turismo local sostenible.

The Hidden Power of Sustainable Tourism Indicator Schemes: Have We Been Measuring Their Effectiveness All Wrong?

Evaluating whether sustainability indicator schemes contribute to better sustainable destination management has proven challenging. We adopt a systems thinking approach to shed light on the elusive impacts of sustainable tourism indicator schemes. We conduct online participatory workshops with 19 experts in sustainable tourism monitoring, to produce a causal loop diagram that illustrates how destination systems behave when indicator schemes are implemented. The results show that until now, these schemes have been expected to follow utopian, evidence-based, policy pathways to change, but we now understand that this linear-thinking approach fails to recognize the complex interplay of factors that occur during implementation. We find that indicator schemes can spark a rich, yet unappreciated, series of conceptual, instrumental, and structural dynamics. We conclude that the hidden power of these schemes lies in their ability to foster dialog, stimulate learning, incentivize network development, challenge stakeholder worldviews, and steer systems change toward sustainable destination management.

Multicriteria Decision Making in Sustainable Tourism and Low-Carbon Tourism Research

Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) is increasingly being utilized as an analytical research tool for sectors that require decision-making with specific objectives and constraints, such as the tourism industry. Sustainable tourism, which examines the balance of numerous aspects, including stakeholders’ interests, is the critical feature propelling the increased usage of MCDM. This paper explores the use of Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods applied in studies of sustainable tourism and its derivative term, low-carbon tourism, using a systematic literature review (SLR) search from the Scopus database. The analysis has identified 189 relevant studies published between 1987 to April 2022. After selection, screening, and synthesizing processes, we selected 135 pertinent studies, which were analysed in general descriptive data, citation impacts, geographical categorization, categorization of the methodologies’ objectives, and possible trajectories of similar research in the future. We find that highly cited authors and articles are related to sustainable tourism indicators' development and case studies. Furthermore, most relevant studies are concentrated in Asia and Europe rather than other regions. We also categorize the reviewed studies into six classifications depending on each method's intended usage and further suggest four contexts for the studies’ future trajectory.

Development of Tourism Area Based on Local Wisdom Based on Evaluation of Regional Development in Karo Regency by Using Quantitative Strategic Planning matrix (QSPM) method

The purpose of this article is to describe the Karo Regency tourism development plan based on the results of an evaluation of local wisdom-based regional development. For this reason, it is necessary to propose the development of natural tourism areas which of course reduce air pollution and increase natural sustainability, such as large forest parks planted with trees and plants. Quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) with fuzzy numbers is used to determine tourism development priorities. Community based ecotourism (CBET) based on sustainable tourism indicators (IMS). Based on the processing of tourism development priority data where the development of natural tourism potential with a priority value of 0.386. This is in accordance with the topological conditions of the biggest tourism is natural tourism. The next priority is the development of traditional Karo music with a score of 0.375, followed by the development of traditional food with a priority value of 0.371 and finally the development of indigenous peoples’ activities with a priority value of 0.369. Based on the FQSPM analysis, the priorities for developing tourism potential are: 1) Development of tourism potential; 2) The development of traditional music; 3) Development of traditional food; 4) Development of indigenous peoples’ activities.

Measuring sustainable tourism: a state of the art review of sustainable tourism indicators

In this introduction to the special issue, we identify the key tensions underpinning the challenge of developing indicators of sustainable tourism, and use the papers submitted to the special issue to exemplify these tensions. The paper questions why it is that we need to measure sustainable tourism, the risk of becoming too focussed on measurement itself and losing sight of what is really important to sustainability. We consider who it is that should be undertaking the measurement of sustainable tourism and offer evidence of the way that societal power can be rebalanced by the kind of research inclusivity that controlling data collection brings. Determining the spatial boundaries has been a long-held tension between wanting data specificity and achieving wider comparability and engagement from policy makers and other stakeholders, while technological and methodological advances may allow for more progress to be made in addressing the weaknesses of measuring sustainable tourism. The paper questions whether indicators have led to any significant policy change, or whether the changes that have come are the result of indicators serving to create more sustainably literate stakeholders, more informed discussions and so a climate more receptive to taking decisions in support of a more sustainable tourism industry.

Opportunities for evaluation of sustainable tourism – assessing the availability of ETIS indicators in Poland

The purpose of the article is to evaluate the possibilities of evaluating sustainable tourism in Polish tourist regions, in particular, through the use of ETIS indicators and to assess for the availability of data for their calculation in the nationwide statistical system. Qualitative research methodology was used to study the availability of ETIS indicators. A diagnostic type research procedure was adopted and the desk research method was used. In a situation where the data necessary for calculating a given indicator was not found in the available sources, primary research in the form of direct interviews with representatives of branches of Statistical Offices was used. In order to quantify the availability of ETIS indicators, a system for their evaluation was adopted and aggregate indicators were proposed for the evaluation of sections and individual criteria in the section, which is the author’s attempt to develop a unified system for evaluating sustainable tourism indicators.
 The results of the study showed that the availability of data for calculating ETIS indicators in Poland is not satisfactory. The lowest rating was given to the availability of indicators that facilitate the management of the resort, including the tourists’ satisfaction survey (section A). Also rated very low was the availability of indicators of the environmental impact of tourism in a resort (section D). The results obtained confirm the results of studies by other authors dealing with the issue of the real use of ETIS in tourist regions of other countries.

Protected Areas in the Function of Sustainable Tourism Development—A Case of Deliblato Sands Special Nature Reserve, Vojvodina Province

The Deliblato Sands Special Nature Reserve (SNR) is located in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina (Northern Serbia). The favorable position implies the proximity to large cities with which it has good traffic connections. Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, and other countries from the region represent a dispersive zone. The topic of this paper is the function that the SNR has in sustainable tourism development. The objective of this work is the analytical research of the available written data, as well as those obtained after the conducted survey. The basis of the research is to find out how and to what extent the SNR contributes to sustainable tourism development. The research was carried out by measuring the value of sustainable tourism indicators, and examining the attitudes of residents, visitors, and students about the current state of sustainable tourism and the importance of the SNR for future tourism development. Respondents were selected using a random sample method. The authors used qualitative and quantitative methodologies in the paper. This research examined the SNR sustainable development by measuring sustainability indicators and surveying 1884 respondents (714 residents, 620 visitors, and 550 students) about sustainable tourism in the SNR. The obtained data were analyzed and presented with the help of SPSS v. 21 software. The research results can be used to create national and international strategies for sustainable tourism development.

Indikatori konkurentnosti i održivosti destinacije - implementacija Evropskog sistema indikatora turizma u Srbiji

Incorporating sustainability into the Destination Management Organization (DMO) policies is important because it is a competitive factor. Additionally, this is due to the requirement for effective planning and the proper management of tourism development. To promote and evaluate the sustainability aspect of tourism destination competitiveness, it is essential to create a system of sustainable tourism indicators and ensure effective stakeholder involvement and communication as a key strategy for the implementation of the indicators. This paper addressed the issues of Serbian tourism stakeholders' awareness and knowledge regarding the importance of the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) for the evaluation of sustainability aspect of tourism destination competitiveness. The results indicate that there is a significant knowledge gap regarding the availability of sustainable indicators and collection methods. The authors suggest that significant efforts need to be made to raise awareness of ETIS and its importance for tourism destinations governance, while DMOs need to continuously improve the methods they use to collect key sources of information.

Relationship Between Sustainable Tourism Indicators and the Operational Challenges of the Tourism Business

Wildlife resorts are one of the most prominent and attractive segments of the accommodation sector. They face many socio-economic and environmental challenges to implement sustainable tourism practices in their daily operations. This study aims at investigating whether there is any relationship between socio-economic and environmental issues, and challenges faced by wildlife resorts in implementing sustainable tourism practices, and the indicators used by the resorts to measure their sustainable tourism practices. The study employs triangulation design to conduct the research. Survey method was employed for identifying the sustainable tourism indicators and personal interviews with resort managers were conducted to identify the operational issues and challenges of wildlife resorts for the implementation of sustainable practices. Based on purposive sampling, sixteen wildlife resorts from the Indian state of Karnataka are selected for the study. Dedoose software is used to conduct mixed method analysis, to compare and analyse the data obtained from both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Evaluating destinations' efforts to improve sustainability in tourism using the inter-temporal decomposition of a composite indicator

Sustainable tourism indicators are instruments for measuring tourism sustainability, widely used in the planning and decision-making processes. For this measurement, in recent decades composite indicators have been proposed that provide dynamic evaluations to assess the progress that each destination registers towards more sustainable situations. However, the measures proposed so far do not allow the evaluation of each destination's own effort or the effectiveness of the measures put in place, because the evaluation they provide depends on the decisions made when adding information (weighting, reference situations…). In this study, a dynamic measure of sustainable tourism is proposed, which, through the intertemporal decomposition of a global indicator with multiplicative aggregation, assesses the effort that each destination makes to improve its sustainability situation. The aggregation procedure is carried out in two stages. In the first one, a compensatory synthetic indicator is obtained for each aspect using a weighting scheme determined from information and dispersion criteria. In a second phase, the global composite indicator is obtained with a multiplicative aggregation, setting unique and common weights for all destinations through DEA models and using different benchmarks for each type of destination, in order to take into account their different starting situations.

Standardized Reading of Sustainable Tourism Indicators for Ultraperipheral Regions

Sustainable development raises various challenges in terms of UPR for putting public policies into effect, and the concept, namely about the definition of metrics, is adapted to small parcels of territory. The objective of the present study is to introduce an alphanumeric reading scale for the tourism sustainability indicators in UPR, to be precise, Madeira and the Azores to allow a better interpretation and understanding. A total of 25 indicators were compared in the last 5 years and with the COVID-19 pandemic, although there are positive performances, a lack of data was observed for some indicators, and some lack of information in the last 2 years or more. During the last 5 years, the pillar of environmental sustainability has maintained its ideal form, but in comparison with the last 2 years, it has moved to critical status, which is in part a consequence of the lack of recorded data. There are indicators that are not registered on the UPR and some data from Turismo de Portugal refer only to the mainland zone. The major implication is raised in terms of the existing indicator systems, which are not all provided periodically, influencing the interpretation of the indicators of Portuguese UPR. Consequently, assertive, sustainable decisions are difficult to be taken based on non-existent or insufficient data.

Reconciling Scientific, Political and Participatory Perspectives on Sustainable Tourism Indicator Development for Destination Sustainability Assessment

ABSTRACT Sustainable tourism indicators (STI) are widely recognized as a useful tool for assessing the sustainability level of a tourism destination. Methods for STI development, however, are still inconsistent and often characterized by a debate between approaches proposed by three parties: scientists, policy-makers and supporters of participatory decision-making. Despite the development of approaches that address this debate, there has been little agreement on the broader methodological and conceptual foundations of STI development. In the pursuit of finding consensus, a Delphi survey is conducted in which an expert panel assesses and discusses the potential of innovative hybrid methodologies. Findings emphasise a shift towards more participatory formats and show that the requirements of all three parties can be met. This study advances future STI development processes by structuring the debate, evaluating existing and new approaches and exemplifying how to conceptualize formats to facilitate local involvement, thereby mapping out future pathways for STI development.

PENGEMBANGAN WISATA EDUKASI BERKELANJUTAN: STUDI KASUS DI MUSEUM RADYA PUSTAKA

Radyapustaka Museum is oldest museum and popular destination for educational tourism. But there are various obstacles so that in the implementation, educational tourism in Radyapustaka Museum has not been optimal so that need for the development of sustainable educational tourism model that can benefit both the visitors of the museum and the museum. Methods in this study using qualitative methods. Qualitative methods are used to obtain data based on factual conditions that occur, field observations, interviews and literature studies. The results in this study resulted in a new model for sustainable education in the Museum of Radyapustaka which refers to museum education policies, education and sustainable tourism indicators.

Bigger and Complex Is Not Always Better. The Creation of Composite Sustainable Tourism Indicator to Compare Destination Development

Destination managers need indicators for monitoring, comparing and decision-making purposes about sustainable tourism development. There have been several initiatives to set the sustainable tourism indicators, however, the indicators are either too complex, data collection is difficult, or the analysis requires expert statistical knowledge. Therefore, this article aims to propose a user-friendly method that allows destination managers and decision makers to process tourism data and integrate them into one composite indicator. To help destination managers in their work, this paper reviews the most used methods to create composite indicators, and with the help of the Delphi method among experienced tourism leaders, it proposes a tool that allows destination managers to compare sustainable tourism development of destinations. The results present the application of a simple composite sustainable tourism indicator on the example of eight destinations in Slovakia. The paper provides useful guidance in data collection, analysis and decision-making concerning sustainable tourism development.

Socio-cultural sustainability and small tourism businesses

Early assumptions pertaining to the sustainability of small tourism businesses (STBs) have been answered specifically as it relates to environmental sustainability. What is less well documented and still unclear is the extent to which STBs enhance the socio-cultural sustainability of the destination. This lacuna is surprising, given the development of indicators of sustainable tourism. This study therefore fills this gap by utilizing sustainability indicators to examine the extent to which small tourism businesses, across a number of sectors, contribute to destination sustainability. Using a conceptual approach premised upon principles of socio-cultural sustainability to construct the reference condition for indicator development, the study found that businesses performed better on indicators related to equity and cultural conservation but had mixed performance in the area of social cohesion, and were borderline on empowerment. The theoretical contribution of the study is that it provides operational validity to the assumptions governing small tourism businesses and socio-cultural sustainability by employing indicators developed through the scientific consensus approach. Using this approach, the study is able to measure socio-cultural sustainability contributions across myriad sectors.

Environmental regulations versus sustainable tourism indicators: a pathway to sustainable development

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to profile the current state of sustainable tourism indicators (STIs) in order to assess risks and draw attention to potential solutions.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative methodology and documentary analysis were used, and primary data were gathered about STIs from four publicly available regulatory documents.FindingsThe study findings indicate that one of the primary impediments to sustainable tourism development is a lack of supervision and control over the enforcement of existing laws and regulations. Existing systems with relevant laws and regulations contribute to the fact that the environment is unsustainably developed because of the absence of specific explanations relating to STIs. The study identifies some of the actions that could be taken to mitigate the negative impacts of conventional forms of tourism development.Research limitations/implicationsThis article argues that policymakers should act quickly to audit and manage the environment and that they should involve non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the tourism industry in this process. In addition, regulations should be revisited to include the necessity of being certified by international bodies for tourism enterprises and adopting European Union (EU) environmental standards.Practical implicationsThe tourism industry must adopt a more responsible and participatory approach to economic growth in order to ensure sustainable tourism, learning from the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Further, the industry must collaborate with policymakers to develop mechanisms to protect and control the resources they consume for the sake of future generations.Originality/valueSustainable tourism development in which all aspects contribute to economic development, especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS), is of the utmost importance. No prior work seems to have been published that evaluates publicly available regulatory documents with reference to the current state of STIs in SIDS, especially in North Cyprus.