Sustainable Tourism Strategies Research Articles

The Impact of Tourism Development on the Local Communities in Namibia

This article aims to identify and explain the current challenges being faced due to the impact of tourism development on the local communities in Namibia. The State touts Tourism’s socio-cultural benefits through its respective line ministries as highly significant towards the development and economic growth, as articulated in the current National Development Plan (NDP5). ”… The tourism industry is an important contributor to the generation of foreign exchange earnings, investments, revenue, employment, rural development, poverty reduction, and the growth of the country’s economy. Tourism also creates substantial direct and peripheral benefits because of its multiplier effect, based on its reliance on widespread supplies and services” ((NPC), 2017). The Foreign-exchange earnings and balance of payment benefits derived from tourism receipts are considered a double-edged sword. The money spent by tourists in the Namibian economy is significant. Tourism can have both negative and positive impacts on the local community. This desk research found an appalling concern for many developing countries to over-depend on tourism to pursue economic growth and development. It is argued that this serves as a demonstration of how tourism development elevates the prices related to real estate and general costs of goods and services, which eventually leads to inflation. Finally, we assume that self-efficacy positively influences the involvement of local communities in tourism development which has positive implications on their quality of life regarding social and economic bearings. Additionally, local communities should be more supportive and instead have a positive attitude towards tourism development, thus resulting in a more profitable tourism sector. In concluding, the authors viewed that the government should also ensure that the local people are well informed about the importance of tourism, how it impacts economic development and the realization of a sustainable tourism strategy for Namibia.

Towards Sustainable Tourism in Wildlife Protected Areas: Estimating Carrying Capacities for the Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka

Wildlife Protected Areas (PAs) are set aside with the primary objective of conserving native species and their habitats. The increasing use of such PAs for wildlife-related tourism has the potential to adversely impact the biota they seek to conserve. The main challenge for sustainable tourism is, therefore, to balance the flow of visitors while conserving the wildlife resources within the PAs. The concept of “carrying capacity” has been used to guide sustainable tourism strategies, through the generation of information on how many visitors can be accommodated within a given PA without inflicting damage. In this article, we report on the physical and real carrying capacity values calculated for the Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka, one of the most visited PAs in the island by both local and foreign travelers. Calculations are based on standard formulae modified to include a set of variables that are locally appropriate. The disturbance caused to the elephants, the main attraction of the Udawalawe National Park, by visitors was also factored in when calculating the carrying capacity values. Based on the generated values it is seen that the current mean vehicle and visitor loads are within acceptable ranges, although there is still a risk of over visitation, particularly during the peak periods and when guidelines are not met. Challenges of using this approach for setting visitation limits are also discussed.

Parametric Definition of Slow Tourism Itineraries for Experiencing Seasonal Landscapes. Application of Sentinel-2 Imagery to the Rural Paddy-Rice Landscape in Northern Italy

Slow tourism is a growing phenomenon in Italy; it is assuming a key role in the definition of new strategies for sustainable tourism for the enhancement of landscape and cultural heritage, but also as a driver for the revitalization of marginalized and inner areas of the country. In this framework, the aesthetical phenomena related to seasonal landscape changes (e.g., autumn coloring foliage, spring blooming, controlled paddy-rice fields flooding) that occur in specific environments are emerging as new tourist destinations and are of major interest for the experiential tourism sector. This research shows a GIS-based method to draw up parametric slow tourism itineraries, which are defined according to seasonal landscape changes, by exploiting the high frequency of Sentinel-2 data acquisition. The algorithm defines parametric itineraries within the network of existing local roads by detecting the current landscape conditions through NDVI. The algorithm has been tested in the study area, within the historical agricultural landscape of paddy-rice fields in between Turin and Milan, where high scenic conditions related to the flooding occur over the spring season. This tool can support a range of end users’ decisions for the creation of a widespread tourist destination offer year-round, with the aim to promote more sustainable and balanced use of the places and reduce overpressures in the most frequented places.

O olival como oportunidade para o turismo no Parque Natural do Tejo internacional

Although the olive grove is contemplated in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO with the intent to preserve and develop it, there are territories where the olive landscapes show some signs of ageing and abandonment, especially in remote areas. However, the “trilogy” that brings together nature, heritage and culture seem to provide olive groves with an unexpected framework to encourage the new land uses, namely through the valorisation of touristic dynamics that rely on the enjoyment of gastronomy and landscape elements. And it is in this symbiosis that olive oil tourism can be anchored in agritourism, ecotourism or olive oil tourism, modalities that value agriculture and nature, which include the environmental, economic, and social development of rural communities as well. The present study evaluates the olive grove as a tourist potential in the International Tagus Natural Park (PNTI), where stone wall terraces are maintained and preserved to sustain the traditional olive trees. Data on touristic products, resources and activities were listed, and some indicators were evaluated, specifically: scientific, educative and tourist values of the olive grove. The results concluded that the olive grove at PNTI can be used as a tourist resource to attract tourists to this cross-border destination, especially based on a sustainable tourism strategy.

An energy-efficient smart city for sustainable green tourism industry

In recent times, Tourism and Travel are considered a flexible, dynamic, and ever-growing industry. The Smart Tourism Destinations concept arises from the advancement of smart cities. Since information technologies are considered a key competitive element of a city's destination, tourism companies invest extensively in smart system initiatives. Moreover, the smart city concept and related approaches are increasingly recognized by cities worldwide to optimize sustainable environments. Furthermore, a smart tourist city faces the challenge of creating urban areas that residents and tourists can experience together, particularly in cities that pose new tourism challenges. This paper proposes the Data-Driven Sustainable Smart City Framework (DDSSCF) for sustainable green tourism strategies and policies. This paper explores the aspects of technologies essential for creating a smart city and a fashionable tourism destination. The preservation of the climate, protected cultural heritage, and natural resources would contribute to an environment, the economic, social sustainable field of tourism by reducing hazardous pollutants and energy usage. Therefore, based on the preservation limit, it has been classified into three components includes-green architecture, green waste, and green energy as a part of the green management framework at the same time. Hence, green tourism, including marketing efforts, such as green marketing, are necessary for the vision of successful adequate green management activities. The experimental results show that the proposed method enhances efficiency ratio when compared to other existing methods.

Rural Community-Perceived Benefits of a Music Festival

There is a general consensus that tourism activity must have the support of a local community in order to build sustainable tourism development. Among the competitive Romanian tourism products, festival tourism should be mentioned, even though it is relatively new. Therefore, given the traditional communities from rural areas which are confronted with an international flux of tourists, it is vital to analyze the perception of and support for festivals. The presumption is that if there are benefits for the locals, support increases. In order to achieve the objective of the study, research has been conducted among the local rural community of Bontida, which is the location of an international annual music festival. The instrument used was a questionnaire which had four parts that aimed to measure the cultural benefits and costs of the festival and the sense of well-being of the community, given the fact that previous studies focused mainly on the economic and environmental impacts, but not so much on the socio-cultural dimensions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the benefits are greater than the perceived costs, a fact which is encouraging from the perspective of developing a sustainable tourism strategy, both by the local authorities and private stakeholders.

Organize and Prioritize Appropriate Sustainable Tourism Development Strategies Case Study: Mazandaran Province

The present study aims to identify the encouraging and deterrent forces in tourism development, and appropriate strategies were organized and prioritized. In this way, the encouraging and deterrent forces are first identified and then prioritized according to the ANP method. In the second stage, using the model PIP, the most appropriate development strategies for sustainable tourism in the Mazandaran province was developed for the most important forces. Finally, for prioritization, systems establish a pairwise comparison between approaches formulated based on research sub-criteria. Besides, the research results showed that "creating jobs" and "increasing property prices" are the most important among the encouraging and deterrent forces. Among the strategies presented, strategy (A-1) with a coefficient of 0/0823 emphasizes optimal and purposeful use of increasing motivation travel among people to take advantage of tourist attractions and products to create employment and income for the province's people suggested as the best strategy.

Sustainable and accessible tourism in natural areas: a participatory approach

ABSTRACT An emerging segment of tourism demand is represented by accessible tourism, i.e. tourism activated in public spaces in the absence of any kind of barrier (architectural, cultural, sensorial, attitudinal, communicational and informational barriers) and, from a business competitiveness point of view, accessibility represents the precondition of any sustainable tourism policy and strategy. In this paper, we concentrate on tourism accessibility for people with disabilities. In particular, to better understand and overcome all obstacles that could impede travellers with special needs from enjoying their tourism experience, in literature is argued that the entire process of defining guidelines to improve tourism accessibility should follow a participatory approach from drafting to implementation. Therefore, to plan services for disabled people in addition to the mandatory requirements, our aim for the present paper is to apply a participatory approach involving stakeholders in the definition of a trademark specification. The experiment was applied to a protected natural area, namely the Gargano National Park (Southern Italy). Results confirm the relevance of adopting a participatory approach to involve stakeholders in the definition of a trademark specification granting disabled tourists with a wider accessibility to protected areas.

Assessment of residents’ attitudes toward sustainable tourism development - A case study of Bačko Podunavlje Biosphere Reserve, Serbia

Residents' attitudes to tourism activities are crucial for sustainable tourism development. The sustainable tourism attitude scale (SUS-TAS) is implemented as a basis for analyzing local residents' attitudes towards sustainable tourism development. The aim of this research is to explore the attitudes of the local community (n = 1233) towards sustainable tourism development in the Bačko Podunavlje Biosphere Reserve (BPBR), located in northwestern Serbia, and examine the effectiveness of the SUS-TAS. The principal component analysis with a Varimax rotation was implemented to determine the dimensions of the SUS-TAS. Seven factors have been extracted. Among the seven factors, community members showed agreement to six factors of sustainable tourism development. This study supports the hypothesis that the SUS- TAS is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring residents' attitudes toward sustainable tourism development, even in developing countries like Serbia. Finally, the study shows that locals have a positive attitude toward the development of sustainable tourism in the BPBR. The present study reveals the need of local residents to be advised when developing destination-marketing sustainable tourism strategies. For sustainable tourism development in biosphere reserves one of the key elements is the acceptance and tolerance of tourists by the local population. Therefore, the following measures are recommended: 1. The destination's management and tourist organizations should allow residents to access information and enable them to participate in decision-making. 2. Tourism policy-makers in Serbia should pay significant attention to the attitudes of local residents in creating marketing and management strategies for tourism development. 3. Tourism developers and managers need to help residents understand how tourism development may improve their quality of life by creating access to better amenities.

Maximizing Bali Village Tourism Potential Using Penta-Helix Model

The rapid growth of the tourism sector has made the government committed to implementing the principle of sustainable tourism development. To develop regional tourism, it is relatively necessary to direct, integrated, cross-sectoral, and sustainable programs so that the economic benefits of tourism are increasingly felt evenly distributed by the community. Bali, popular as one of the most tourist destinations in the world, is used as an example for the development of a national destination by the Indonesian government by creating 10 new Bali destinations, but this scheme must be postponed due to the covid-19 outbreak that hit Indonesia. This study aims to explore the sustainable tourism strategy in Bali’s village tourism sector using a qualitative approach based on content analysis based on secondary data since Bali has the largest number of village tourism in Indonesia using the Penta-helix model (synergy between academic, business, community, government, and media). With the synergy and collaboration of these five central sectors (especially during decreasing tourism sector of coronavirus outbreak), it is expected to increase awareness and maximizing the potential among the public regarding Bali sustainable tourism.

Conclusion − tourism: how to achieve the sustainable development goals?

Purpose This concluding paper filters out the main points relating to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) arising from the theme issue. The aim is to provide an insight as to how the hospitality and tourism industry is aligning its actions with the SDGs given the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent issues such as overtourism. Design/methodology/approach The approach is based on evidence and findings derived from the case studies featured in this issue presented by practitioners and academics. Findings The overall findings show destinations along with the hospitality and tourism industry are engineering a variety of strategies to make the industry sustainable. The practical solutions recommended by contributors are helpful in terms of sharing good practices and identifying potential barriers to the execution of those practices. Originality/value The articles in this theme issue address a theoretical and practical gap while proposing innovative sustainable tourism strategies directed towards the implementation of the United Nations SDGs. The value of this paper lies in the fact that it draws from a variety of original case studies, each unique in their own right and proposes innovative ideas on how the tourism and hospitality industry may implement the SDGs in their businesses while safeguarding the interest of the economy, society and the environment.

Achieving Sustainable and Resilient Tourism: Lessons Learned from Pandeglang Tourism Sector Recovery

After the 2018 Sunda Strait Tsunami, the hospitality and tourism industry has been severely impacted. Based on the Indonesia 2010-2025 National Tourism Development Master Plan, one of the visions is sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism is expected to support the recovery from the tsunami impact on the hospitality industry, improving the current approach and enhance resilience of the tourism area. However, the research question is related to how optimal has the relationship between the main components of sustainable tourism (ecology, socio-economy, and socio-culture) in Pandeglang? Therefore, this study aims to create the sustainable tourism strategy to fill the gaps on the 2018 tsunami recovery and the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism sector and hospitality industry policy in Pandeglang. The study uses the qualitative method to describe the main strategy for sustainable tourism based on in-depth interview and secondary data. The findings indicated that the relationship between the main components of sustainable tourism which are ecology, socio-economy, and socio-culture have not been integrated optimally in Pandeglang. Sustainable tourism can provide the preservation and conservation of the sanctity of tourism in Indonesia, especially Pandeglang.

Sustainable development for small island tourism: developing slow tourism in the Caribbean

ABSTRACT This paper aims to (a) analyze the diverse views held about slow tourism in the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, and (b) to propose a conceptual basis for slow tourism as a beneficial component of sustainable development. Using evidence from stakeholder interviews, this paper illustrates how local businesses, products, and the dynamic nature of the tourism industry can be provided with opportunities to propel a regions’ sustainability. The results of the study can contribute to the development agendas of many small islands, as they show how to establish effective development policy, management systems, and marketing strategies for sustainable tourism.

Sustainable Tourism Potential and Strategies for Development as an Industry in Pakistan, Factors Affecting Tourism

Sustainable Tourism Potential and Strategies for Development as an Industry in Pakistan, Factors Affecting Tourism

Tourism as a Catalyst for Socio-Economic Transformation: Insights from Sharangkot, Kaski

This research examines tourism's impact on Sharangkot's socio-economic landscape, a key destination in Nepal's thriving tourism sector. Focusing on communities transitioning from agriculture to tourism, the study used a quantitative method, surveying 100 local households. It analyzed the correlation between tourism and socio-economic variables, considering both benefits (like job creation and infrastructural growth) and challenges (such as inflation and environmental issues. Results show tourism significantly improves Sharangkot's living standards, bringing economic advantages and infrastructural enhancements, but also raising costs and environmental concerns. The study underscores the need for sustainable tourism strategies that harmonize economic and environmental interests. It also suggests further research to delve deeper into the complex interplay between tourism and socio-economic factors in Sharangkot.

Ekowisata sebagai Bentuk Adaptasi Masyarakat Liang Ndara pada Pariwisata

Tourism is continuing on growing to become one of the world most powerful economics powers and the main mover of the country’s economic system. Unfortunately, one the other hand, tourism can also promote harmful effects on social culture and environment. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a sustainable tourism strategy. Ecotourism as an alternative sustainable tourism that offers not only economic benefit but also nature preservation. This research focuses on the local’s adjustment towards the global tourism culture. This research which took place at Liang Ndara ecotourism village is meant to answer two main questions of firstly, how the locals adapt to the tourism phenomenon which situated in Labuan Bajo, NTT. Secondly, how they managed to succeed the adaptation process. In order to answer these questions, this research was conducted in qualitative methodology. This paper argues that the locals of Liang Ndara was able to adapt to the new realm of tourism, of ecotourism. They were capable of managing the financial benefit as well as the nature and ecology preservation. The most essential factors of the success was the sensitivity towards the change that is taken place in their surroundings. In addition to the sensitivity factor, there was a role model for the locals who developed the ecotourism. Moreover, it was the openness to build the network with different parties especially NGO that support the ecotourism which determined their success.

The Role of Human–Machine Interactive Devices for Post-COVID-19 Innovative Sustainable Tourism in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

In this research article, we aim to study the proposed role of human–machine interactive (HMI) technologies, including both artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR)-enabled applications, for the post-COVID-19 revival of the already depleted tourism industry in Vietnam’s major tourist destination and business hub of Ho Chi Minh City. The researchers aim to gather practical knowledge regarding tourists’ intentions for such service enhancements, which may drive the sector to adopt a better conclusive growth pattern in post-COVID-19 times. In this study, we attempt to focus on travelers who look for paramount safety with the assurance of empathetic, personalized care in post-COVID-19 times. In the current study, the authors employ structural equation modeling to evaluate the intentions of tourists both structurally and empirically for destination tourism with data collected from tourists with previous exposure to various kinds of these devices. The study shows that human–machine interactive devices are integrating AI and VR and have a significant effect on overall service quality, leading to tourist satisfaction and loyalty. The use of such social interactive gadgets within tourism and mostly in hospitality services requires an organization to make a commitment to futuristic technologies, along with building value by enriching service quality expectations among fearful tourists. This research shows that tourists mainly focus on the use of such HMI devices from the perspective of technology acceptance factors, qualitative value-enhancing service and trustworthy information-sharing mechanisms. The concept of the tour bubble framework is also discussed in detail. The analysis of this discussion gives us a more profound understanding of the novel opportunities which various administrative agencies may benefit from to position these devices better in smart, sustainable destination tourism strategies for the future so that, collectively, service 5.0 with HMI devices can possibly bring back tourism from being disintegrated. Such service applications are the new social innovations leading to sustainable service and a sophisticated experience for all tourists.

The Penta-helix: A sustainable tourism strategy of Bali's villages

The study proposes a sustainable tourism strategy in Bali’s village through adapting the Penta-helix model. This paper is qualitative research using content analysis based on secondary data and applies the Penta-helix approach. Based on the literature review and synthesis, the proposal consists of 1) maximizing the academic world through community service programs; 2) CSR towards developing a tourism village; 3) community-based development; 4) infrastructure, and 5) branding. The five-elements that we provide is expected to increase awareness and maximize the potential of sustainable village tourism in Bali.

Conceptualising overtourism: A sustainability approach

This paper conceptualises a new tourism phenomenon: overtourism. Conceptualisation is based on relevant tourism knowledge on sustainability and related responsibility. The proposed model, presented in concise pictorial form, brings together the tourism capacities of the ‘sustainability pillars’ as well as the novel ‘socio-psychological’ and ‘socio-political’ capacities. Ultimately, the model may assist in monitoring, diagnosing and influencing the risks of any unsustainable tourism situation. The proposed novel capacities add to growing academic call to revisit the contemporary academic and practical approaches to tourism and sustainability, based on its low efficacy in practice. Paper suggests to extend and update the existing sustainable tourism paradigm to encourage more sustainable tourism strategies, policies and their more effective implementation.

Соціально-екологічний підхід до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад

На прикладі запланованої Старосамбірської об'єднаної територіальної громади (ОТГ) Львівської області проаналізовано найвідоміші теоретичні моделі, побудовані на підставі соціально-екологічного підходу розвитку суспільства, призначених для застосування під час розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку територій. Встановлено, що соціально-екологічний підхід до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад, стане тим інноваційним механізмом, за допомогою якого регіон зможе реалізувати свій туристичний потенціал, базуючись на концепції сталого розвитку, що ґрунтується на двох основоположних підходах: ощадливе використання природних ресурсів та мінімізація шкоди для довкілля; забезпечення збалансованого соціально-економічного розвитку туристичних регіонів. Висвітлено проблеми та перспективи використання соціально-екологічного підходу до розроблення стратегії сталого розвитку туризму територіальних громад (на прикладі запланованої Старосамбірської об'єднаної територіальної громади Львівської області) та впровадження стратегічних планів економічного та соціального розвитку туризму об'єднаних територіальних громад для забезпечення високого рівня та якості життя населення регіонів України, створення сприятливих умов для діяльності нинішнього та майбутніх поколінь та припинення деградації природних екосистем шляхом впровадження нової моделі економічного зростання, що ґрунтується на засадах сталого розвитку. Встановлено, що пріоритетними напрямками розвитку туристичної сфери цього району є такі види туризму: сакральний; паломницький; ностальгійний; культурно-пізнавальний; рекреаційний; активний туризм, зокрема, піший туризм, велотуризм та екстремальний туризм та екологічний туризм. Саме стійкий попит на такий продукт сприятиме розвитку інфраструктури, малого та середнього підприємництва тощо. Результати досліджень наявних туристично-рекреаційних ресурсів, з урахуванням екологічної та соціально-економічної складових для реалізації принципів сталого розвитку громади є важливими, як власне для окремих об'єднаних територіальних громад, так і для держави загалом.