SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Sustainable tourism means achieving quality growth in a manner that does not deplete the natural
and built environments and preserves the local community's culture, history, and heritage. The key to
sustainable tourism is to balance the number of visitors with the capacity of the given environment in a
manner that allows the greatest interaction and enjoyment with the least destruction (Cruz, 2015).
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), sustainable tourism
development guidelines and management practices apply to all forms of tourism in all types of
destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainability principles
refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development. A suitable
balance must be established between these three (3) dimensions to guarantee tourism’s long-term
sustainability.
Thus, sustainable tourism should:
 Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism
development, maintaining essential ecological processes, and helping to conserve natural
heritage and biodiversity.
 Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living
cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and
tolerance.
 Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing fairly distributed socio-economic
benefits to all stakeholders, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities
and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders and
strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus-building. Achieving sustainable
tourism is a continuous process, and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the
necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary.
Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful
experience, raising tourists’ awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism
practices amongst them.
Carrying capacity is a major concern when discussing sustainable tourism. Carrying capacity is the
largest number of people a destination can efficiently manage within its given environment and
management capabilities. When too many people gather in an area that the facility cannot handle, the
destination, the local residents, and the economy are harmed. To avoid this situation, effective planning
steps must be taken under effective policy guidelines.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

UNWTO promotes responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism to achieve the universal
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development seek to end poverty and hunger, realize the human rights of all,
achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and ensure the lasting
protection of the planet and its natural resources.
UNWTO offers leadership and support to the tourism sector in advancing knowledge and tourism
policies worldwide, advocating for responsible tourism, and promoting tourism as a driving force
towards economic growth, inclusive development, and environmental sustainability.
With a current membership of 156 countries, UNWTO encourages the implementation of the Global
Code of Ethics in Tourism (GCET) to maximize tourism´s socio-economic contribution while minimizing
its possible negative impacts. The GCET is a comprehensive set of principles whose purpose is to guide
stakeholders in tourism development.

Here are UNWTO’s 17 sustainable development goals:

 No Poverty - Tourism provides income through job creation at local and community levels.
 Zero Hunger - Tourism can spur sustainable agriculture by promoting the production and
supplies to hotels and sales of local products to tourists. Agro-tourism can generate additional
income while enhancing the value of the tourism experience.
 Good Health and Well-being – Tax income generated from tourism can be reinvested in health
care and services.
 Quality Education – Tourism has the potential to promote inclusiveness. A skilled workforce is
crucial for tourism to prosper. The tourism sector provides opportunities for direct and indirect
jobs for youth, women, and those with special needs, who should benefit through educational
means.
 Gender Equality – Tourism can empower women, particularly through the provision of direct
jobs and income generation from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in tourism and
hospitality-related enterprises.
 Clean Water and Sanitation - Tourism investment requirement for providing utilities can play a
critical role in achieving water access and security and hygiene and sanitation for all.
 Affordable and Clean Energy - As a sector, which is energy-intensive, tourism can accelerate
the shift towards increased renewable energy shares in the global energy mix. By promoting
investments in clean energy sources, tourism can help to reduce greenhouse gases, mitigate
climate change, and contribute to access to energy for all.
 Decent Work and Economic Growth - Tourism, as services trade, is one of the top four export
earners globally, currently providing one in ten jobs worldwide.
 Industry Innovation and Infrastructure - Tourism development relies on good public and
private infrastructure. The sector can influence public policy for infrastructure upgrades and
retrofits, making them more sustainable, innovative, and resource-efficient and moving
towards low carbon growth, thus attracting tourists and other sources of foreign investment.
 Reduced Inequalities - Tourism can be a powerful tool for reducing inequalities if it engages
local populations and all key stakeholders in its development.
 Sustainable Cities and Communities - Tourism can advance urban infrastructure and
accessibility, promote the regeneration of areas in decay, and preserve cultural and natural
heritage, assets on which tourism depends.
 Responsible Consumption and Production - The tourism sector needs to adopt sustainable
consumption and production (SCP) modes, accelerating the shift towards sustainability. Tools
to monitor sustainable development impacts for tourism, including energy, water, waste,
biodiversity, and job creation, will result in enhanced economic, social, and environmental
outcomes.
 Climate Action - Tourism contributes to and is affected by climate change. Tourism
stakeholders should play a leading role in the global response to climate change. By reducing
 its carbon footprint in the transport and accommodation sector, tourism can benefit from low
carbon growth and help tackle one of the most pressing challenges of global climate change.
 Life Below Water - Coastal and maritime tourism rely on healthy marine ecosystems. Tourism
development must be a part of Integrated Coastal Zone Management to help conserve and
preserve fragile marine ecosystems and serve as a vehicle to promote a blue economy,
contributing to the sustainable use of marine resources.
 Life on Land - Rich biodiversity and natural heritage are often the main reasons tourists visit a
destination. Tourism can play a major role if sustainably managed in fragile zones, conserving
and preserving biodiversity and generating revenue as an alternative livelihood to local
communities.
 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions - As tourism revolves around billions of encounters
between people of diverse cultural backgrounds, the sector can foster multicultural and inter-
faith tolerance and understanding, laying the foundation for more peaceful societies.
 Partnership for the Goals - Due to its cross-sectoral nature, tourism can strengthen
private/public partnerships and engage multiple stakeholders – international, national,
regional, and local – to work together to achieve the SDGs and other common goals. Public
policy and innovative financing are at the core of achieving the 2030 Agenda.

CHARACTERISTIC OF SUSTAIBALE TOURISM

Tourism is a lucrative and growing business for many countries around the world, leading many to
consider the characteristics of sustainable tourism as a means of maintaining local resources and
heritage. Along with adding revenue to local economies, it contributes greatly to employment rates in
areas with booming tourism industries. While tourism can add a great deal to national economies, it
also can take away several key components of those countries. Sustainable tourism is a concept in
which respect for the local resources, culture, environment, and people of a locale is emphasized in a
way that is also beneficial for travelers.
Benefits Local Economic Development
Tourism with a sustainable emphasis ensures there are many diverse opportunities for the creation of
jobs locally. It also encourages local entrepreneurship and community reinvestment to sustain the
economic momentum and maintain it within the local geographic region. Outsourcing to other parts
of the world is discouraged.
Ensures Tourism Development Benefits Both Community and Environment
If key players in the tourism industry of an area are not careful, it can be very easy to deplete that
region of resources to meet the demand and growth of tourism. The characteristics of sustainable
tourism ensure that construction, maintenance, infrastructure, and providing services related to
tourism are undertaken in ways that do not negatively affect local resources nor the community in
which tourism thrives.
Meets Both Profitability and Viability
Sustainable tourism must ensure that markets served can be both profitable and viable for the long
term. Seeking only to gain as much profit as possible will require the industry to move on, leaving the
local economy and community in shambles. The key to maximizing profit and long-term success lies in
offering goods and services high in value and price but low in volume.
 Becomes Part of the Local Culture
One of the most important characteristics of sustainable tourism is that it does not take over the local
culture and community. The tourist industry should not detract from the special feel of a place and
what makes it unique. A careful balance must be maintained in this endeavor to prevent loss of the
original appeal to travelers.
Reinvests in the Local Region
To maintain viability in a friendly way to the local community, one of the characteristics of sustainable
tourism must be reinvestment in the region. Money must be put back into the local schools, natural
resources, and infrastructure to meet tourists' demands on the region.
Maintaining sustainability within a country’s tourist industry covers several aspects. Great care and
mindfulness must be taken to ensure a place does not lose what made it appealing in the first place
and that a community is not left in ruins due to the impact of serving outsiders. These five (5)
characteristics of sustainable tourism are essential to ensuring the growth of a region, its industry, and
its people.

RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Responsible tourism can be regarded as behavior. It is more than a form of tourism as it represents an
approach to engage with tourism, be that as a tourist, a business, locals at a destination, or any other
tourism stakeholder. It emphasizes that all stakeholders are responsible for the kind of tourism they
develop or engage in. While different groups will see responsibility in different ways, the shared
understanding is that responsible tourism should improve tourism. Tourism should become better as a
result of responsible tourism approach.

The Cape Town Declaration lays out several guiding principles for Responsible Tourism, as identified
by multiple sectors, businesses, and professionals in the tourism industry. According to this
declaration, responsible tourism will have the following characteristics:
 Minimizes negative economic, environmental, and social impacts;
 Generates economic benefits for local people, enhances the well-being of host
communities and improves working conditions and access to the industry;
 Involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances;
 Makes a positive contribution to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage
and the
maintenance of the world’s diversity;
 Provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with
local people and a greater understanding of local cultural, social, and environmental issues;
and
 Provides access for physically challenged people, is culturally sensitive, engenders respect
between tourists and hosts, and builds local pride and confidence.

GLOBAL CODE OF ETHICS FOR TOURISM

As a fundamental frame of reference for responsible and sustainable tourism, the Global Code of Ethics
for Tourism (GCET) is a comprehensive set of principles designed to guide key players in tourism
development. Addressed to governments, the travel industry, communities, and tourists alike, it aims
to help maximize the sector’s benefits while minimizing its potentially negative impact on the
environment, cultural heritage, and societies across the globe.
Adopted in 1999 by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization, its acknowledgment by
the United Nations two (2) years later expressly encouraged UNWTO to promote the effective follow-
up of its provisions. Although not legally binding, the Code features a voluntary implementation
mechanism through its recognition of the role of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE), to
which stakeholders may refer matters concerning the application and interpretation of the document.
The Code’s 10 articles amply cover the economic, social, cultural, and environmental components of
travel and tourism (UNWTO):
Article 1: Tourism's contribution to mutual understanding and respect between peoples and
societies. The understanding and promotion of the ethical values common to humanity, with an
attitude of tolerance and respect for the diversity of religious, philosophical, and moral beliefs, are
both the foundation and the consequence of responsible tourism. Stakeholders in tourism
development and tourists themselves should observe the social and cultural traditions and practices
of all people, including those of minorities and indigenous people and to recognize their worth.
Article 2: Tourism as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfillment. Tourism, the activity most
frequently associated with rest and relaxation, sport and access to culture and nature, should be
planned and practiced as a privileged means of individual and collective fulfilment. When practiced
with a sufficiently open mind, it is an irreplaceable factor of self-education, mutual tolerance, and for
learning about the legitimate differences between peoples and cultures and their diversity.
Article 3: Tourism, a factor of sustainable development. All the stakeholders in tourism development
should safeguard the natural environment with a view to achieving sound, continuous and sustainable
economic growth geared to satisfying equitably the needs and aspirations of present and future
generations.
Article 4: Tourism, a user of the cultural heritage of mankind and contributor to its enhancement.
Tourism resources belong to the common heritage of mankind. The communities in whose territories
they are situated have rights and obligations to them. Tourism policies and activities should be
conducted with respect for artistic, archaeological, and cultural heritage, which should be protected and
passed on to future generations.

Article 5: Tourism, a beneficial activity for host countries and communities. Local populations should
be associated with tourism activities and share equitably in the economic, social, and cultural benefits
they generate, and particularly in the creation of direct and indirect jobs resulting from them.

Article 6: Obligations of stakeholders in tourism development. Tourism professionals have an

obligation to provide tourists with objective and honest information on their places of destination and
on the conditions of travel, hospitality, and stays. They should ensure that the contractual clauses
proposed to their customers are readily understandable as to the nature, price, and quality of the
services they commit themselves to providing and the financial compensation payable by them in the
event of a breach of contract on their part.
Article 7: Right to tourism. The prospect of direct and personal access to the discovery and enjoyment
of the planet’s resources constitutes a right equally open to all the world’s inhabitants. The increasingly
extensive participation in national and international tourism should be regarded as one of the best
possible expressions of the sustained growth of free time, and obstacles should not be placed in its
 way.
Article 8: Liberty of tourist movements. Tourists and visitors should benefit, in compliance with
international law and national legislation, from the liberty to move within their countries and from one
State to another. They should have access to places of transit and stay and to tourism and cultural sites
without being subject to excessive formalities or discrimination.
Article 9: Rights of the workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry. The fundamental rights of
salaried and self-employed workers in the tourism industry and related activities, should be
guaranteed under the supervision of the national and local administrations, both of their States of
origin and of the host countries with particular care, given the specific constraints linked to the
seasonality of their activity, the global dimension of their industry, and the flexibility often required of
them by the nature of their work.
Article 10: Implementation of the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The public and
private stakeholders in tourism development should cooperate in the implementation of these
principles and monitor their effective application.

BENEFITS OF SUSTAIBLE TOURISM

According to Cruz (2015), tourist attractions in natural and built environments are important factors
for economic growth, unspoiled natural ecosystems, well-maintained historic sites, and cultural
heritage events that can produce economic and quality of life benefits. Satisfied visitors will likely be
repeat visitors and can surely contribute to the economic growth of tourism to a local community.
The economic benefits of successful sustainable tourism management include developing new
businesses, expanding job opportunities, increasing income, marketing new products, improving
infrastructure, encouraging diversification, integrating the local economy and special opportunities
with other services and products, promoting community pride, and higher quality of life to the local
population.
The key to sustainable tourism is to manage the destination effectively to benefit the local population,
enrich the visit of the tourists, and preserve the tourism products for future generations to enjoy.

DO NOT REPRODUCE!!