Unit 32 Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Management

Introduction

The aim of this unit is to provide students with the knowledge and understanding of sustainable and responsible tourism, and how this is managed and developed in different countries.

Today, all countries, destinations, and travel and tourism organisations recognise the importance of incorporating sustainability into travel and tourism planning and operations. There is now an increasing demand for ‘sustainability specialists’ to be employed worldwide to implement responsible tourism management policies. It is therefore essential that all students of tourism understand its meaning and the implications for organisations that they are likely to be employed in.

Starting with understanding the concept and meaning of sustainable and responsible tourism, students will then apply this to a ‘real-life’ situation through the creation of a local or national tourism development case study. This will involve planning, resolving conflicts of interest, balancing supply with demand, moral and ethical issues, and economic and social environmental issues.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this unit students will be able to:

Determine the main features of sustainable and responsible tourism
Evaluate the importance of tourism development planning for sustainability
Apply principles of sustainable and responsible tourism management to a chosen case study
Evaluate how sustainable and responsible tourism management has evolved in a variety of destinations worldwide.

Essential content

LO1 Determine the main features of sustainable and responsible tourism

Definitions of sustainable tourism:

The evolution of sustainable tourism as a concept

The concept and meaning of sustainable tourism, the environment, responsible tourism and its management

Definitions and interpretations of sustainability from different stakeholder perspectives e.g. Government, non-government organisations (NGOs), travel and tourism industry, pressure groups/environmentalists

Organisational roles and responsibilities:

The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) roles, functions, mission statements

Guidelines for implementation of sustainable and responsible tourism management strategies

Application of the principles:

Principles of sustainable tourism

Hunter’s adaptive paradigm and the four types of tourism development

International, national, regional and local examples of sustainable application and implementation

LO2 Evaluate the importance of tourism development planning for sustainability

Impacts of tourism development:

The relationship between tourism and the environment, assessing both the negative and positive impacts on the environment

Impacts from the environmental, economic, socio and cultural perspectives

Tourism development:

The identifiable characteristics of sustainable tourism development and the purpose of sustainable tourism development

The conflicts and complexities between sustainable development and economic growth

Planning for sustainable tourism development:

International, national, regional local development, different approaches to tourism development Advantages and disadvantages of each

The process of planning:

The stages of the planning process: recognition and preparation, setting of objectives, survey of existing data, conducting new surveys, analysis of qualitative and quantitative research, initial policy and plan formulation, recommendations, implementation, monitoring and reformulation

Problems of planning:

Meeting a diverse range of stakeholder interests e.g. the host community (business and residents), tourism industry, and the visitor

Cost implications, lack of collaborative partnership due to complex nature of the industry and issues of seasonality

Measurement:

The importance of monitoring and measuring sustainable tourism development

Instruments of measuring sustainability e.g. use of sustainable indicators and monitoring, environment assessment audit and carrying capacity

Instruments of measuring success e.g. tourism economic activity model, survey and questionnaires, use of data analysis and website analytics

LO3 Apply principles of sustainable and responsible tourism management to a chosen case study

Identification of a suitable tourism business/attraction:

New or existing business/attraction

The purpose and aims of the business/attraction

Factors to consider e.g. location, infrastructure, online presence and accessibility, popularity with visitors

Stakeholder engagement and partnerships

Impacts of the business on sustainability:

Positive and negative economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts Issues and areas of conflict

The balance of supply and demand

The determinants of carrying capacity and thresholds Future sustainability

Sustainable management:

Instruments of tourism sustainability to support sustainable management and practices

Stakeholder interest and partnerships e.g. national, regional, local authority permissions, local host businesses and resident reactions

LO4 Evaluate how sustainable and responsible tourism management has evolved in a variety of destinations worldwide

The different impacts of tourism: Socio-cultural impacts:

The impact on the host community e.g. social change, changing values, provision of social services, the conflict between tourist/host relationships, commercialisation and commodification of culture and art, staged authenticity, revitalisation of customs and art forms, destruction and preservation of heritage, moral and ethical issues

Environmental impacts:

The effects of tourism activities and tourism facilities

Types of conservation and pollution e.g. air, visual, noise, land use, ecological disruption

Pressures on infrastructure and finite resources, erosion, preservation of environment e.g. drainage, irrigation

Imposition of limits

Economic impacts:

The contribution tourism has to the economy and its financial value

The generation of employment, provision of foreign exchange, multiplier effect of tourism as contribution to the balance of payments

Adverse effects e.g. economic leakage, the development of foreign ownership and management

Development of enclave tourism Imposition of limits

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Pass	Merit	Distinction
LO1 Determine the main features of sustainable and responsible tourism
P1 Explain how the concept of sustainable and responsible tourism has evolved P2 Determine the role, function and mission of leading global organisations involved in the promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism	M1 Analyse the concepts and meanings of sustainable and responsible tourism according to leading global organisations	D1 Critically analyse the relevance and application of the concepts and meaning of sustainable and responsible tourism according to leading global organisations
LO2 Evaluate the importance of tourism development planning for sustainability	D2 Critically evaluate different approaches to tourism development and planning to identify and justify the rationale for measuring and monitoring sustainable performance
P3 Explore the purpose and principles of tourism development and planning to minimise the adverse effects of tourism P4 Evaluate the process of tourism development and planning, and the associated challenges and problems, providing specific tourism examples	M2 Critically evaluate different approaches to tourism development and planning for successfully achieving sustainable objectives
LO3 Apply principles of sustainable and responsible tourism management to a chosen case study
P5 Investigate the impacts of tourism activity generated by a specific tourism attraction from an economic, social, cultural and environmental perspective P6 Examine how principles of sustainability implemented by a specific tourism business/attraction meet stakeholder requirements and expectations	M3 Analyse the contribution made by various stakeholders in developing sustainable tourism practices to minimise the adverse impacts of a specific tourism business/attraction	D3 Critically analyse the value and importance of stakeholder engagement and partnerships in minimising adverse impacts to meet overall sustainable objectives

Pass	Merit	Distinction
LO4 Evaluate how sustainable and responsible
tourism management has evolved in a variety of destinations worldwide	D4 Make justified recommendations and

P7 Evaluate how	M4 Critically evaluate the	solutions for improving
sustainability is being	success or failure of	sustainable management
developed and managed	sustainable management	and development for a
in a range of tourist	applied in a range of	range of tourist
destinations worldwide	tourist destinations	destinations worldwide
	worldwide

Recommended Resources

Textbooks

BRICKER, K., BLACK, R. and COTTRELL, S. (2012) Sustainable Tourism & Millennium Development Goals. Burlington MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

COOPER et al. (2008) Tourism: Principles and Practice. Harlow: Pearson.

HALL, C.J. (2007) Tourism Planning: Policies, processes and relationships. Harlow: Prentice Hall.

HOLLOWAY, C. (2009) The Business of Tourism. 9th ed. Harlow: Pearson.

LIBURD, J.J. and EDWARDS, D. (2010). Understanding the Sustainable Development of Tourism. Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers Ltd.

WEBER, L. (2016) Sustainable Tourism Development. Leicester: Willford Press.

Websites

www.gdrc.org	The Sustainable Tourism Gateways (General Reference)
www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk	The Travel Foundation (Research, Articles)
www.tourismconcern.org.co.uk	Tourism Concern (Reports, News)
www.unesco.org	United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation Teaching and learning for a Sustainable Future (Research, Publications)

Links

Unit 1: The Contemporary Travel and Tourism Industry Unit 8: Visitor Attraction Management

Unit 1: The Contemporary Travel and Tourism Industry

Unit 2: Managing the Customer Experience

Unit 3: Professional Identity and Practice

Unit 4: The Travel and Tourism Business Toolkit

Unit 6: Managing Aviation Services

Unit 7: Managing Conference and Events

Unit 8: Visitor Attraction Management

Unit 11: Corporate Travel Management

Unit 16: Marketing Essentials for Travel and Tourism

Unit 20: Tourism Consumer Behaviour and Insight