Unit 33 Global Sustainable Tourism Development

Introduction

The aim of this unit is to provide students with knowledge and understanding of the development and management of global sustainable tourism across a range of contexts.

Students will analyse, interpret and evaluate relevant information, concepts and ideas relating to sustainable tourism development and planning, in accordance with principles of sustainability, responsible management and corporate social responsibility.

Students will evaluate the key steps required to create and deliver a sustainable tourism strategy and evaluate ways in which further improvements can be made to the sustainability agenda. In particular, they will consider the potential roles that key stakeholder and tourism providers could play.

The knowledge, understanding and skills developed through this unit will enable students to contribute to the increasingly important debate around sustainable tourism. The unit will add value to future career development by empowering students to anticipate and evaluate potential developments and make considered decisions in the context of sustainable tourism planning.

Learning Outcomes

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

Assess the adverse effects of the tourism industry and the resulting development of sustainable tourism
Analyse the process required to develop an effective sustainable tourism strategy to meet sustainable objectives
Evaluate the contribution of key stakeholders/tourism partners to global sustainable tourism strategic development
Compare and contrast the outcomes of sustainable tourism strategies in an emerging and an established destination.

Essential content

LO1 Assess the adverse effects of the tourism industry and the resulting development of sustainable tourism

Adverse effects of the tourism industry:

Competition for scarce resources, particularly land and water Community participation and reduction of poverty

Visitor trespass and the impact on the environment e.g. visitor/host relationships, socio–cultural implications, pressures on the infrastructure and resources

Environmental considerations e.g. carbon footprint, conservation and pollution, environmental degradation

Development of sustainable tourism:

The principles and key pillars of sustainable tourism

The different perspectives of sustainability: economic, social and environmental

Current and future trends affecting the implementation of sustainability

LO2 Analyse the process required to develop an effective sustainable tourism strategy to meet sustainable objectives

Tourism strategy:

Different types of strategic planning e.g. the visioning approach and experience strategies

The defining characteristics of strategic planning

The tourism strategy process:

Situational analysis

Establishment of objectives and strategy Engagement of key stakeholders

Assessment of investment and prioritisation of resources

Development of sustainability policies and action/implementation plan with timescales and key performance indicators

Implementation and evaluation

Tools for implementing sustainable tourism development:

Legislation and regulations

Land use planning and development Certification schemes and awards The use of eco labelling

The use of guidelines and codes of conduct

Capacity management, environmental risk assessments and audits The visitor management plan model and the different components

LO3 Evaluate the contribution of key stakeholders/tourism partners to global sustainable tourism strategic development

Key stakeholders/tourism partners:

The importance of stakeholder mapping for sustainability Different types of stakeholders e.g. public, private and voluntary

organisations involved in tourism, the host community and tourists

The impact of stakeholders on the tourist experience

Tools for implementing sustainable tourism development:

Legislation and regulations

Land use planning and development Certification schemes and awards

The use of eco labelling, guidelines and codes of conduct

Capacity management, environmental risk assessments and audits The visitor management plan model and the different components

International contribution:

Inter-partner collaboration

Cross border/global codes and agreements

Regulations, incentives, penalties for compliance or abuse

LO4 Compare and contrast the outcomes of sustainable tourism strategies in an emerging and an established destination

Outcomes of sustainable tourism strategy: Economic viability of tourism destinations Visitor satisfaction

Land usage and effect on wildlife, biodiversity and eco systems Prosperity and quality of employment amongst host communities

Raising cultural awareness and respect for host culture, rituals and heritage Continued preservation, conservation of quality of landscapes

Conservation of natural areas, habitats and wildlife Equitable use of scarce and non-renewable resources

Minimal environmental impact from visitors and tourism providers

Measuring and monitoring the outcomes:

Procedures and mechanisms used for measuring and monitoring intended outcomes of strategic planning

Planning for contingency and failure of strategic sustainable development

Destinations:

Outcomes of sustainable strategic approaches in emerging global destination versus established global destination

308

Pearson BTEC Levels 4 and 5 Higher Nationals in International Travel and Tourism Management

Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria

Pass	Merit	Distinction
LO1 Assess the adverse effects of the tourism industry and the resulting development of sustainable tourism	D1 Critically analyse and evaluate the key drivers of sustainable tourism and evaluate their impact on future global tourism
P1 Assess the adverse impacts of travel and tourism that have driven the need for sustainable tourism development	M1 Analyse how key drivers of sustainable tourism have developed in importance and significance globally
P2 Discuss the conceptual development of sustainable tourism and how it has evolved
LO2 Analyse the process required to develop an
effective sustainable tourism strategy to meet
sustainable objectives
P3 Appraise the key	M2 Critically analyse the	D2 Make valid
principles underpinning the	importance of principles	conclusions on the
development process of a	underpinning the	potential consequences
sustainable tourism strategy	development process of a	of neglecting key
in order to meet sustainable	sustainable tourism	principles of sustainable
objectives, using a range of	strategy in successfully	tourism development,
specific examples	achieving sustainable	using a range of specific
	objectives	examples to support
		your arguments
LO3 Evaluate the contribution of key stakeholders/tourism partners to global sustainable tourism strategic development	LO3 LO4
	D3 Make recommendations for improving global sustainable tourism strategies in an emerging and an established tourism destination, including building relationships with tourism partners and key stakeholders to achieve sustainable outcomes
P4 Appraise the role of key stakeholders in the global sustainable tourism agenda and strategic development process P5 Evaluate the ways in which key stakeholders contribute to the global sustainable tourism agenda and strategic development	M3 Critically evaluate the effectiveness of stakeholders in improving global sustainable tourism strategic development
LO4 Compare and contrast the outcomes of sustainable tourism strategies in an emerging and an established destination
P6 Compare and contrast the outcomes of sustainable tourism strategies in an emerging and an established tourism destination	M4 Critically evaluate the importance of the outcomes of sustainable tourism strategies to an emerging and an established tourism destination

Recommended resources

Textbooks

ADAMS, W.M. (2008) Green Development: environment and sustainability in the third world. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge.

EDGELL, D. (2016) Managing Sustainable Tourism. 2nd ed. Oxford: Routledge.

HALL, C.M. (2007) Pro-poor Tourism: Who Benefits? Perspectives on tourism and poverty reduction. Clevedon: Channel View.

MOWFORTH, M. and MUNT, I. (2008) Tourism and Sustainability: new tourism in the third world. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge.

VIGNATI, F. and HAWKINS, D. (2016) Sustainable Tourism: driving green investment and shared prosperity in developing countries. North Charleston: Createspace.

Websites

www.gdrc.org	The Sustainable Tourism Gateways (General Reference)
www.gstcouncil.org	Global Sustainable Tourism Council (Research, Articles)
www.rainforest-alliance.org	Rainforest Alliance (General Reference)
www.unesco.org	United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation Teaching and learning for a Sustainable Future (Research, Publications)

Links

This unit links to the following related units:

Unit 13: Global Tourism Destinations

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