Today, tourism is an important component of development, not only in economic terms but also for knowledge and human welfare. Tourism today is an activity accessible to a growing number of people. The phenomenon has many more advantages than disadvantages. New forms of economic development and increasing wealth of human societies depend on tourism. Our knowledge of the world now includes a strong component due to tourism. Human welfare has physiological and psychological elements, which tourism promotes, both because of the enjoyment of knowing new territories and increasing contacts with near or far away societies and cultures. The tourism industry has nevertheless given rise to some serious concerns, including social costs and ecological impacts. Many ancient local cultures have practically lost their identity. Their societies have orientated their economy only to this industry. Both the natural and cultural – rural or urban – landscapes have also paid a high price for certain forms of tourism. These problems will persist if the economic benefit is the only target, leading to economic gains that eventually become ruinous. It is also important to consider that visitors nowadays are increasingly demanding in cultural and environmental terms. Never before have transport and communication links been so important as today. Natural ecosystems are now a rarity on the planet and ecologists talk today about ‘socio-ecosystems’. Given this, tourism and environmental education are facing a major challenge. Tourism also plays an important role in the natural environmental changes that are strongly affected by technological and social developments. Natural changes are inherent in the Earth’s ecosystem (the ‘ecosphere’). Also, technological and social changes are inherent to mankind (the ‘noosphere’) and are now becoming widespread. Cities are growing rapidly and industry requires increasingly larger areas. Many traditional rural areas are being abandoned. However, many historic agricultural districts have maintained, or even recovered, their local population numbers through intelligent strategies of tourism focused on nature and rural culture. Natural landscapes and biodiversity are becoming increasingly appreciated. The tourism industry must be able to respond to these aspirations. The 9th International Conference on Sustainable Tourism had the aim of finding ways to protect the natural and cultural landscape through the development of new solutions which minimise the adverse effects of tourism. A selection of the papers presented at the meeting form this volume.

Sustainable Tourism comprehensively examines the theoretical and applied dimensions of contemporary sustainable tourism from a global perspective. Using international case studies and examples, it provides cutting edge coverage of the latest developments in the area, both theoretically and practically. It takes the reader through all aspects of sustainable tourism from the emergence of the paradigm to sustainability issues in all types of tourism and all components of the industry. Divided into 11 chapters it covers* ?Alternative tourism? (AT), or small-scale tourism and its associated pros and cons * Sustainable tourism within the conventional ?mass? tourism sector: the ?green consumer?, transportation, accommodation, attractions and tour operator considering issues and developments in quality control * Destination sustainability: issues of community empowerment and ideal sustainability models * Conclusions for the future of sustainable tourism The wide variety of international case studies used include: backpacking in Australia and Spain, Volunteer tourism in the US, Six Continents and Marriott hotels, Disney World, the Grand Prix, the Grand Canyon, mountain gorilla parks in Uganda and many more. Specifically written for courses in the specific topic area of sustainable tourism, this textbook considers the needs of both students and lecturers as follows: * Ideal for a semester course (or a 42-hour course) * Global perspective throughout the chapters and in the breadth of illustrative boxed case studies; * Chapters exceptionally well-integrated through frequent cross-references * End-of-chapter questions that prompt deeper integrative thinking on the part of the reader. * Online resources for the lecturer, including PowerPoint presentations and multiple choice exercises

Looking ahead to the 21st century, Sustainable Tourism explains the current thinking process that underlies the emerging international principles of more sustainable development in travel and tourism. Using international illustrations it draws on experience and good practice as they are being increasingly applied around the world in the late 1990s. In sharp contrast to the problem analysis approach adopted by so many authors to this subject, this book is focused on the pro-active role the private sector industry can play in partnership with the public sector to achieve solutions through its day-to-day operations and marketing, expecially in product enhancement and quality controls. Case material, contributed by senior professionals in the industry, include: *Kruger National Park, South Africa *Quicksilver Connections, Barrier Reef, Australia *Edinburgh's Old Town, UK *Ironbridge Gorge Museum, UK *Rutland Water, UK. Industry illustrations are drawn from British Airways, Grecotel, Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts, the International Federation of Tour Operators, P&O and TUI. Professor Victor Middleton has had some thirty years' international experience of marketing practice covering most of the private and public sectors of travel and tourism. He holds appointments as Visiting Professor at Oxford Brookes University and University of Central Lancashire. Dr Rebecca Hawkins runs her own business specialising in environmental aspects of tourism projects and has undertaken a number of pioneering programmes in this role. She was Deputy Director of the World Travel and Tourism Environment Research Centre at Oxford Brookes University, where she worked with Victor Middleton.

Managing Sustainable Tourism tackles the tough issues of tourism such as negative environmental impact and cultural degradation, and provides answers that don’t sacrifice positive economic growth. It offers practical plans for fostering harmonious relationships among local communities, the private sector, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, and governments at all levels as well as develops management practices and philosophies that protect natural, built, and cultural environments while reinforcing positive and orderly economic growth. Since the first edition, there have been many important developments in the field, and this second edition has been revised and updated in the following ways: Updated content to reflect issues and trends, including: impact of the internet, slow tourism, responsible tourism, pro – poor tourism and motivations of the individual tourist New and updated international case studies of successes and failures to reflect current challenges and practices New lecturer and student online resources including PowerPoint slides and practical scenarios. This volume provides a wealth of information and guidance on managing sustainable tourism now and in the future and will be invaluable to educators, students, developers, entrepreneurs, investors, tourism strategists, planners and policymakers.

Cases in Sustainable Tourism is a groundbreaking teaching tool that places students in real-life situations where they're faced with complex decisions on the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of actual cases from the tourism and hospitality industry.

Sustainable development is a highly topical issue and is of critical importance to tourism as the environment is of utmost importance for the continued development and prosperity of the industry. There have been numerous texts written on sustainable tourism and the measures to mitigate and manage this but none which acknowledges Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a mechanism of doing so despite being an emerging area of research. ICT in this context refers to innovative tools which form an integrated system of software and networked equipment that facilitates data processing information sharing communication and the ability to search and select from an existing range of products and services for an organisation’s benefits. Despite the symbiotic relationship, which exists between ICT and sustainable tourism, there has been little research, which has considered how the use of such technology can be used to make sustainable tourism development a more workable reality. This opportune book is the first to provide a focus on the interrelationship of these two important topics demonstrating their synergies and providing insight into a new and innovative approach to managing sustainable tourism development. It considers the use of technology to reduce the negative impacts of tourism from both the demand and supply side perspectives. A critical review of a range of cutting edge technologies used by tourists and businesses to assess their usefulness in managing sustainable tourism development from the macro to the micro level is also discussed. It further integrates examples and practical applications to show how ICT can be an invaluable mechanism in the management of sustainable tourism development. This cutting-edge volume provides a wealth of information on an important yet neglected subject. This book will be invaluable reading for students, researchers, academics and members of the tourism industry looking for new and innovate ways of fostering a more sustainable tourism industry.

Turn your dream of launching and running a sustainable tourism business into reality. This step-by-step guide will help you prepare and implement a business plan, anticipate and solve the complex sustainability challenges ahead, and stack the odds of success in your favor.

This book provides a comprehensive, detailed and insight rich review of both the positive (capacity building, cultural conservation and economic opportunities) and negative (commodification, cultural change and possible loss of ownership and control) aspects of tourism development in indigenous communities. The relationship between tourism and indigenous people provides the ultimate test of sustainable tourism as a concept for tourism management and cultural conservation. The chapters range geographically from Central and North America, through Africa, and Asia to Australia. Issues covered include governance and engagement, research, minority language issues, visitor codes of conduct, trail development, Indigenous product design, Indigenous urban festivals, Indigenous values and capitalism, gentrification, heritage interpretation, marketing, demand, world views and representation. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Sustainable Tourism.

This comprehensive volume comprises some of the best scholarship on sustainable tourism in recent years, demonstrating the rich body of past research that provides a fertile and critical ground for studies on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by tourism geographers and other social scientists in the future. Since the turn of the 1990s many international development and policy-making organisations have perceived the tourism industry, with its local and regional connections, as a high-potential tool for putting sustainable development into practice. The capacity of tourism to work for sustainable development was highlighted in relation to the United Nations’ SDGs, which were adopted in 2015. The SDGs define the agenda for global development to 2030 by addressing pertinent challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, and peace and justice. Tourism geographers and allied disciplines have held strong and long-term interest in sustainability issues, and their chapters in this collection contribute significantly to this emerging and highly policy-relevant research field. This book was originally published as an online special issue of the journal Tourism Geographies.

A burning global issue, the achievement of sustainable tourism, can never ignore the global south or developing regions of the planet where tourism is rapidly growing. The readership of this book will be taken through a fascinating and comprehensive collection of writings on sustainable tourism, which brings together a compilation of profound conceptual and empirical research findings from diverse socio-economic and environmental settings in the developing South. The contributions of expert and new researchers review and interpret ideals and multiple realities concerning the concept of sustainability in the tourism development process. The categorization of the book into three parts – community, environment and management experience – encompasses the different flavours of sustainability in tourism, catering to the tastes of readers with different perspectives. Detailed accounts of the community component of sustainable tourism bring forth fascinating insights relating to its many facets, such as community capacity and participation, community empowerment, community integration, and community perceptions of tourism. The comprehensive nature of the book, and its diversity, provides a holistic picture of sustainable tourism in the global South today.