Sustainable Tourism Development

Futuristic Approaches

Anukrati Sharma

• Publisher: Apple Academic Press
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9780429674778
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

Exploring the importance of destination branding and destination marketing as well as their implications on sustainability in tourism, this book approaches the topic through the lens of destination image, taking into account the large influence of appearance on tourist attraction. With consideration to various stakeholders in sustainable tourism development, this book incorporates ideas for new techniques in destination branding and marketing in order to maximize economic impact. The book also discusses the rising influence of social media on tourists' interest.

Emphasizing sustainability in tourism development, the chapters address a number of important issues, such as post-disaster tourism marketing, culture and heritage tourism, eco-tourism, community-based nature tourism, community involvement in destination development, benchmarking for destination performance evaluation, sustainable food practices in tourism, and more. Each chapter of this book incorporates a quantifiable trend in tourism development, including various paradigms and studies that relay different statistics about certain areas of tourism. The book makes use of case studies for specific destinations and integrates strategies, evidence, and analyses to offer a holistic understanding of the myriad factors involved in sustainable tourism development.

CHAPTER 1

Sustainable Tourism: Growth and Diversification

MUAMMER MESCI,¹ ISTEMI COMLEKCI,² and ZEYNEP MESCI³

¹Duzce University, School of Akcakoca Tourism and Hotel Management, 81650, Turkey, E-mail: [email protected]

²Duzce University, Faculty of Business, 81620, Turkey, E-mail: [email protected]

³Duzce University, School of Akcakoca Tourism and Hotel Management, 81650, Turkey, E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Although mass tourism appears to be an important source of income for countries, it has been adversely affected in recent years as mass tourism has been applied unfavorably to countries and regions. This negative situation, which mass tourism has shown, is an important need for sustainable tourism development.

The innovations brought by the technology today have caused a positive contribution of tourism to the world. For example, with the development of information technology and transportation, new countries and regions have begun to be discovered, and tourism activities have increased. The unplanned application of tourism activities in a destination and the extreme increase of tourism to the region lead to the deterioration of the social, cultural, and natural resources of these regions. Here, sustainable tourism should be given importance and developed in order to overcome these negativities.

On the basis of sustainable development lies the protection and development of natural, social, and cultural resources. In addition, these resources should be managed to meet the needs of future generations. On the other hand, in sustainable tourism, while preserving the surrounding environment, the importance should be given to cultural integrity, ecological processes, biodiversity, and transport capacity.

In this study, the growth of sustainable tourism and what needs to be done for its development will be discussed. In addition, the basic dimension of sustainable tourism, environmental, social, and economic dimension will be discussed in detail.

1.1 Introduction

The concept of sustainable tourism emerged together with the concept of sustainable development on account of the fact that the other sectors and other elements attach importance to the concept of sustainability. Nevertheless, human-nature relation is more intense and continuous than other sectors, and it has become compulsory for this concept to come together with the concept of tourism.

In addition, tourism is an activity that can have a real impact on sustainable development compared to other sectors (Angelkova et al., 2012). The trend that began with people using the environmental elements and natural resources in an unplanned and extensive way, along with the industrial revolution and consuming the resources of continuous use with this planlessness, showed that these resources could not be renewed and that the destroyed nature elements could not be replaced over time. With the emergence of damages related to this subject, the opinions of the various institutions and organizations along with their views on the possibility that these sources cannot be renewed and excessive consumption will cause material and moral damages to humanity in the coming years have brought this issue to the agenda. Nevertheless, the fact that globalization and the new world order created by removing the borders raised awareness, revealed problems, and laid burdens has made the concept of sustainability spread to the world. The fact that tourism enterprises are affected by globalization and maintaining the constant dynamism within the framework of the needs of the people make an important contribution to the filling of this concept, and academic research is being carried out for possible solutions.

1.2 Sustainable Tourism

Today, it is observed that the most important problems faced by service sectors stem from their unique characteristics. One of them is that tourists take initiatives for the products created. Another characteristic is that the standardization cannot be achieved. In this context, the concept of sustainability has become a part of tourism activities, as a result of the damage of people to the environment and natural resources within the scope of establishing tourist attractions (Halis, 2009).

The concept of sustainability is first summarized in 1987 as a brief description of the concept mentioned in the United Nations’ report on the Environment and Development Commission, a harmonious integration of the economy with the economy. The concept of sustainable tourism is defined as the ability of a tourism zone to be sensitive to future developments and to protect from the adverse effects of these developments (Hunter, 1997). According to another definition, the concept of sustainable tourism emerges as a special term that comes from a broader concept of sustainable growth and means that this growth is applied to the special context of tourism. Maintaining the quality of the environment, raising the quality of life of the touristic regions, and carrying out quality visitor experience are aimed with this concept (Kaypak, 2010). Sustainable tourism can be expressed as preserving and sustaining the regional and local charms that are the source of tourism (Avcikurt, 2015). Sustainable tourism is largely influenced by environmental quality, protection of natural and cultural heritage, and products and resources, along with other values, to protect development and competitiveness (Angelkova, et al., 2012).

When we look at the content of the concept of sustainable tourism, it is seen that environmental and cultural issues are essential. The fact that it includes subjects which can easily be destroyed but cannot be restored is important for the continuation of humanity. In other respects, the protection of natural and artificial cultural assets seems to be important in terms of being knowledgeable about historical processes and transferring them to generations. They may not be regarded to be vital in terms of other sectors, but these issues have an extremely important proposition in terms of tourism and tourism types (Er & Bardakoğlu, 2016; Karapinar & Barakazi, 2017). When we consider that many types of tourism emerged along with the concept of sustainability, it can be seen that many types of tourism can be sustained with the development and prevalence of sustainable tourism. On the other hand, sustainable tourism, where some researchers take part in alternative tourism, has laid the foundation for the emergence and development of many types of tourism (Güniz, 2011). The most important ones are culture tourism, ecotourism, cave, plateau, hunting, and golf tourism.

1.3 Dimensions of Sustainable Tourism

Hasna investigated these dimensions from three perspectives in his research on the dimensions of sustainability (Hasna, 2007). These dimensions are listed together with the reminder that interdisciplinary variables should be considered socially, economically and ecologically. Voniov and Smith emphasized that the dimensions of sustainability should be considered within a total system framework and should not be considered independently of each other (Voinov & Smith, 2008). They have laid out the dimensions that Hasna revealed in his research. Lozano and Huisingh (2011), Holmberg (1992), and Kade (2012) have also emphasized three dimensions of sustainability. Krajnc and Glavic (Krajnc & Peter, 2005) have emphasized economic, environmental and social dimensions in their research of companies focusing on improving their performances. Considering current research, the dimensions of sustainability are generally collected under three main headings. This study will be considered environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable tourism.

The most important features of sustainable tourism dimensions gathered around the three main headings are inseparable and mutually supportive. Each of these dimensions will be presented in following subheadings within their own characteristics.

1.3.1 The Environmental Dimension of Sustainable Tourism

The environment, the most important factor for survival of the living, has been polluted and destroyed rapidly in recent years because of uncontrolled human behavior. As a more important issue for the tourism industry, the environment has vital importance for many types of tourism (Katerina & Rakicevik, 2012). Especially for the types of tourism associated with nature, it is the leading cause of existence. Therefore, it is an undeniable fact that the environmental dimension and environmental quality attract tourists (Grabara & Bajdor, 2013). As a result, the environment is the most important tourism resource for the quality, diversity, and development of tourism (Kade, 2012).

An unprotected and undeveloped environment has negative consequences for all stakeholders. Tanja (2016) states that the environmental dimension, which is highly favorable for the development of tourism activities and for the protection of cultural heritage, is not considered by interest groups to respond to growing demand and achieve economic gain. The areas where the tourism enterprises are located in our country and in the world are generally locations attracting people and having high levels of attractiveness (Katerina & Rakicevik, 2012; Kavaliauskė & Kočytė, 2014). These locations are being built up by economic benefit providers without regard to any environmental factor on account of the opportunities that arise because people are attracted to the high material and spiritual atmosphere of these locations. On the other hand, there are many reasons why the relationship with the environment does not go well after it has been uncovered outside the structured image of the businesses discovered in the framework of this construction. The leading reason comes from infrastructure deficiencies (Avcikurt, 2003; Priskin, 2003). Carrying capacity is one of the essential issues when it comes to infrastructure deficiencies.

Carrying capacity literally means that a maximum number of people in an environment can be supported without diminishing the ability to support future generations on the planet (Kormondy, 1996). According to another definition, it can be defined as maximum usage without a negative effect on resources, undesirable effect on local economy and culture without decreasing visitor satisfaction (Avci, 2007). With regard to these definitions, it is not only limited to the environmental dimension, but also includes social and economic dimensions. In terms of environmental dimension; ignoring the protection of the environment for the development of tourism means that a sustainable development of tourism should be abandoned. If the resources are destroyed or damaged in some way, as a result of touristic use of natural resources, the ecological carrying capacity will be exceeded (Mercan, 2010).

Another factor is waste (Garrod & Fyall, 1998). New destinations are created by removing the tourism destination areas from cities. It is extremely important that these destinations be cleared of the negative effects of waste on the environment (Kahraman & Türkay, 2006). In this respect, the most important element is the classification of waste (Kavaliauskė & Kočytė, 2014). In particular, the benefits that can be gained from the recycling of environmentally sustainable wastes can be assessed both at the environmental and economic dimension. Recently, with the development of technology, the electric energy gain obtained from the wastes is regarded as important for regional energy by providing non-renewable energy production. Another important factor in waste is the removal of uncontrolled and unplanned forms. Especially, the removal of food waste from tourism enterprises in an unplanned way may lead to both environmental and economic damage.

In order to prevent this problem, it is very important to create a waste management plan and enforce it as soon as possible. The use of raw materials that will form waste at a minimum level before being converted into a product will reduce the amount of waste to be generated. In addition, it is possible to reduce the amount of waste to be generated by calculating the multiple usage life of certain substances. Another point is that it is economically beneficial to recycle the waste that is created as part of the tourism industry. Finally, it is essential to ensure that the wastes generated be handled by taking the environmental effects into consideration and obeying the necessary rules and bases. Therefore, the state organs and environmental organizations can play pivotal roles in preventing the tourism regions and the environment from being polluted with the responsibility of their operations (Garrod & Fyall, 1998).

Another important environmental issue is energy consumption. To realize sustainable development, energy resources that do not harm the environment need to be used (Mercan, 2010). Especially, the amount of energy used in the hotel and leisure industry, which serves all day, reaches important levels both environmentally and economically. From this point of view, every work that the utilities will do regarding energy saving will return to enterprises in many positive ways. If considered in the realm of the energy sector, it is an extremely costly and labor-intensive production area. Considering the cost of non-renewable energy sources, in particular, it has an important place in the expenses of the enterprises (Kahraman & Türkay, 2006). In addition to the economical damage of this problem, there is a risk that humanity may be faced with difficulty in time due to overuse of environmentally irreproducible energy resources.

Another problem is that the use of energy sources that pollute the environment is continued, and the use of other living things is restricted by overuse. Nowadays, with the development of technology, the use of energy in the environment is planned, and the losses can be reduced to minimum levels. State control and sanctions can be used to switch to renewable energy sources, or the use of energy resources that can pollute the environment can be reduced, and the necessary measures may be taken to reduce the damage to both the environment and the destination zone (Grabara & Bajdor, 2013).

In recent years, the spread of information through social media accounts within the framework of the development of the internet network has increased the environmental sensitivity. Therefore, it seems that environmental awareness has developed greatly among people. In addition, with the rapid spread of information, it seems that environmental sensitivity has gained a significant role in the ability of businesses to gain competitiveness. With the emergence of this awareness, it is expected that the emergence of environmentalist enterprises will both effect economic gain and increase sustainability (Kade, 2012).

1.3.2 The Social Dimension of Sustainable Tourism

The social dimension of sustainable tourism deals with the adequacy of education and health services to meet the objective of meeting cultural and spiritual needs of people in terms of language, religion, race equality (Demir, 2014). As for tourism, employers, occupants, consumers and local people should benefit from equal opportunities and the interests of the region should be considered.

The most important partner of the artificial or natural destinations is the local people who lead their lives in that region. The architecture of the intimate relations with tourists, which meet the many requirements of destinations and show the self-sacrifice needed to solve problems, are local people. In particular, the common economic interests of the local people and e...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• About the Editor
• Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Book Series from Apple Academic Press, Inc.
• About the Series Editor
• Table of Contents
• Contributors
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• 1. Sustainable Tourism: Growth and Diversification
• 2. Strategies of Post-Disaster Marketing: Sustainable Development, Experience, and Marketing
• 3. Responsible Travel and Tourism Adventure: Evidence from Malawi as a Tourist Destination
• 4. What Is the Importance of Social Media Sharings for Tourists? The Role of Argument Quality and Source Credibility
• 5. Mountain Tourism Destination Development with Strategic Social Media
• 6. Paradigm Shift in Destination Branding Process from the Perspective of User-Created Culture-Heritage-Related Content in Social Media
• 7. Innovative Technology Adoption in Film Tourism
• 8. Destination Image of India: Trends and Analysis
• 9. Pro-Poor Tourism: A Study of Government Strategies in the State of Uttar Pradesh, India
• 10. Theory and Practices of Ecotourism for Sustainable Tourism
• 11. Internal Benchmarking Model for Destination Performance Evaluation
• 12. Sustainable Food Practices for Holistic Tourism Development
• 13. Introduction of Community-Based Nature Tourism (CBNT) Planning and Management: With Special Reference to the Garhwal Himalayan Region of Uttarakhand
• 14. Community Intervention in Destination Development: A Cross-Destination Analysis
• 15. Destination Management Strategy: With Specific Reference to Ecotourism Destination
• 16. An Investigation of Tourism Investment on Accommodation Sector of Tourism Industry of Sri Lanka
• 17. Impact of Information Technology on Marketing Strategies of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) in India: A Comparative Study of Goibibo.com and MakeMyTrip.com
• 18. Video Games Generating Tourist Demand: Italy and the Assassin’s Creed Series
• 19. Demographic Analysis of Tourists’ Perception Regarding Vacation Destination
• Index