Destination Analysis for Sustainable Tourism Development

Posted on Apr 1, 2025 in Other subjects

Analytical Phase

  • Analysis of the destination system (scale / structure / organization / components).
    • Scales of analysis: Geographical area taken into consideration for the analysis.
    • Organization: Distribution of tourist functions and their organization in the spatial territory (e.g., museums, physical buildings, travel agencies).
    • Structure: Destination pattern (e.g., Barcelona’s city pattern).
    • Components: Tangible and intangible resources, facilities, infrastructures, and entities present in the destination.
  • Identification of local resources, facilities, and infrastructure.
  • Identification of tourism impacts.
  • Identification of transformation processes.

Diagnosis Phase

  • Identification of changes, transformations, or problems that need to be addressed (e.g., environmental contamination: contaminated sites pose risks to human health and the site itself, which may no longer be open to visitors).
  • Situation of the destination.
  • Identify problems.
  • Reputation of the city.

Propositional Phase

  • Strategies and actors to solve problems.
  • Actions.
  • Policies.

Monitoring and Control Phase

  • Control and monitoring of implemented actions, policies, and regulations.

Tourism’s Role in Sustainable Development Goals

Tourism can effectively contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in many ways:

  • Job creation: Tourism is one of the world’s largest employers and can help reduce poverty and improve people’s quality of life by providing employment and economic opportunities.
  • Protection of cultural and natural heritage: Tourism can help preserve and protect cultural and natural heritage by promoting the conservation and restoration of natural and cultural resources.
  • Promote peace and cooperation: Fostering dialogue and understanding between different cultures and communities.
  • Improving infrastructure and services: Improving infrastructure and services in local communities, which can enhance the quality of life for residents and make communities more attractive to visitors.
  • Promote fair trade and local development: Fostering fair trade and local development by promoting the consumption of local products and services, which can help communities diversify their economy and improve their resilience.

Importance of Local Participation

The local participation process is important to a destination’s local decision-making process because it can generate greater local community involvement and support, transparency, and accountability, and lead to more effective and sustainable solutions.

  • Involve the local community.
  • Promotes transparency and accountability.
  • Generates greater commitment and support.
  • Generates more effective solutions.

Examples of Participation Methods

  • Displays
  • Media initiatives
  • Social Media initiatives
  • Briefings/Community group presentations
  • Surveys/Questionnaires
  • Focus groups

Carrying Capacity Assessment Purpose

It is used to determine the maximum use of something to ensure sustainability before negative impacts occur.

Types of Carrying Capacity

  1. Environmental: Related to environmental degradation.
  2. Psychological: Related to visitors’ experience quality.
  3. Economic: Related to costs and benefits derived from exploitation.
  4. Social: Related to the tolerance of the residents.

Factors for Physical Carrying Capacity Calculation

  • Visiting hours: Essential to determine the operability of the resource.
  • Visiting time: For example, on a beach during summer, the average visit duration is typically 4 hours. For trails, consider both the route duration and stops at observation points.
  • Available surface area.
  • Access points.
  • Free or guided group tour: Typically between 15 or 20 people per group.
  • Space per person.
  • Minimum distance between groups.
  • Environmental factors: Climatic and biological.

Local Transformation vs. Local Impacts

  • Processes of transformation and impacts should be studied at the local scale to identify the main conditions and causes generating them.
  • Local transformation: A territorial process that converts one situation or spatial configuration into another; a transition towards a different situation. It may be caused by various social and economic factors.
  • Local impacts: Induced by local transformations (not the other way around). They can be divided into positive and negative impacts.

Scale of Analysis Examples

  • National level: SPAIN
  • Regional level: CATALONIA
  • Municipal level: BARCELONA
  • Local level: EIXAMPLE

Brundtland Report Sustainability Principles

Five principles of sustainability are highlighted in the report:

  1. The idea of holistic planning and strategy making.
  2. The importance of preserving essential ecological processes.
  3. The need to protect both human heritage and biodiversity.
  4. To foster development in such a way that productivity can be sustained over the long term (for future generations).
  5. Achieving a better balance of fairness and opportunity between nations.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) List

  1. No poverty (social, economic)
  2. Zero hunger (social, economic)
  3. Good health and well-being (economic, social)
  4. Quality education (economic, social)
  5. Gender equality (social)
  6. Clean water and sanitation (economic, environmental)
  7. Affordable and clean energy (economic, environmental)
  8. Decent work and economic growth (economic, social)
  9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure (economic, social, technology)
  10. Reduced inequalities (social, economic, institutional)
  11. Sustainable cities and communities (social, economic, technology, environment, institutional)
  12. Responsible consumption and production (social)
  13. Climate action (environmental)
  14. Life below water (environmental, social)
  15. Life on land (environmental)
  16. Peace, justice and strong institutions (institutional)
  17. Partnerships for the goals (institutional)