1. Integration of Tourism into Overall Policy for Sustainable
Development
1.1 National Strategies:
Ensure that tourism is balanced with broader economic,
social and environmental objectives at national and local level by setting
out a national tourism strategy that is based on knowledge of environmental
and biodiversity resources, and is integrated with national and regional sustainable
development plans.
Establish a national tourism strategy that is updated periodically
and a master plan for tourism development and management.
Integrate conservation of environmental and biodiversity
resources into all such strategies and plans.
Enhance prospects for economic development and employment
while maintaining protection of the environment.
Provide support through policy development and commitment
to promote sustainability in tourism and related activities.
1.2 Interagency Coordination and Cooperation:
Improve the management and development of tourism
by ensuring coordination and cooperation between the different agencies, authorities
and organisations concerned at all levels, and that their jurisdictions and
responsibilities are clearly defined and complement each other.
Strengthen the coordination of tourism policy, planning
development and management at both national and local levels.
Strengthen the role of local authorities in the management
and control of tourism, including providing capacity development for this.
Ensure that all stakeholders, including government agencies
and local planning authorities, are involved in the development and implementation
of tourism.
Maintain a balance with other economic activities
and natural resource uses in the area, and take into account all environmental
costs and benefits.
1.3 Integrated Management:
Coordinate the allocation of land uses, and regulate
inappropriate activities that damage ecosystems, by strengthening or developing
integrated policies and management covering all activities, including Integrated
Coastal Zone Management and adoption of an ecosystem approach.
Maximise economic, social and environmental benefits from
tourism and minimise its adverse effects, through effective coordination and
management of development
Adopt integrated management approaches that cover all economic
activities in an area, including tourism.
Use integrated management approaches to carry out restoration
programmes effectively in areas that have been damaged or degraded by past
activities.
1.4 Reconciling Conflicting Resource Uses:
Identify and resolve potential or actual conflicts
between tourism and other activities over resource use at an early stage.
Involve all relevant stakeholders in the development of sound management plans,
and provide the organisation, facilities and enforcement capacity required
for effective implementation of those management plans.
Enable different stakeholders in the tourism industry and
local communities, organisations and institutions to work alongside each other
Focus on ways in which different interests can complement
each other within a balanced programme for sustainable development.
2 Development of Sustainable Tourism
The Role of Planning
2.1 Planning for Development & Land-use at sub-National Level :
Conserve the environment, maintain the quality of
the visitor experience, and provide benefits for local communities by ensuring
that tourism planning is undertaken as part of overall development plans for
any area, and that plans for the short-, medium-, and long-term encompass
these objectives.
Incorporate tourism planning with planning for all sectors
and development objectives to ensure that the needs of all areas are addressed.
(Tourism planning should not be undertaken in isolation.)
Ensure that plans create and share employment opportunities
with local communities.
Ensure that plans contain a set of development guidelines
for the sustainable use of natural resources and land.
Prevent ad hoc or speculative developments.
Promote development of a diverse tourism base that is well-integrated
with other local economic activities.
Protect important habitats and conserve biodiversity in
accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity.
2.2 Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA):
Anticipate environmental impacts by undertaking comprehensive
EIAs for all tourism development programmes taking into account cumulative
effects from multiple development activities of all types.
Examine impacts at the regional national and local levels.
Adopt or amend legislation to ensure that EIAs and the
planning process take account of regional factors, if necessary.
Ensure that project proposals respond to regional development
plans and guidelines for sustainable development.
2.3 Planning Measures:
Ensure that tourism development remains within national
and local plans for both tourism and for other types of activity by implementing
effective carrying capacity programmes, planning controls and management.
Introduce measures to control and monitor tour operators,
tourism facilities, and tourists in any area.
Apply economic instruments, such as user fees or bonds.
Zone of land and marine as an appropriate mechanism to
influence the siting and type of tourism development by confining development
to specified areas where environmental impact would be minimised.
Adopt planning measures to reduce emissions of CO2 and
other greenhouse gases, reduce pollution and the generation of wastes, and
promote sound waste management.
Introduce new or amended planning or related legislation
where necessary.
Legislation & Standards
2.4 Legislative Framework:
Support implementation of sustainable tourism through
an effective legislative framework that establishes standards for land use
in tourism development, tourism facilities, management and investment in tourism.
Strengthen institutional frameworks for enforcement of legislation
to improve their effectiveness where necessary.
Standardise legislation and simplify regulations and regulatory
structures to improve clarity and remove inconsistencies.
Strengthen regulations for coastal zone management and
the creation of protected areas, both marine and land-based, and their enforcement,
as appropriate.
Provide a flexible legal framework for tourism destinations
to develop their own set of rules and regulations applicable within their
boundaries to suit the specific circumstances of their local economic, social
and environmental situations, while maintaining consistency with overall national
and regional objectives and minimum standards.
Promote a better understanding between stakeholders of
their differentiated roles and their shared responsibility to make tourism
sustainable.
2.5 Environmental Standards
Protect the environment by setting clear ambient
environmental quality standards, along with targets for reducing pollution
from all sectors, including tourism, to achieve these standards, and by preventing
development in areas where it would be inappropriate.
Minimise pollution at source, for example, by waste minimisation,
recycling, and appropriate effluent treatment.
Take into account the need to reduce emissions of CO2 and
other greenhouse gases resulting from travel and the tourism industry.
2.6 Regional Standards
Ensure that tourism and the environment are mutually
supportive at a regional level through cooperation and coordination between
States, to establish common approaches to incentives, environmental policies,
and integrated tourism development planning.
Adopt overall regional frameworks within which States may
wish to jointly set their own targets, incentive and environmental policies,
standards and regulations, to maximise benefits from tourism and avoid environmental
deterioration from tourism activities.
Consider regional collaboration for integrated tourism
development planning.
Develop mechanisms for measuring progress, such as indicators
for sustainable tourism.
Develop regional strategies to address transboundary
environmental issues, such as marine pollution from shipping and from land-based
sources of pollution.
3. Management of Tourism
3.1 Initiatives by Industry
Ensure long-term commitments and improvements to
develop and promote sustainable tourism, through partnerships and voluntary
initiatives by all sectors and stakeholders, including initiatives to give
local communities a share in the ownership and benefits of tourism.
Structure initiatives to give all stakeholders a share in
the ownership, to maximise their effectiveness.
Establish clear responsibilities, boundaries and timetables
for the success of any initiative.
As well as global initiatives, encourage small and medium-sized
enterprises to also develop and promote their own initiatives for sustainable
tourism at a more local level
Consider integrating initiatives for small and medium-sized
enterprises within overall business support packages, including access to
financing, training and marketing, alongside measures to improve sustainability
as well as the quality and diversity of their tourism products.
Market tourism in a manner consistent with sustainable
development of tourism.
3.2 Monitoring
Ensure consistent monitoring and review of tourism
activities to detect problems at an early stage and to enable action to prevent
the possibility of more serious damage.
Establish indicators for measuring the overall progress
of tourist areas towards sustainable development.
Establish institutional and staff capacity for monitoring.
Monitor the implementation of environmental protection
and related measures set out in EIAs, and their effectiveness, taking into
account the effectiveness of any ongoing management requirements for the effective
operation and maintenance of those measures for protection of areas where
tourism activities take place.
3.3 Technology
Minimise resource use and the generation of pollution and
wastes by using and promoting environmentally-sound technologies (ESTs) for
tourism and associated infrastructure.
Develop and implement international agreements which include
provisions to assist in the transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies
(ESTs) for the tourism sector, such as the Clean Development Mechanism of
the Kyoto Protocol for energy-related issues.
Promote introduction and more widespread use of ESTs
by tourism enterprises and public authorities dealing with tourism or related
infrastructures, as appropriate, including the use of renewable energy and
ESTs for sanitation, water supply, and minimisation of the production of wastes
generated by tourism facilities and those brought to port by cruise ships.
3.4 Compliance Mechanisms
Ensure compliance with development plans, planning
conditions, standards and targets for sustainable tourism by providing incentives,
monitoring compliance, and enforcement activities where necessary.
Provide sufficient resources for maintaining compliance,
including increasing the number of trained staff able to undertake enforcement
activities as part of their duties.
Monitor environmental conditions and compliance with legislation,
regulations, and consent conditions
Use compliance mechanisms and structured monitoring to
help detect problems at an early stage, enabling action to be taken to prevent
the possibility of more serious damage.
Take into account compliance and reporting requirements
set out in relevant international agreements.
Use incentives to encourage good practice, where appropriate.
4. Conditions for Success
4.1 Involvement of Stakeholders
Increase the long-term success of tourism projects by involving
all primary stakeholders, including the local community, the tourism industry,
and the government, in the development and implementation of tourism plans.
Involve all primary stakeholders in the development and
implementation of tourism plans, in order to enhance their success. (Projects
are most successful where all main stakeholders are involved.)
Encourage development of partnerships with primary stakeholders
to give them ownership shares in projects and a shared responsibility for
success.
4.2 Information Exchange
Raise awareness of sustainable tourism and its implementation
by promoting exchange of information between governments and all stakeholders,
on best practice for sustainable tourism, and establishment of networks for
dialogue on implementation of these Principles ; and promote broad understanding
are awareness to strengthen attitudes, values and actions that are compatible
with sustainable development.
Exchange information between governments and all stakeholders,
on best practice for sustainable tourism development and management, including
information on planning, standards, legislation and enforcement, and of experience
gained in implementation of these Principles.
Use International and regional organisations, including
UNEP, can assist with information exchange.
Encourage development of networks for the exchange
of views and information.
4.3 Capacity Building
Ensure effective implementation of sustainable tourism,
and these Principles, through capacity building programmes to develop and
strengthen human resources and institutional capacities in government at national
and local levels, and amongst local communities; and to integrate environmental
and human ecological considerations at all levels.
Develop and strengthen their human resources and institutional
capacities to facilitate the effective implementation of these Principles.
Transfer know-how and provide training in areas related
to sustainability in tourism, such as planning, legal framework, standards
setting, administration and regulatory control, and the application of impact
assessment and management techniques and procedures to tourism.
Facilitate the transfer and assimilation of new environmentally-sound,
socially acceptable and appropriate technology and know-how.
Encourage contributions to capacity-building from the local,
national, regional and international levels by countries, international organisations,
the private sector and tourism industry, and NGOs.
Encourage assistance from those involved in tourism
in countries which have not yet been able to implement sustainability mechanisms
in training at the local and national level in the sustainable development
of tourism in co-operation with the Governments concerned.
