The assessment of sustainable tourism: Application to Spanish coastal destinations

This paper introduces an indicator system to evaluate sustainability in established coastal tourism destinations, applying the recommendations and definitions of the World Tourism Organization (WTO). We also develop a new synthetic indicator to simplify the measurement of sustainability and facilitate the comparative analysis of destination ranking. This measurement was obtained by applying a procedure to reduce the number of subjective decisions made by the analyst, using a novel two-stage aggregation methodology based on principal component analysis and on the distance to a reference point. The synthetic indicator obtained was applied to Spanish coastal destinations, and the results serve as a guideline for tourism planning. The conclusions of this research can be extrapolated to the study of other tourism destinations.     

Sustainable tourism indicators as planning tools in cultural destinations

Sustainable tourism is being consolidated at an international level as an approach that should be used to make all types of tourism more environmentally, socially and economically beneficial. A common practice is to use an indicator system for designing and implementing tourism models that focuses on the sustainability approach. Indicators are considered as useful tools that allow tourism managers to diagnose the situation of the destination, and to identify and evaluate issues that require addressing to improve the level of sustainability of the tourist activities. However, these indicator systems usually do not provide a practical guide to establish how to interpret information and how to integrate it into the decision-making. In this paper we present an indicator system to evaluate sustainable tourism at cultural destinations. Likewise, we suggest a method based on goal programming to construct composite indicators. The definition of the indicator system and composite indicators is completed providing guidelines that establish how to use these tools in tourism sector planning. Specifically, we propose three basic practical uses for these tools: the formulation of general action plans at a regional level, the definition of short-term strategies for destinations and the establishment of destination benchmarking practices. Each practical use is illustrated using the case of cultural tourism destinations in the Andalusia region (Spain).     

Drivers and socioeconomic impacts of tourism participation in protected areas

Nature-based tourism has the potential to enhance global biodiversity conservation by providing alternative livelihood strategies for local people, which may alleviate poverty in and around protected areas. Despite the popularity of the concept of nature-based tourism as an integrated conservation and development tool, empirical research on its actual socioeconomic benefits, on the distributional pattern of these benefits, and on its direct driving factors is lacking, because relevant long-term data are rarely available. In a multi-year study in Wolong Nature Reserve, China, we followed a representative sample of 220 local households from 1999 to 2007 to investigate the diverse benefits that these households received from recent development of nature-based tourism in the area. Within eight years, the number of households directly participating in tourism activities increased from nine to sixty. In addition, about two-thirds of the other households received indirect financial benefits from tourism. We constructed an empirical household economic model to identify the factors that led to household-level participation in tourism. The results reveal the effects of local households' livelihood assets (i.e., financial, human, natural, physical, and social capitals) on the likelihood to participate directly in tourism. In general, households with greater financial (e.g., income), physical (e.g., access to key tourism sites), human (e.g., education), and social (e.g., kinship with local government officials) capitals and less natural capital (e.g., cropland) were more likely to participate in tourism activities. We found that residents in households participating in tourism tended to perceive more non-financial benefits in addition to more negative environmental impacts of tourism compared with households not participating in tourism. These findings suggest that socioeconomic impact analysis and change monitoring should be included in nature-based tourism management systems for long-term sustainability of protected areas.     

Tourism sustainability in Tibet – Forward planning using a systems approach

The purpose of this study is to employ a nonlinear dynamic evaluation method to assess the tourism sustainability of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China, a new emerging tourism destination. The methodology draws on system dynamics and Back Propagation (BP) neural network. According to 7 setting principles, this study identifies 13 tourism sustainability indicators including conventional tourism income, tourism resources stock, pollution stock, etc., as well as specific residents’ tourism cognition, seasonal difference, accessibility, etc. Then a system dynamics model including the 13 indicators (variables) and other relevant auxiliary variables is established. Based on the numerical simulation, using a three layers BP neural network optimized by genetic algorithm and particle swarm algorithm, this study evaluates the future sustainability dynamically and compares the sustainability evolution from 2014 to 2050 under different development strategies. The research results not only provide information useful for the dynamic control and scientific management of the future sustainable tourism development, but also provide a systems approach to evaluate regional tourism sustainability.     

国家公园旅游可持续性管理评估指标体系——以西藏色林错-普若岗日冰川国家公园潜在建设区为例

当前,国内外对于国家公园旅游可持续性的定义及其评估指标尚未形成共识,已有的部分指标存在可操作性较弱、管理成本较高等问题,无法直接应用于中国国家公园旅游可持续性的管理与评估。从三条路径构建国家公园旅游可持续性管理评估指标体系：以实际需求为导向,分析国家公园所在区域对旅游可持续性管理评估指标的需求;以国际共识为导向,检验《全球可持续旅游目的地标准》在国家公园的适用性;以实践为导向,梳理世界主要国家及地区国家公园旅游可持续性的管理重点。以色林错-普若岗日冰川国家公园（简称"色-普国家公园"）潜在建设区为例,建立国家公园旅游可持续性管理评估指标体系。从经济、社会、文化、生态环境等方面明确了色-普国家公园潜在建设区对管理评估指标体系的需求。经过适用性判定,识别在色-普国家公园潜在建设区具有较强适用性的可持续旅游目的地评估指标。通过频次统计,从经济、社会、文化、生态环境、制度建设等方面遴选世界主要国家及地区国家公园旅游可持续性的重点管理指标。所建立的色-普国家公园潜在建设区旅游可持续性管理评估指标体系包括5个一级指标,15个二级指标,36个三级指标。在此基础上,建议逐步建立健全监测与统计体系,为管理评估指标体系的应用提供支撑。     

基于能值分析的生态脆弱区旅游业可持续发展研究——以甘南藏族自治州为例

旅游可持续发展现已成为世界性诉求,生态脆弱区旅游发展与生态环境保护的矛盾尤为突出,因此,评估生态脆弱区旅游可持续发展的态势对促进区域旅游经济和生态环境的协调发展具有重要意义。以甘南藏族自治州为研究区,采用旅游能值分析方法,基于调查数据、统计数据和能值转换数据,采用旅游输入能值、旅游输出能值、旅游环境负载率、旅游能值交换率和旅游可持续发展能值指数等评价模型,测度了2006—2015年甘南藏族自治州旅游可持续发展水平,旨在推进旅游可持续发展的研究方法的应用,为生态脆弱区旅游生态经济系统的综合评价及持续发展管理提供科学依据。研究表明:(1)2006—2015年,甘南藏族自治州旅游输入、旅游输出能值逐年增长,旅游餐饮、住宿能值占旅游输出能值的59%—82%,刚性需求能值输出占较高比例的能值结构不利于本区旅游业的可持续发展。(2)研究区旅游可持续发展处于不稳定的状态:2006—2008年旅游可持续发展能值指数由2.49降至0.94,大量不可更新资源的消耗造成环境压力较大,旅游系统处于不可持续状态;2008—2015年旅游可持续发展能值指数上升至7.85,为可持续发展状态,但2014—2015年旅游系统有效能值产出效率低,系统可持续性较差。     

旅游地生态效率测度的SBM-DEA模型及实证分析

旅游地是典型的人地关系相互作用的特殊区域,旅游地的生态效率研究是其制定与实施包容性、持续性发展政策与措施的基础。采用基于时间序列、包含非期望产出的SBM-DEA模型方法,构建旅游地生态效率测度模型及评价指标体系,以黄山风景区为例,利用1981—2014年的投入产出数据,测度旅游地复合系统的生态效率,分析其演化特征和阶段,并利用Tobit回归模型对其影响因素进行实证检验。结果表明:(1)34年来,黄山风景区旅游生态效率(综合效率)不断提升,且具较大发展潜力,在分解效率中,技术效率较高,规模效率次之,规模效率是决定综合效率的关键因素;(2)旅游生态效率的演化经历了初期低效、快速成长、成熟高效、下行风险四个阶段,不同阶段效率的特征不同,影响因素也存在差异;(3)旅游生态效率完成了由规模报酬递增向递减的过渡,资源要素的投入冗余已成为现阶段阻碍生态效率的进一步提高的关键因素;(4)旅游发展水平、产业结构和技术水平对生态效率产生显著的正向影响,投资水平产生显著的负向影响,以废弃物末端治理为表征的环保规制对生态效率的提升作用并不显著。文章最后提出,在山岳型风景区发展初期,应尽可能扩大资源要素投入规模,进入成熟阶段后,则转向逐渐控制投入规模,改善技术能力和资源配置能力,摒弃过度依靠资源消耗和环境污染的粗放式发展模式,走精细化、可持续的发展道路。     

Tourism may trigger physiologically stress response of a long-term habituated population of golden snub-nosed monkeys

Wildlife tourism is a thriving form of nature-based tourism that can provide revenue for conservation funds,and increase public aware-ness of biodiversity conse...     

国外旅游生态效率优化与管理

旅游生态效率概念采用定量化方法对旅游业经济、环境影响进行分析,成为旅游业可持续发展评价的重要工具。基于可持续理论的旅游生态效率优化管理方案不断涌现,相关利益主体应用较多的有环境管理系统、旅游生态标签、清洁生产理念、旅游生态效率中心、21世纪地方议程等。在旅游企业日常运营中积极推动生态效率优化管理,是贯彻绿色发展理念,提高目的地旅游经济、环境绩效的一种新思路。从可持续背景下旅游生态效率优化模型入手,系统化分析了国外旅游生态效率优化管理方案的内容与特征。其中,环境管理系统在目的地层面为旅游生态效率优化设计了一套评估管理流程,旅游生态标签为目的地生态效率水平提供了可视化标志符号,21世纪地方议程为旅游可持续发展提供一致性整合方案,清洁生产理念是一种基于生态效率优化的长期战略,旅游生态效率中心作为非营利性机构有利于中小企业获得较好的环境绩效表现。国外旅游生态效率优化管理方案特征明显、设计合理、管理科学,对我国目的地旅游生态效率优化提升具有重要的借鉴作用。     

保护地旅游公路的野生动物通道设计原则与技术参数

保护地以其丰富的生物多样性和优美的自然环境为生态旅游的开展提供了基础条件。近年来, 保护地的生态旅游与旅游道路建设得到了飞速发展。旅游公路的修建, 在促进经济发展的同时, 也带来了野生动物致死、基因隔离、栖息地丧失、生境破碎化等一系列生态问题。因此设立合适的野生动物通道作为一种有效方式, 成为缓解公路对野生动物负面影响的主要途径。本文基于动物通道相关研究, 提出通道设计应遵从针对性、科学性、持续有效性、可行性四条原则, 道路生态学与保护生物学相关理论、保护地管理法规与管理规划、关键物种或类群生态学特性与栖息地现状以及沿线地形地貌特征都应作为通道设置的参考依据; 并从通道建设的数量、位置、类型、尺寸、表面设计、配套设施以及后期监测等方面提出了通道建设的技术参数。为长期有效地发挥野生动物通道的生态功能, 建议制定通道建设技术规范, 细化通道技术参数, 积极开展科研监测, 以缓解道路对野生动物的影响。     

Potential Synergies between Nature-Based Tourism and Sustainable Use of Marine Resources: Insights from Dive Tourism in Territorial User Rights for Fisheries in Chile

Novel solutions to conserve biodiversity whilst allowing for resource harvesting are urgently needed. In marine systems, Territorial User Rights for Fisheries (TURFs) are promoted to enable sustainable use of resources. We investigate the potential for synergies between nature-based tourism and TURFs on Chile’s central coast. Of 135 recreational divers surveyed, 77% indicated that the fish species they preferred sighting were declining and 80% indicated that they would dive more often in TURFs, which have higher abundance of favoured species. Regression analysis shows that respondents that perceive that TURFs fulfil a conservation function are more willing to pay to dive in a TURF. However, respondents who understand the bureaucratic functioning of a TURF are less willing to pay, and there is diversity in how divers feel payments should be made. A participatory approach is required to navigate these complexities to achieve synergies between nature-based tourism and resource harvesting in TURFs.     

基于内容分析法的生态旅游内涵辨析

随着生态旅游的流行与快速发展对生态旅游这个术语的概念也不断的增长扩散.由于缺乏对其内涵的科学认知和梳理,生态旅游概念的应用具有泛化的危险.不断涌现出的大量有关生态旅游的概念给学术研究和旅游管理带来了许多困惑.运用内容分析的方法对中外旅游文献近10～15a内有影响力的40个生态旅游概念进行了分析,提炼出生态旅游概念中最频繁出现的能代表其内涵的6个标准,它们是：以自然为基础、对保护的贡献、当地社区受益、环境教育、道德规范与责任和可持续性.通过对这些标准的识别,结合先前的生态旅游概念,本文对生态旅游的概念在操作层面上进行了重新架构,将生态旅游这一术语定义为：生态旅游是以可持续旅游和伦理道德规范原则为指导,在旅游过程中强调环境教育、影响管理和社区受益,并为其所依赖的环境保护做贡献的负责任的自然之旅.     

旅游生态足迹:测度旅游可持续发展的新方法

生态足迹分析方法是近年发展起来的一种主要用面积来定量测度人类对自然资源利用程度和可持续发展的新方法。旅游生态足迹是生态足迹理念在旅游研究中的应用,有助于对旅游活动的生态需求与环境影响关系的理解,可以用面积来对旅游可持续发展进行定量测度。论述旅游生态足迹基本概念,并以线路旅游产品为例,在阐述生态足迹的计算步骤和方法的基础之上,主要探讨旅游生态足迹在旅游可持续发展中6个方面的测度功能旅游产业、旅游产品、旅游目的地、企业生态、旅游者及大众旅游,对旅游生态足迹的进一步研究具有重要理论指导意义。     

Comparison of methods for calculation of sustainability indices for alternative sewerage systems—Theoretical and practical considerations

City planners need practical methods to assess and compare the sustainability of different alternatives for urban infrastructure. This article presents the consequences of selecting different methods to normalize the values of sustainability indicators, and the influence of selecting different indicators and different weighting techniques. Chosen indicators represent use of resources, environment, health and safety, psycho/sociological situation. Infrastructure costs are not included in the indicators, since it is more convenient to weigh them against the sustainability indices of the different systems. All indicators are aggregated into one system index. A nature-based sewerage system is compared to a conventional system. The article demonstrates that the method used to normalize the indicators, the choice of relevant indicators and the weighting technique have considerable influence on which system is found to be the more sustainable.     

A Global Perspective on Trends in Nature-Based Tourism

Reports of rapid growth in nature-based tourism and recreation add significant weight to the economic case for biodiversity conservation but seem to contradict widely voiced concerns that people are becoming increasingly isolated from nature. This apparent paradox has been highlighted by a recent study showing that on a per capita basis, visits to natural areas in the United States and Japan have declined over the last two decades. These results have been cited as evidence of “a fundamental and pervasive shift away from nature-based recreation”—but how widespread is this phenomenon? We address this question by looking at temporal trends in visitor numbers at 280 protected areas (PAs) from 20 countries. This more geographically representative dataset shows that while PA visitation (whether measured as total or per capita visit numbers) is indeed declining in the United States and Japan, it is generally increasing elsewhere. Total visit numbers are growing in 15 of the 20 countries for which we could get data, with the median national rate of change unrelated to the national rate of population growth but negatively associated with wealth. Reasons for this reversal of growth in the richest countries are difficult to pin down with existing data, but the pattern is mirrored by trends in international tourist arrivals as a whole and so may not necessarily be caused by disaffection with nature. Irrespective of the explanation, it is clear that despite important downturns in some countries, nature-related tourism is far from declining everywhere, and may still have considerable potential both to generate funds for conservation and to shape people''s attitudes to the environment.     

BURSTING THE BUBBLE: THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF ECOTOURISM

Ecotourism is a form of tourism that is highly visible and growing rapidly. It is commonly presented and understood as very different from conventional mass tourism because it is especially responsible, and even beneficial, environmentally and socio-culturally. However, such a view may be inaccurate. The favourable image of ecotourism is a consequence of viewing it in an ecotourist bubble, analogous to the idea of the tourist bubble. Within this ecotourist bubble, the destinations and experiences sold to tourists are abstracted from their contexts, thus inducing a distorted image of them and of ecotourism itself. Aspects of what the bubble excludes are illustrated through a consideration of two destinations in the Caribbean.     

Meta-performance evaluation of sustainability indicators

There are many different kinds of frameworks for evaluating environmental and sustainability performance at the organizational level (profit or not-for-profit, private or public), sectoral level (e.g. industry, transport, agriculture and tourism), and local, regional or country levels. Despite the diversity of methods and tools to measure sustainable development, indicators are one of the approaches most used. However, these tools do not usually include evaluation of the performance measurement instrument itself. The main objective of this research is to develop a conceptual framework to design and assess the effectiveness of the sustainability indicators themselves. To put the proposed tool into practice, a set of key good-practice factors and meta-performance evaluation indicators is proposed for adoption in a national case study—the national sustainable development indicators system, SIDS Portugal, and the usefulness of this methodology is demonstrated. This approach aims to evaluate how appropriate a set of sustainability indicators is and allow an evaluation of overall performance-monitoring activities and results. Stakeholder involvement is an essential component of the proposed framework. The tool developed could support continuous improvement in the performance of ongoing sustainability indicator initiatives, allowing greater guidance, objectivity and transparency in sustainability assessment processes.     

庐山风景区碳源、碳汇的测度及均衡

旅游目的地系统碳源、碳汇的计算与分析,不仅是旅游业节能减排政策制定的重要依据,也是旅游与环境相互关系研究的一个新的科学命题.以庐山风景区为例,计算并分析了2010年的碳源及碳汇.结果表明:(1)2010年庐山风景区包括本地居民和旅游者的总碳排放为108 697 t.其中,本地居民占碳排放总量的19.52％,旅游者占碳排放总量的80.48％.在旅游者碳排放中,旅游交通碳排放占50.24％,旅游住宿碳排放占38.04％,旅游食物消费碳排放占10.65％,旅游活动碳排放仅占1.07％;(2)2010年庐山风景区内陆地生态系统碳吸收为9447 t;(3)从碳源、碳汇均衡角度看,庐山陆地生态系统的固碳量吸收了区内碳排放的23.47％.但由于旅游者的区际流动和旅游业的产业关联性强,陆地生态系统的碳吸收仅占区内和区外碳排放总量的8.69％,旅游业使庐山成为一个显著的碳源.     

湿地自然保护区旅游者环境教育感知研究——以盐城丹顶鹤、麋鹿国家自然保护区为例

环境教育是当前生态旅游研究中的热点论题。基于生态旅游动机、环境教育途径、环境教育感知及环境教育效果4个结构变量,以生态旅游发展处于起步阶段的盐城丹顶鹤保护区和处于稳定发展阶段的盐城麋鹿保护区为例,构建湿地自然保护区旅游者环境教育感知影响结构关系模型,深入分析不同生命周期阶段生态旅游地旅游者环境教育感知分异及其影响因素。结果表明:(1)生态旅游动机、环境教育途径、环境教育感知均对环境教育效果产生正向影响。丹顶鹤保护区生态旅游动机对环境教育效果产生显著正向影响,环境教育途径、环境教育感知对环境教育效果均产生正向影响;麋鹿保护区生态旅游动机、环境教育途径均对环境教育效果产生正向影响,环境教育感知对环境教育效果产生显著正向影响。(2)在生态旅游动机、环境教育途径、环境教育感知3个分维度上,丹顶鹤保护区分别以一般生态旅游动机、常规环境教育途径、表层环境教育感知为主,麋鹿保护区则分别以严格生态旅游动机、专门环境教育途径、深度环境教育感知为主。(3)不同生命周期阶段生态旅游地游客环境教育效果存在差异。丹顶鹤保护区游客环境教育效果主要集中在态度、行为效果上,意识效果为辅,知识、技能效果作用较小;麋鹿保护区游客环境教育效果则以知识、态度效果为主,行为、技能、意识效果均起辅助作用。     

旅游环境系统研究进展与展望

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