Tourism Development to Enhance Resident Well-Being: A Strong Sustainability Perspective

Tourism research must recognise recent advances in sustainability theory if it is to progress conceptually and in the policy domain. By applying the method of critical review, this paper demonstrates the relevance of the capitals approach to sustainable tourism development, with human well-being identified as the ultimate objective of the process. Distinguishing between weak and strong sustainability, a policy framework is developed to merge the capitals approach with well-being outcomes to determine the direct and indirect benefits of tourism developments to stakeholders and destination residents. Several challenges must be addressed if sustainability principles and practices are to be embedded in tourism policymaking.

Automated summary

Tourism research needs to acknowledge recent developments in sustainability theory in order to make conceptual progress and policy advancements. This paper uses critical review method to illustrate the relevance of the capitals approach to sustainable tourism development, with the ultimate objective being human well-being. By distinguishing between weak and strong sustainability, a policy framework is proposed to merge the capitals approach with well-being outcomes and assess the direct and indirect benefits of tourism developments to stakeholders and destination residents. Several challenges have to be addressed to incorporate sustainability principles and practices into tourism policymaking.