Sustainable performance index for tourism policy development

Development of sustainable tourism policies could be a useful way of encouraging new forms of business, increasing employment and promoting the conservation of landscapes; in this regard, the application of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas represents a referential methodology for local development and a possibility to involve local stakeholders in the definition of sustainability policy. In many cases, integrated sustainability indicators are developed within a participatory process; the present study represents an innovative attempt to evaluate sustainability holistically, by defining specific targets through the definition of indicators suitable to measure and evaluate the temporal evolution of development policies, mainstreaming sustainability to reduce adverse effects on the environment and promoting conservation of local and traditional values. Application of sustainability indicators to measure welfare and development at local scales is strategic to evaluate the short and long term effects of strategies developed through the European Charter participatory process. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.