Sustainable Tourism Development: How Do Destination Stakeholders Perceive Sustainable Urban Tourism?

This paper examines the concept of sustainable tourism development in urban destinations. Both qualitative and quantitative data are employed, from interviews and questionnaires undertaken in Victoria and Calgary, Canada, and San Francisco, USA. Respondents representing the three clusters of the tourism industry, local government and the host environment were examined on their interpretation of 'sustainable tourism', sustainability goals and barriers to achieving sustainable tourism in urban destinations. Results revealed important similarities and differences among key stakeholders, and particularly a lack of appreciation for a triple bottom line approach among the tourism industry respondents. Implications are discussed for building a more participative policy approach to sustainable urban tourism development. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.