Development of a tourism sustainability assessment procedure: a conceptual approach

The purpose of this paper is to develop a procedure for the assessment tourism sustainability. Twelve case studies on the basis of geographical backgrounds are analysed, and the issues of tourism sustainability assessment are discussed. A model development procedure is proposed, and combination of reductionist and holistic approaches to modelling is employed: identification of the systems, dimensions, and indicators; scaling of sustainability; gradations of sustainability; development of tourism sustainability assessment maps; extension of the maps over time; and evaluation. A conceptual framework is formulated to assess tourism sustainability with the above components. 'Barometer of tourism sustainability' (BTS) and 'AMOEBA of tourism sustainability indicators' (ATSI) are introduced as devices for the assessment of tourism sustainability. The proposed BTS model represents the comprehensive level of tourism sustainability in a given destination, combining human and natural indicators into an index of sustainable tourism development, without trading one off against the other. The ATSI model is introduced to complement the BTS analysis and to illustrate individual levels of sustainability of tourism indicators. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.