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Article contents

The role of tourism in sustainable development.

Robert B. Richardson Robert B. Richardson Community Sustainability, Michigan State University
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.013.387
Published online: 25 March 2021

Sustainable development is the foundational principle for enhancing human and economic development while maintaining the functional integrity of ecological and social systems that support regional economies. Tourism has played a critical role in sustainable development in many countries and regions around the world. In developing countries, tourism development has been used as an important strategy for increasing economic growth, alleviating poverty, creating jobs, and improving food security. Many developing countries are in regions that are characterized by high levels of biological diversity, natural resources, and cultural heritage sites that attract international tourists whose local purchases generate income and support employment and economic development. Tourism has been associated with the principles of sustainable development because of its potential to support environmental protection and livelihoods. However, the relationship between tourism and the environment is multifaceted, as some types of tourism have been associated with negative environmental impacts, many of which are borne by host communities.

The concept of sustainable tourism development emerged in contrast to mass tourism, which involves the participation of large numbers of people, often in structured or packaged tours. Mass tourism has been associated with economic leakage and dependence, along with negative environmental and social impacts. Sustainable tourism development has been promoted in various ways as a framing concept in contrast to these economic, environmental, and social impacts. Some literature has acknowledged a vagueness of the concept of sustainable tourism, which has been used to advocate for fundamentally different strategies for tourism development that may exacerbate existing conflicts between conservation and development paradigms. Tourism has played an important role in sustainable development in some countries through the development of alternative tourism models, including ecotourism, community-based tourism, pro-poor tourism, slow tourism, green tourism, and heritage tourism, among others that aim to enhance livelihoods, increase local economic growth, and provide for environmental protection. Although these models have been given significant attention among researchers, the extent of their implementation in tourism planning initiatives has been limited, superficial, or incomplete in many contexts.

The sustainability of tourism as a global system is disputed among scholars. Tourism is dependent on travel, and nearly all forms of transportation require the use of non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels for energy. The burning of fossil fuels for transportation generates emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change, which is fundamentally unsustainable. Tourism is also vulnerable to both localized and global shocks. Studies of the vulnerability of tourism to localized shocks include the impacts of natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and civil unrest. Studies of the vulnerability of tourism to global shocks include the impacts of climate change, economic crisis, global public health pandemics, oil price shocks, and acts of terrorism. It is clear that tourism has contributed significantly to economic development globally, but its role in sustainable development is uncertain, debatable, and potentially contradictory.

conservation
economic development
environmental impacts
sustainable development
sustainable tourism
tourism development

Introduction

Sustainable development is the guiding principle for advancing human and economic development while maintaining the integrity of ecosystems and social systems on which the economy depends. It is also the foundation of the leading global framework for international cooperation—the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015 ). The concept of sustainable development is often associated with the publication of Our Common Future (World Commission on Environment and Development [WCED], 1987 , p. 29), which defined it as “paths of human progress that meet the needs and aspirations of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” Concerns about the environmental implications of economic development in lower income countries had been central to debates about development studies since the 1970s (Adams, 2009 ). The principles of sustainable development have come to dominate the development discourse, and the concept has become the primary development paradigm since the 1990s.

Tourism has played an increasingly important role in sustainable development since the 1990s, both globally and in particular countries and regions. For decades, tourism has been promoted as a low-impact, non-extractive option for economic development, particularly for developing countries (Gössling, 2000 ). Many developing countries have managed to increase their participation in the global economy through development of international tourism. Tourism development is increasingly viewed as an important tool in increasing economic growth, alleviating poverty, and improving food security. Tourism enables communities that are poor in material wealth, but rich in history and cultural heritage, to leverage their unique assets for economic development (Honey & Gilpin, 2009 ). More importantly, tourism offers an alternative to large-scale development projects, such as construction of dams, and to extractive industries such as mining and forestry, all of which contribute to emissions of pollutants and threaten biodiversity and the cultural values of Indigenous Peoples.

Environmental quality in destination areas is inextricably linked with tourism, as visiting natural areas and sightseeing are often the primary purpose of many leisure travels. Some forms of tourism, such as ecotourism, can contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and the protection of ecosystem functions in destination areas (Fennell, 2020 ; Gössling, 1999 ). Butler ( 1991 ) suggests that there is a kind of mutual dependence between tourism and the environment that should generate mutual benefits. Many developing countries are in regions that are characterized by high levels of species diversity, natural resources, and protected areas. Such ideas imply that tourism may be well aligned with the tenets of sustainable development.

However, the relationship between tourism and the environment is complex, as some forms of tourism have been associated with negative environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use, land use, and food consumption (Butler, 1991 ; Gössling & Peeters, 2015 ; Hunter & Green, 1995 ; Vitousek et al., 1997 ). Assessments of the sustainability of tourism have highlighted several themes, including (a) parks, biodiversity, and conservation; (b) pollution and climate change; (c) prosperity, economic growth, and poverty alleviation; (d) peace, security, and safety; and (e) population stabilization and reduction (Buckley, 2012 ). From a global perspective, tourism contributes to (a) changes in land cover and land use; (b) energy use, (c) biotic exchange and extinction of wild species; (d) exchange and dispersion of diseases; and (e) changes in the perception and understanding of the environment (Gössling, 2002 ).

Research on tourism and the environment spans a wide range of social and natural science disciplines, and key contributions have been disseminated across many interdisciplinary fields, including biodiversity conservation, climate science, economics, and environmental science, among others (Buckley, 2011 ; Butler, 1991 ; Gössling, 2002 ; Lenzen et al., 2018 ). Given the global significance of the tourism sector and its environmental impacts, the role of tourism in sustainable development is an important topic of research in environmental science generally and in environmental economics and management specifically. Reviews of tourism research have highlighted future research priorities for sustainable development, including the role of tourism in the designation and expansion of protected areas; improvement in environmental accounting techniques that quantify environmental impacts; and the effects of individual perceptions of responsibility in addressing climate change (Buckley, 2012 ).

Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries, and it has linkages with many of the prime sectors of the global economy (Fennell, 2020 ). As a global economic sector, tourism represents one of the largest generators of wealth, and it is an important agent of economic growth and development (Garau-Vadell et al., 2018 ). Tourism is a critical industry in many local and national economies, and it represents a large and growing share of world trade (Hunter, 1995 ). Global tourism has had an average annual increase of 6.6% over the past half century, with international tourist arrivals rising sharply from 25.2 million in 1950 to more than 950 million in 2010 . In 2019 , the number of international tourists reached 1.5 billion, up 4% from 2018 (Fennell, 2020 ; United Nations World Tourism Organization [UNWTO], 2020 ). European countries are host to more than half of international tourists, but since 1990 , growth in international arrivals has risen faster than the global average, in both the Middle East and the Asia and Pacific region (UNWTO, 2020 ).

The growth in global tourism has been accompanied by an expansion of travel markets and a diversification of tourism destinations. In 1950 , the top five travel destinations were all countries in Europe and the Americas, and these destinations held 71% of the global travel market (Fennell, 2020 ). By 2002 , these countries represented only 35%, which underscores the emergence of newly accessible travel destinations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim, including numerous developing countries. Over the past 70 years, global tourism has grown significantly as an economic sector, and it has contributed to the economic development of dozens of nations.

Given the growth of international tourism and its emergence as one of the world’s largest export sectors, the question of its impact on economic growth for the host countries has been a topic of great interest in the tourism literature. Two hypotheses have emerged regarding the role of tourism in the economic growth process (Apergis & Payne, 2012 ). First, tourism-led growth hypothesis relies on the assumption that tourism is an engine of growth that generates spillovers and positive externalities through economic linkages that will impact the overall economy. Second, the economic-driven tourism growth hypothesis emphasizes policies oriented toward well-defined and enforceable property rights, stable political institutions, and adequate investment in both physical and human capital to facilitate the development of the tourism sector. Studies have concluded with support for both the tourism-led growth hypothesis (e.g., Durbarry, 2004 ; Katircioglu, 2010 ) and the economic-led growth hypothesis (e.g., Katircioglu, 2009 ; Oh, 2005 ), whereas other studies have found support for a bidirectional causality for tourism and economic growth (e.g., Apergis & Payne, 2012 ; Lee & Chang, 2008 ).

The growth of tourism has been marked by an increase in the competition for tourist expenditures, making it difficult for destinations to maintain their share of the international tourism market (Butler, 1991 ). Tourism development is cyclical and subject to short-term cycles and overconsumption of resources. Butler ( 1980 ) developed a tourist-area cycle of evolution that depicts the number of tourists rising sharply over time through periods of exploration, involvement, and development, before eventual consolidation and stagnation. When tourism growth exceeds the carrying capacity of the area, resource degradation can lead to the decline of tourism unless specific steps are taken to promote rejuvenation (Butler, 1980 , 1991 ).

The potential of tourism development as a tool to contribute to environmental conservation, economic growth, and poverty reduction is derived from several unique characteristics of the tourism system (UNWTO, 2002 ). First, tourism represents an opportunity for economic diversification, particularly in marginal areas with few other export options. Tourists are attracted to remote areas with high values of cultural, wildlife, and landscape assets. The cultural and natural heritage of developing countries is frequently based on such assets, and tourism represents an opportunity for income generation through the preservation of heritage values. Tourism is the only export sector where the consumer travels to the exporting country, which provides opportunities for lower-income households to become exporters through the sale of goods and services to foreign tourists. Tourism is also labor intensive; it provides small-scale employment opportunities, which also helps to promote gender equity. Finally, there are numerous indirect benefits of tourism for people living in poverty, including increased market access for remote areas through the development of roads, infrastructure, and communication networks. Nevertheless, travel is highly income elastic and carbon intensive, which has significant implications for the sustainability of the tourism sector (Lenzen et al., 2018 ).

Concerns about environmental issues appeared in tourism research just as global awareness of the environmental impacts of human activities was expanding. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm in 1972 , the same year as the publication of The Limits to Growth (Meadows et al., 1972 ), which highlighted the concerns about the implications of exponential economic and population growth in a world of finite resources. This was the same year that the famous Blue Marble photograph of Earth was taken by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft (Höhler, 2015 , p. 10), and the image captured the planet cloaked in the darkness of space and became a symbol of Earth’s fragility and vulnerability. As noted by Buckley ( 2012 ), tourism researchers turned their attention to social and environmental issues around the same time (Cohen, 1978 ; Farrell & McLellan, 1987 ; Turner & Ash, 1975 ; Young, 1973 ).

The notion of sustainable development is often associated with the publication of Our Common Future , the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, also known as the Brundtland Commission (WCED, 1987 ). The report characterized sustainable development in terms of meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (WCED, 1987 , p. 43). Four basic principles are fundamental to the concept of sustainability: (a) the idea of holistic planning and strategy making; (b) the importance of preserving essential ecological processes; (c) the need to protect both human heritage and biodiversity; and (d) the need to develop in such a way that productivity can be sustained over the long term for future generations (Bramwell & Lane, 1993 ). In addition to achieving balance between economic growth and the conservation of natural resources, there should be a balance of fairness and opportunity between the nations of the world.

Although the modern concept of sustainable development emerged with the publication of Our Common Future , sustainable development has its roots in ideas about sustainable forest management that were developed in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries (Blewitt, 2015 ; Grober, 2007 ). Sustainable forest management is concerned with the stewardship and use of forests in a way that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, and regeneration capacity as well as their potential to fulfill society’s demands for forest products and benefits. Building on these ideas, Daly ( 1990 ) offered two operational principles of sustainable development. First, sustainable development implies that harvest rates should be no greater than rates of regeneration; this concept is known as maximum sustainable yield. Second, waste emission rates should not exceed the natural assimilative capacities of the ecosystems into which the wastes are emitted. Regenerative and assimilative capacities are characterized as natural capital, and a failure to maintain these capacities is not sustainable.

Shortly after the emergence of the concept of sustainable development in academic and policy discourse, tourism researchers began referring to the notion of sustainable tourism (May, 1991 ; Nash & Butler, 1990 ), which soon became the dominant paradigm of tourism development. The concept of sustainable tourism, as with the role of tourism in sustainable development, has been interpreted in different ways, and there is a lack of consensus concerning its meaning, objectives, and indicators (Sharpley, 2000 ). Growing interest in the subject inspired the creation of a new academic journal, Journal of Sustainable Tourism , which was launched in 1993 and has become a leading tourism journal. It is described as “an international journal that publishes research on tourism and sustainable development, including economic, social, cultural and political aspects.”

The notion of sustainable tourism development emerged in contrast to mass tourism, which is characterized by the participation of large numbers of people, often provided as structured or packaged tours. Mass tourism has risen sharply in the last half century. International arrivals alone have increased by an average annual rate of more than 25% since 1950 , and many of those trips involved mass tourism activities (Fennell, 2020 ; UNWTO, 2020 ). Some examples of mass tourism include beach resorts, cruise ship tourism, gaming casinos, golf resorts, group tours, ski resorts, theme parks, and wildlife safari tourism, among others. Little data exist regarding the volume of domestic mass tourism, but nevertheless mass tourism activities dominate the global tourism sector. Mass tourism has been shown to generate benefits to host countries, such as income and employment generation, although it has also been associated with economic leakage (where revenue generated by tourism is lost to other countries’ economies) and economic dependency (where developing countries are dependent on wealthier countries for tourists, imports, and foreign investment) (Cater, 1993 ; Conway & Timms, 2010 ; Khan, 1997 ; Peeters, 2012 ). Mass tourism has been associated with numerous negative environmental impacts and social impacts (Cater, 1993 ; Conway & Timms, 2010 ; Fennell, 2020 ; Ghimire, 2013 ; Gursoy et al., 2010 ; Liu, 2003 ; Peeters, 2012 ; Wheeller, 2007 ). Sustainable tourism development has been promoted in various ways as a framing concept in contrast to many of these economic, environmental, and social impacts.

Much of the early research on sustainable tourism focused on defining the concept, which has been the subject of vigorous debate (Bramwell & Lane, 1993 ; Garrod & Fyall, 1998 ; Hunter, 1995 ; Inskeep, 1991 ; Liu, 2003 ; Sharpley, 2000 ). Early definitions of sustainable tourism development seemed to fall in one of two categories (Sharpley, 2000 ). First, the “tourism-centric” paradigm of sustainable tourism development focuses on sustaining tourism as an economic activity (Hunter, 1995 ). Second, alternative paradigms have situated sustainable tourism in the context of wider sustainable development policies (Butler, 1991 ). One of the most comprehensive definitions of sustainable tourism echoes some of the language of the Brundtland Commission’s definition of sustainable development (WCED, 1987 ), emphasizing opportunities for the future while also integrating social and environmental concerns:

Sustainable tourism can be thought of as meeting the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future. Sustainable tourism development is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that we can fulfill economic, social and aesthetic needs while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems. (Inskeep, 1991 , p. 461)

Hunter argued that over the short and long terms, sustainable tourism development should

“meet the needs and wants of the local host community in terms of improved living standards and quality of life;

satisfy the demands of tourists and the tourism industry, and continue to attract them in order to meet the first aim; and

safeguard the environmental resource base for tourism, encompassing natural, built and cultural components, in order to achieve both of the preceding aims.” (Hunter, 1995 , p. 156)

Numerous other definitions have been documented, and the term itself has been subject to widespread critique (Buckley, 2012 ; Hunter, 1995 ; Liu, 2003 ). Nevertheless, there have been numerous calls to move beyond debate about a definition and to consider how it may best be implemented in practice (Garrod & Fyall, 1998 ; Liu, 2003 ). Cater ( 1993 ) identified three key criteria for sustainable tourism: (a) meeting the needs of the host population in terms of improved living standards both in the short and long terms; (b) satisfying the demands of a growing number of tourists; and (c) safeguarding the natural environment in order to achieve both of the preceding aims.

Some literature has acknowledged a vagueness of the concept of sustainable tourism, which has been used to advocate for fundamentally different strategies for tourism development that may exacerbate existing conflicts between conservation and development paradigms (Garrod & Fyall, 1998 ; Hunter, 1995 ; Liu, 2003 ; McKercher, 1993b ). Similar criticisms have been leveled at the concept of sustainable development, which has been described as an oxymoron with a wide range of meanings (Adams, 2009 ; Daly, 1990 ) and “defined in such a way as to be either morally repugnant or logically redundant” (Beckerman, 1994 , p. 192). Sharpley ( 2000 ) suggests that in the tourism literature, there has been “a consistent and fundamental failure to build a theoretical link between sustainable tourism and its parental paradigm,” sustainable development (p. 2). Hunter ( 1995 ) suggests that practical measures designed to operationalize sustainable tourism fail to address many of the critical issues that are central to the concept of sustainable development generally and may even actually counteract the fundamental requirements of sustainable development. He suggests that mainstream sustainable tourism development is concerned with protecting the immediate resource base that will sustain tourism development while ignoring concerns for the status of the wider tourism resource base, such as potential problems associated with air pollution, congestion, introduction of invasive species, and declining oil reserves. The dominant paradigm of sustainable tourism development has been described as introverted, tourism-centric, and in competition with other sectors for scarce resources (McKercher, 1993a ). Hunter ( 1995 , p. 156) proposes an alternative, “extraparochial” paradigm where sustainable tourism development is reconceptualized in terms of its contribution to overall sustainable development. Such a paradigm would reconsider the scope, scale, and sectoral context of tourism-related resource utilization issues.

“Sustainability,” “sustainable tourism,” and “sustainable development” are all well-established terms that have often been used loosely and interchangeably in the tourism literature (Liu, 2003 ). Nevertheless, the subject of sustainable tourism has been given considerable attention and has been the focus of numerous academic compilations and textbooks (Coccossis & Nijkamp, 1995 ; Hall & Lew, 1998 ; Stabler, 1997 ; Swarbrooke, 1999 ), and it calls for new approaches to sustainable tourism development (Bramwell & Lane, 1993 ; Garrod & Fyall, 1998 ; Hunter, 1995 ; Sharpley, 2000 ). The notion of sustainable tourism has been reconceptualized in the literature by several authors who provided alternative frameworks for tourism development (Buckley, 2012 ; Gössling, 2002 ; Hunter, 1995 ; Liu, 2003 ; McKercher, 1993b ; Sharpley, 2000 ).

Early research in sustainable tourism focused on the local environmental impacts of tourism, including energy use, water use, food consumption, and change in land use (Buckley, 2012 ; Butler, 1991 ; Gössling, 2002 ; Hunter & Green, 1995 ). Subsequent research has emphasized the global environmental impacts of tourism, such as greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity losses (Gössling, 2002 ; Gössling & Peeters, 2015 ; Lenzen et al., 2018 ). Additional research has emphasized the impacts of environmental change on tourism itself, including the impacts of climate change on tourist behavior (Gössling et al., 2012 ; Richardson & Loomis, 2004 ; Scott et al., 2012 ; Viner, 2006 ). Countries that are dependent on tourism for economic growth may be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (Richardson & Witkoswki, 2010 ).

The early focus on environmental issues in sustainable tourism has been broadened to include economic, social, and cultural issues as well as questions of power and equity in society (Bramwell & Lane, 1993 ; Sharpley, 2014 ), and some of these frameworks have integrated notions of social equity, prosperity, and cultural heritage values. Sustainable tourism is dependent on critical long-term considerations of the impacts; notions of equity; an appreciation of the importance of linkages (i.e., economic, social, and environmental); and the facilitation of cooperation and collaboration between different stakeholders (Elliott & Neirotti, 2008 ).

McKercher ( 1993b ) notes that tourism resources are typically part of the public domain or are intrinsically linked to the social fabric of the host community. As a result, many commonplace tourist activities such as sightseeing may be perceived as invasive by members of the host community. Many social impacts of tourism can be linked to the overuse of the resource base, increases in traffic congestion, rising land prices, urban sprawl, and changes in the social structure of host communities. Given the importance of tourist–resident interaction, sustainable tourism development depends in part on the support of the host community (Garau-Vadell et al., 2018 ).

Tourism planning involves the dual objectives of optimizing the well-being of local residents in host communities and minimizing the costs of tourism development (Sharpley, 2014 ). Tourism researchers have paid significant attention to examining the social impacts of tourism in general and to understanding host communities’ perceptions of tourism in particular. Studies of the social impacts of tourism development have examined the perceptions of local residents and the effects of tourism on social cohesion, traditional lifestyles, and the erosion of cultural heritage, particularly among Indigenous Peoples (Butler & Hinch, 2007 ; Deery et al., 2012 ; Mathieson & Wall, 1982 ; Sharpley, 2014 ; Whitford & Ruhanen, 2016 ).

Alternative Tourism and Sustainable Development

A wide body of published research is related to the role of tourism in sustainable development, and much of the literature involves case studies of particular types of tourism. Many such studies contrast types of alternative tourism with those of mass tourism, which has received sustained criticism for decades and is widely considered to be unsustainable (Cater, 1993 ; Conway & Timms, 2010 ; Fennell, 2020 ; Gursoy et al., 2010 ; Liu, 2003 ; Peeters, 2012 ; Zapata et al., 2011 ). Still, some tourism researchers have taken issue with the conclusion that mass tourism is inherently unsustainable (Sharpley, 2000 ; Weaver, 2007 ), and some have argued for developing pathways to “sustainable mass tourism” as “the desired and impending outcome for most destinations” (Weaver, 2012 , p. 1030). In integrating an ethical component to mass tourism development, Weaver ( 2014 , p. 131) suggests that the desirable outcome is “enlightened mass tourism.” Such suggestions have been contested in the literature and criticized for dubious assumptions about emergent norms of sustainability and support for growth, which are widely seen as contradictory (Peeters, 2012 ; Wheeller, 2007 ).

Models of responsible or alternative tourism development include ecotourism, community-based tourism, pro-poor tourism, slow tourism, green tourism, and heritage tourism, among others. Most models of alternative tourism development emphasize themes that aim to counteract the perceived negative impacts of conventional or mass tourism. As such, the objectives of these models of tourism development tend to focus on minimizing environmental impacts, supporting biodiversity conservation, empowering local communities, alleviating poverty, and engendering pleasant relationships between tourists and residents.

Approaches to alternative tourism development tend to overlap with themes of responsible tourism, and the two terms are frequently used interchangeably. Responsible tourism has been characterized in terms of numerous elements, including

ensuring that communities are involved in and benefit from tourism;

respecting local, natural, and cultural environments;

involving the local community in planning and decision-making;

using local resources sustainably;

behaving in ways that are sensitive to the host culture;

maintaining and encouraging natural, economic, and cultural diversity; and

assessing environmental, social, and economic impacts as a prerequisite to tourism development (Spenceley, 2012 ).

Hetzer ( 1965 ) identified four fundamental principles or perquisites for a more responsible form of tourism: (a) minimum environmental impact; (b) minimum impact on and maximum respect for host cultures; (c) maximum economic benefits to the host country; and (d) maximum leisure satisfaction to participating tourists.

The history of ecotourism is closely connected with the emergence of sustainable development, as it was born out of a concern for the conservation of biodiversity. Ecotourism is a form of tourism that aims to minimize local environmental impacts while bringing benefits to protected areas and the people living around those lands (Honey, 2008 ). Ecotourism represents a small segment of nature-based tourism, which is understood as tourism based on the natural attractions of an area, such as scenic areas and wildlife (Gössling, 1999 ). The ecotourism movement gained momentum in the 1990s, primarily in developing countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, and nearly all countries are now engaged in some form of ecotourism. In some communities, ecotourism is the primary economic activity and source of income and economic development.

The term “ecotourism” was coined by Hector Ceballos-Lascuráin and defined by him as “tourism that consists in travelling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific object of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals” (Ceballos-Lascuráin, 1987 , p. 13). In discussing ecotourism resources, he also made reference to “any existing cultural manifestations (both past and present) found in these areas” (Ceballos-Lascuráin, 1987 , p. 14). The basic precepts of ecotourism had been discussed long before the actual use of the term. Twenty years earlier, Hetzer ( 1965 ) referred to a form of tourism “based principally upon natural and archaeological resources such as caves, fossil sites (and) archaeological sites.” Thus, both natural resources and cultural resources were integrated into ecotourism frameworks from the earliest manifestations.

Costa Rica is well known for having successfully integrated ecotourism in its overall strategy for sustainable development, and numerous case studies of ecotourism in Costa Rica appear in the literature (Chase et al., 1998 ; Fennell & Eagles, 1990 ; Gray & Campbell, 2007 ; Hearne & Salinas, 2002 ). Ecotourism in Costa Rica has been seen as having supported the economic development of the country while promoting biodiversity conservation in its extensive network of protected areas. Chase et al. ( 1998 ) estimated the demand for ecotourism in a study of differential pricing of entrance fees at national parks in Costa Rica. The authors estimated elasticities associated with the own-price, cross-price, and income variables and found that the elasticities of demand were significantly different between three different national park sites. The results reveal the heterogeneity characterizing tourist behavior and park attractions and amenities. Hearne and Salinas ( 2002 ) used choice experiments to examine the preferences of domestic and foreign tourists in Costa Rica in an ecotourism site. Both sets of tourists demonstrated a preference for improved infrastructure, more information, and lower entrance fees. Foreign tourists demonstrated relatively stronger preferences for the inclusion of restrictions in the access to some trails.

Ecotourism has also been studied extensively in Kenya (Southgate, 2006 ), Malaysia (Lian Chan & Baum, 2007 ), Nepal (Baral et al., 2008 ), Peru (Stronza, 2007 ), and Taiwan (Lai & Nepal, 2006 ), among many other countries. Numerous case studies have demonstrated the potential for ecotourism to contribute to sustainable development by providing support for biodiversity conservation, local livelihoods, and regional development.

Community-Based Tourism

Community-based tourism (CBT) is a model of tourism development that emphasizes the development of local communities and allows for local residents to have substantial control over its development and management, and a major proportion of the benefits remain within the community. CBT emerged during the 1970s as a response to the negative impacts of the international mass tourism development model (Cater, 1993 ; Hall & Lew, 2009 ; Turner & Ash, 1975 ; Zapata et al., 2011 ).

Community-based tourism has been examined for its potential to contribute to poverty reduction. In a study of the viability of the CBT model to support socioeconomic development and poverty alleviation in Nicaragua, tourism was perceived by participants in the study to have an impact on employment creation in their communities (Zapata et al., 2011 ). Tourism was seen to have had positive impacts on strengthening local knowledge and skills, particularly on the integration of women to new roles in the labor market. One of the main perceived gains regarding the environment was the process of raising awareness regarding the conservation of natural resources. The small scale of CBT operations and low capacity to accommodate visitors was seen as a limitation of the model.

Spenceley ( 2012 ) compiled case studies of community-based tourism in countries in southern Africa, including Botswana, Madagascar, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In this volume, authors characterize community-based and nature-based tourism development projects in the region and demonstrate how community participation in planning and decision-making has generated benefits for local residents and supported conservation initiatives. They contend that responsible tourism practices are of particular importance in the region because of the rich biological diversity, abundant charismatic wildlife, and the critical need for local economic development and livelihood strategies.

In Kenya, CBT enterprises were not perceived to have made a significant impact on poverty reduction at an individual household level, in part because the model relied heavily on donor funding, reinforcing dependency and poverty (Manyara & Jones, 2007 ). The study identified several critical success factors for CBT enterprises, namely, awareness and sensitization, community empowerment, effective leadership, and community capacity building, which can inform appropriate tourism policy formulation in Kenya. The impacts of CBT on economic development and poverty reduction would be greatly enhanced if tourism initiatives were able to emphasize independence, address local community priorities, enhance community empowerment and transparency, discourage elitism, promote effective community leadership, and develop community capacity to operate their own enterprises more efficiently.

Pro-Poor Tourism

Pro-poor tourism is a model of tourism development that brings net benefits to people living in poverty (Ashley et al., 2001 ; Harrison, 2008 ). Although its theoretical foundations and development objectives overlap to some degree with those of community-based tourism and other models of AT, the key distinctive feature of pro-poor tourism is that it places poor people and poverty at the top of the agenda. By focusing on a very simple and incontrovertibly moral idea, namely, the net benefits of tourism to impoverished people, the concept has broad appeal to donors and international aid agencies. Harnessing the economic benefits of tourism for pro-poor growth means capitalizing on the advantages while reducing negative impacts to people living in poverty (Ashley et al., 2001 ). Pro-poor approaches to tourism development include increasing access of impoverished people to economic benefits; addressing negative social and environmental impacts associated with tourism; and focusing on policies, processes, and partnerships that seek to remove barriers to participation by people living in poverty. At the local level, pro-poor tourism can play a very significant role in livelihood security and poverty reduction (Ashley & Roe, 2002 ).

Rogerson ( 2011 ) argues that the growth of pro-poor tourism initiatives in South Africa suggests that the country has become a laboratory for the testing and evolution of new approaches toward sustainable development planning that potentially will have relevance for other countries in the developing world. A study of pro-poor tourism development initiatives in Laos identified a number of favorable conditions for pro-poor tourism development, including the fact that local people are open to tourism and motivated to participate (Suntikul et al., 2009 ). The authors also noted a lack of development in the linkages that could optimize the fulfilment of the pro-poor agenda, such as training or facilitation of local people’s participation in pro-poor tourism development at the grassroots level.

Critics of the model have argued that pro-poor tourism is based on an acceptance of the status quo of existing capitalism, that it is morally indiscriminate and theoretically imprecise, and that its practitioners are academically and commercially marginal (Harrison, 2008 ). As Chok et al. ( 2007 ) indicate, the focus “on poor people in the South reflects a strong anthropocentric view . . . and . . . environmental benefits are secondary to poor peoples’” benefits (p. 153).

Harrison ( 2008 ) argues that pro-poor tourism is not a distinctive approach to tourism as a development tool and that it may be easier to discuss what pro-poor tourism is not than what it is. He concludes that it is neither anticapitalist nor inconsistent with mainstream tourism on which it relies; it is neither a theory nor a model and is not a niche form of tourism. Further, he argues that it has no distinctive method and is not only about people living in poverty.

Slow Tourism

The concept of slow tourism has emerged as a model of sustainable tourism development, and as such, it lacks an exact definition. The concept of slow tourism traces its origin back to some institutionalized social movements such as “slow food” and “slow cities” that began in Italy in the 1990s and spread rapidly around the world (Fullagar et al., 2012 ; Oh et al., 2016 , p. 205). Advocates of slow tourism tend to emphasize slowness in terms of speed, mobility, and modes of transportation that generate less environmental pollution. They propose niche marketing for alternative forms of tourism that focus on quality upgrading rather than merely increasing the quantity of visitors via the established mass-tourism infrastructure (Conway & Timms, 2010 ).

In the context of the Caribbean region, slow tourism has been promoted as more culturally sensitive and authentic, as compared to the dominant mass tourism development model that is based on all-inclusive beach resorts dependent on foreign investment (Conway & Timms, 2010 ). Recognizing its value as an alternative marketing strategy, Conway and Timms ( 2010 ) make the case for rebranding alternative tourism in the Caribbean as a means of revitalizing the sector for the changing demands of tourists in the 21st century . They suggest that slow tourism is the antithesis of mass tourism, which “relies on increasing the quantity of tourists who move through the system with little regard to either the quality of the tourists’ experience or the benefits that accrue to the localities the tourist visits” (Conway & Timms, 2010 , p. 332). The authors draw on cases from Barbados, the Grenadines, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago to characterize models of slow tourism development in remote fishing villages and communities near nature preserves and sea turtle nesting sites.

Although there is a growing interest in the concept of slow tourism in the literature, there seems to be little agreement about the exact nature of slow tourism and whether it is a niche form of special interest tourism or whether it represents a more fundamental potential shift across the industry. Conway and Timms ( 2010 ) focus on the destination, advocating for slow tourism in terms of a promotional identity for an industry in need of rebranding. Caffyn ( 2012 , p. 77) discusses the implementation of slow tourism in terms of “encouraging visitors to make slower choices when planning and enjoying their holidays.” It is not clear whether slow tourism is a marketing strategy, a mindset, or a social movement, but the literature on slow tourism nearly always equates the term with sustainable tourism (Caffyn, 2012 ; Conway & Timms, 2010 ; Oh et al., 2016 ). Caffyn ( 2012 , p. 80) suggests that slow tourism could offer a “win–win,” which she describes as “a more sustainable form of tourism; keeping more of the economic benefits within the local community and destination; and delivering a more meaningful and satisfying experience.” Research on slow tourism is nascent, and thus the contribution of slow tourism to sustainable development is not well understood.

Impacts of Tourism Development

The role of tourism in sustainable development can be examined through an understanding of the economic, environmental, and social impacts of tourism. Tourism is a global phenomenon that involves travel, recreation, the consumption of food, overnight accommodations, entertainment, sightseeing, and other activities that simultaneously intersect the lives of local residents, businesses, and communities. The impacts of tourism involve benefits and costs to all groups, and some of these impacts cannot easily be measured. Nevertheless, they have been studied extensively in the literature, which provides some context for how these benefits and costs are distributed.

Economic Impacts of Tourism

The travel and tourism sector is one of the largest components of the global economy, and global tourism has increased exponentially since the end of the Second World War (UNWTO, 2020 ). The direct, indirect, and induced economic impact of global travel accounted for 8.9 trillion U.S. dollars in contribution to the global gross domestic product (GDP), or 10.3% of global GDP. The global travel and tourism sector supports approximately 330 million jobs, or 1 in 10 jobs around the world. From an economic perspective, tourism plays a significant role in sustainable development. In many developing countries, tourism has the potential to play a unique role in income generation and distribution relative to many other industries, in part because of its high multiplier effect and consumption of local goods and services. However, research on the economic impacts of tourism has shown that this potential has rarely been fully realized (Liu, 2003 ).

Numerous studies have examined the impact of tourism expenditure on GDP, income, employment, and public sector revenue. Narayan ( 2004 ) used a computable general equilibrium model to estimate the economic impact of tourism growth on the economy of Fiji. Tourism is Fiji’s largest industry, with average annual growth of 10–12%; and as a middle-income country, tourism is critical to Fiji’s economic development. The findings indicate that an increase in tourism expenditures was associated with an increase in GDP, an improvement in the country’s balance of payments, and an increase in real consumption and national welfare. Evidence suggests that the benefits of tourism expansion outweigh any export effects caused by an appreciation of the exchange rate and an increase in domestic prices and wages.

Seetanah ( 2011 ) examined the potential contribution of tourism to economic growth and development using panel data of 19 island economies around the world from 1990 to 2007 and revealed that tourism development is an important factor in explaining economic performance in the selected island economies. The results have policy implications for improving economic growth by harnessing the contribution of the tourism sector. Pratt ( 2015 ) modeled the economic impact of tourism for seven small island developing states in the Pacific, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean. In most states, the transportation sector was found to have above-average linkages to other sectors of the economy. The results revealed some advantages of economies of scale for maximizing the economic contribution of tourism.

Apergis and Payne ( 2012 ) examined the causal relationship between tourism and economic growth for a panel of nine Caribbean countries. The panel of Caribbean countries includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. The authors use a panel error correction model to reveal bidirectional causality between tourism and economic growth in both the short run and the long run. The presence of bidirectional causality reiterates the importance of the tourism sector in the generation of foreign exchange income and in financing the production of goods and services within these countries. Likewise, stable political institutions and adequate government policies to ensure the appropriate investment in physical and human capital will enhance economic growth. In turn, stable economic growth will provide the resources needed to develop the tourism infrastructure for the success of the countries’ tourism sector. Thus, policy makers should be cognizant of the interdependent relationship between tourism and economic growth in the design and implementation of economic policy. The mixed nature of these results suggest that the relationship between tourism and economic growth depends largely on the social and economic context as well as the role of tourism in the economy.

The economic benefits and costs of tourism are frequently distributed unevenly. An analysis of the impact of wildlife conservation policies in Zambia on household welfare found that households located near national parks earn higher levels of income from wage employment and self-employment than other rural households in the country, but they were also more likely to suffer crop losses related to wildlife conflicts (Richardson et al., 2012 ). The findings suggest that tourism development and wildlife conservation can contribute to pro-poor development, but they may be sustainable only if human–wildlife conflicts are minimized or compensated.

Environmental Impacts of Tourism

The environmental impacts of tourism are significant, ranging from local effects to contributions to global environmental change (Gössling & Peeters, 2015 ). Tourism is both dependent on water resources and a factor in global and local freshwater use. Tourists consume water for drinking, when showering and using the toilet, when participating in activities such as winter ski tourism (i.e., snowmaking), and when using swimming pools and spas. Fresh water is also needed to maintain hotel gardens and golf courses, and water use is embedded in tourism infrastructure development (e.g., accommodations, laundry, dining) and in food and fuel production. Direct water consumption in tourism is estimated to be approximately 350 liters (L) per guest night for accommodation; when indirect water use from food, energy, and transport are considered, total water use in tourism is estimated to be approximately 6,575 L per guest night, or 27,800 L per person per trip (Gössling & Peeters, 2015 ). In addition, tourism contributes to the pollution of oceans as well as lakes, rivers, and other freshwater systems (Gössling, 2002 ; Gössling et al., 2011 ).

The clearing and conversion of land is central for tourism development, and in many cases, the land used for tourism includes roads, airports, railways, accommodations, trails, pedestrian walks, shopping areas, parking areas, campgrounds, vacation homes, golf courses, marinas, ski resorts, and indirect land use for food production, disposal of solid wastes, and the treatment of wastewater (Gössling & Peeters, 2015 ). Global land use for accommodation is estimated to be approximately 42 m 2 per bed. Total global land use for tourism is estimated to be nearly 62,000 km 2 , or 11.7 m 2 per tourist; more than half of this estimate is represented by land use for traffic infrastructure.

Tourism and hospitality have direct and indirect links to nearly all aspects of food production, preparation, and consumption because of the quantities of food consumed in tourism contexts (Gössling et al., 2011 ). Food production has significant implications for sustainable development, given the growing global demand for food. The implications include land conversion, losses to biodiversity, changes in nutrient cycling, and contributions to greenhouse emissions that are associated with global climate change (Vitousek et al., 1997 ). Global food use for tourism is estimated to be approximately 39.4 megatons 1 (Mt), about 38% than the amount of food consumed at home. This equates to approximately 1,800 grams (g) of food consumed per tourist per day.

Although tourism has been promoted as a low-impact, nonextractive option for economic development, (Gössling, 2000 ), assessments reveal that such pursuits have a significant carbon footprint, as tourism is significantly more carbon intensive than other potential areas of economic development (Lenzen et al., 2018 ). Tourism is dependent on energy, and virtually all energy use in the tourism sector is derived from fossil fuels, which contribute to global greenhouse emissions that are associated with global climate change. Energy use for tourism has been estimated to be approximately 3,575 megajoules 2 (MJ) per trip, including energy for travel and accommodations (Gössling & Peeters, 2015 ). A previous estimate of global carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from tourism provided values of 1.12 gigatons 3 (Gt) of CO 2 , amounting to about 3% of global CO 2 -equivalent (CO 2 e) emissions (Gössling & Peeters, 2015 ). However, these analyses do not cover the supply chains underpinning tourism and do not therefore represent true carbon footprints. A more complete analysis of the emissions from energy consumption necessary to sustain the tourism sector would include food and beverages, infrastructure construction and maintenance, retail, and financial services. Between 2009 and 2013 , tourism’s global carbon footprint is estimated to have increased from 3.9 to 4.5 GtCO 2 e, four times more than previously estimated, accounting for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Lenzen et al., 2018 ). The majority of this footprint is exerted by and within high-income countries. The rising global demand for tourism is outstripping efforts at decarbonization of tourism operations and as a result is accelerating global carbon emissions.

Social Impacts of Tourism

The social impacts of tourism have been widely studied, with an emphasis on residents’ perceptions in the host community (Sharpley, 2014 ). Case studies include research conducted in Australia (Faulkner & Tideswell, 1997 ; Gursoy et al., 2010 ; Tovar & Lockwood, 2008 ), Belize (Diedrich & Garcia-Buades, 2008 ), China (Gu & Ryan, 2008 ), Fiji (King et al., 1993 ), Greece (Haralambopoulos & Pizam, 1996 ; Tsartas, 1992 ), Hungary (Rátz, 2000 ), Thailand (Huttasin, 2008 ), Turkey (Kuvan & Akan, 2005 ), the United Kingdom (Brunt & Courtney, 1999 ; Haley et al., 2005 ), and the United States (Andereck et al., 2005 ; Milman & Pizam, 1988 ), among others. The social impacts of tourism are difficult to measure, and most published studies are mainly concerned with the social impacts on the host communities rather than the impacts on the tourists themselves.

Studies of residents’ perceptions of tourism are typically conducted using household surveys. In most cases, residents recognize the economic dependence on tourism for income, and there is substantial evidence to suggest that working in or owning a business in tourism or a related industry is associated with more positive perceptions of tourism (Andereck et al., 2007 ). The perceived nature of negative effects is complex and often conveys a dislike of crowding, traffic congestion, and higher prices for basic needs (Deery et al., 2012 ). When the number of tourists far exceeds that of the resident population, negative attitudes toward tourism may manifest (Diedrich & Garcia-Buades, 2008 ). However, residents who recognize negative impacts may not necessarily oppose tourism development (King et al., 1993 ).

In some regions, little is known about the social and cultural impacts of tourism despite its dominance as an economic sector. Tourism is a rapidly growing sector in Cuba, and it is projected to grow at rates that exceed the average projected growth rates for the Caribbean and the world overall (Salinas et al., 2018 ). Still, even though there has been rapid tourism development in Cuba, there has been little research related to the environmental and sociocultural impacts of this tourism growth (Rutty & Richardson, 2019 ).

In some international tourism contexts, studies have found that residents are generally resentful toward tourism because it fuels inequality and exacerbates racist attitudes and discrimination (Cabezas, 2004 ; Jamal & Camargo, 2014 ; Mbaiwa, 2005 ). Other studies revealed similar narratives and recorded statements of exclusion and socioeconomic stratification (Sanchez & Adams, 2008 ). Local residents often must navigate the gaps in the racialized, gendered, and sexualized structures imposed by the global tourism industry and host-country governments (Cabezas, 2004 ).

However, during times of economic crisis, residents may develop a more permissive view as their perceptions of the costs of tourism development decrease (Garau-Vadell et al., 2018 ). This increased positive attitude is not based on an increase in the perception of positive impacts of tourism, but rather on a decrease in the perception of the negative impacts.

There is a growing body of research on Indigenous and Aboriginal tourism that emphasizes justice issues such as human rights and self-empowerment, control, and participation of traditional owners in comanagement of destinations (Jamal & Camargo, 2014 ; Ryan & Huyton, 2000 ; Whyte, 2010 ).

Sustainability of Tourism

A process or system is said to be sustainable to the extent that it is robust, resilient, and adaptive (Anderies et al., 2013 ). By most measures, the global tourism system does not meet these criteria for sustainability. Tourism is not robust in that it cannot resist threats and perturbations, such as economic shocks, public health pandemics, war, and other disruptions. Tourism is not resilient in that it does not easily recover from failures, such as natural disasters or civil unrest. Furthermore, tourism is not adaptive in that it is often unable to change in response to external conditions. One example that underscores the failure to meet all three criteria is the dependence of tourism on fossil fuels for transportation and energy, which are key inputs for tourism development. This dependence itself is not sustainable (Wheeller, 2007 ), and thus the sustainability of tourism is questionable.

Liu ( 2003 ) notes that research related to the role of tourism in sustainable development has emphasized supply-side concepts such as sustaining tourism resources and ignored the demand side, which is particularly vulnerable to social and economic shocks. Tourism is vulnerable to both localized and global shocks. Studies of the vulnerability of tourism to localized shocks include disaster vulnerability in coastal Thailand (Calgaro & Lloyd, 2008 ), bushfires in northeast Victoria in Australia (Cioccio & Michael, 2007 ), forest fires in British Columbia, Canada (Hystad & Keller, 2008 ); and outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom (Miller & Ritchie, 2003 ).

Like most other economic sectors, tourism is vulnerable to the impacts of earthquakes, particularly in areas where tourism infrastructure may not be resilient to such shocks. Numerous studies have examined the impacts of earthquake events on tourism, including studies of the aftermath of the 1997 earthquake in central Italy (Mazzocchi & Montini, 2001 ), the 1999 earthquake in Taiwan (Huan et al., 2004 ; Huang & Min, 2002 ), and the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in western Sichuan, China (Yang et al., 2011 ), among others.

Tourism is vulnerable to extreme weather events. Regional economic strength has been found to be associated with lower vulnerability to natural disasters. Kim and Marcoullier ( 2015 ) examined the vulnerability and resilience of 10 tourism-based regional economies that included U.S. national parks or protected seashores situated on the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean coastline that were affected by several hurricanes over a 26-year period. Regions with stronger economic characteristics prior to natural disasters were found to have lower disaster losses than regions with weaker economies.

Tourism is extremely sensitive to oil spills, whatever their origin, and the volume of oil released need not be large to generate significant economic losses (Cirer-Costa, 2015 ). Studies of the vulnerability of tourism to the localized shock of an oil spill include research on the impacts of oil spills in Alaska (Coddington, 2015 ), Brazil (Ribeiro et al., 2020 ), Spain (Castanedo et al., 2009 ), affected regions in the United States along the Gulf of Mexico (Pennington-Gray et al., 2011 ; Ritchie et al., 2013 ), and the Republic of Korea (Cheong, 2012 ), among others. Future research on the vulnerability of tourist destinations to oil spills should also incorporate freshwater environments, such as lakes, rivers, and streams, where the rupture of oil pipelines is more frequent.

Significant attention has been paid to assessing the vulnerability of tourist destinations to acts of terrorism and the impacts of terrorist attacks on regional tourist economies (Liu & Pratt, 2017 ). Such studies include analyses of the impacts of terrorist attacks on three European countries, Greece, Italy, and Austria (Enders et al., 1992 ); the impact of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States (Goodrich, 2002 ); terrorism and tourism in Nepal (Bhattarai et al., 2005 ); vulnerability of tourism livelihoods in Bali (Baker & Coulter, 2007 ); the impact of terrorism on tourist preferences for destinations in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands (Arana & León, 2008 ); the 2011 massacres in Olso and Utøya, Norway (Wolff & Larsen, 2014 ); terrorism and political violence in Tunisia (Lanouar & Goaied, 2019 ); and the impact of terrorism on European tourism (Corbet et al., 2019 ), among others. Pizam and Fleischer ( 2002 ) studied the impact of acts of terrorism on tourism demand in Israel between May 1991 and May 2001 , and they confirmed that the frequency of acts of terrorism had caused a larger decline in international tourist arrivals than the severity of these acts. Most of these are ex post studies, and future assessments of the underlying conditions of destinations could reveal a deeper understanding of the vulnerability of tourism to terrorism.

Tourism is vulnerable to economic crisis, both local economic shocks (Okumus & Karamustafa, 2005 ; Stylidis & Terzidou, 2014 ) and global economic crisis (Papatheodorou et al., 2010 ; Smeral, 2010 ). Okumus and Karamustafa ( 2005 ) evaluated the impact of the February 2001 economic crisis in Turkey on tourism, and they found that the tourism industry was poorly prepared for the economic crisis despite having suffered previous impacts related to the Gulf War in the early 1990s, terrorism in Turkey in the 1990s, the civil war in former Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, an internal economic crisis in 1994 , and two earthquakes in the northwest region of Turkey in 1999 . In a study of the attitudes and perceptions of citizens of Greece, Stylidis and Terzidou ( 2014 ) found that economic crisis is associated with increased support for tourism development, particularly out of self-interest. Economic crisis diminishes residents’ concern for environmental issues. In a study of the behavior of European tourists amid an economic crisis, Eugenio-Martin and Campos-Soria ( 2014 ) found that the probability of households cutting back on travel expenditures depends largely on the climate and economic conditions of tourists’ home countries, and households that do reduce travel spending engage in tourism closer to home.

Becken and Lennox ( 2012 ) studied the implications of a long-term increase in oil prices for tourism in New Zealand, and they estimate that a doubling of oil prices is associated with a 1.7% decrease in real gross national disposable income and a 9% reduction in the real value of tourism exports. Chatziantoniou et al. ( 2013 ) investigated the relationship among oil price shocks, tourism variables, and economic indicators in four European Mediterranean countries and found that aggregate demand oil price shocks generated a lagged effect on tourism-generated income and economic growth. Kisswani et al. ( 2020 ) examined the asymmetric effect of oil prices on tourism receipts and the sensitive susceptibility of tourism to oil price changes using nonlinear analysis. The findings document a long-run asymmetrical effect for most countries, after incorporating the structural breaks, suggesting that governments and tourism businesses and organizations should interpret oil price fluctuations cautiously.

Finally, the sustainability of tourism has been shown to be vulnerable to the outbreak of infectious diseases, including the impact of the Ebola virus on tourism in sub-Saharan Africa (Maphanga & Henama, 2019 ; Novelli et al., 2018 ) and in the United States (Cahyanto et al., 2016 ). The literature also includes studies of the impact of swine flu on tourism demand in Brunei (Haque & Haque, 2018 ), Mexico (Monterrubio, 2010 ), and the United Kingdom (Page et al., 2012 ), among others. In addition, rapid assessments of the impacts of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 have documented severe disruptions and cessations of tourism because of unprecedented global travel restrictions and widespread restrictions on public gatherings (Gössling et al., 2020 ; Qiu et al., 2020 ; Sharma & Nicolau, 2020 ). Hotels, airlines, cruise lines, and car rentals have all experienced a significant decrease globally because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the shock to the industry is significant enough to warrant concerns about the long-term outlook (Sharma & Nicolau, 2020 ). Qiu et al. ( 2020 ) estimated the social costs of the pandemic to tourism in three cities in China (Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Wuhan), and they found that most respondents were willing to pay for risk reduction and action in responding to the pandemic crisis; there was no significant difference between residents’ willingness to pay in the three cities. Some research has emphasized how lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic can prepare global tourism for an economic transformation that is needed to mitigate the impacts of climate change (Brouder, 2020 ; Prideaux et al., 2020 ).

It is clear that tourism has contributed significantly to economic development globally, but its role in sustainable development is uncertain, contested, and potentially paradoxical. This is due, in part, to the contested nature of sustainable development itself. Tourism has been promoted as a low-impact, nonextractive option for economic development, particularly for developing countries (Gössling, 2000 ), and many countries have managed to increase their participation in the global economy through development of international tourism. Tourism development has been viewed as an important sector for investment to enhance economic growth, poverty alleviation, and food security, and the sector provides an alternative opportunity to large-scale development projects and extractive industries that contribute to emissions of pollutants and threaten biodiversity and cultural values. However, global evidence from research on the economic impacts of tourism has shown that this potential has rarely been realized (Liu, 2003 ).

The role of tourism in sustainable development has been studied extensively and with a variety of perspectives, including the conceptualization of alternative or responsible forms of tourism and the examination of economic, environmental, and social impacts of tourism development. The research has generally concluded that tourism development has contributed to sustainable development in some cases where it is demonstrated to have provided support for biodiversity conservation initiatives and livelihood development strategies. As an economic sector, tourism is considered to be labor intensive, providing opportunities for poor households to enhance their livelihood through the sale of goods and services to foreign tourists.

Nature-based tourism approaches such as ecotourism and community-based tourism have been successful at attracting tourists to parks and protected areas, and their spending provides financial support for biodiversity conservation, livelihoods, and economic growth in developing countries. Nevertheless, studies of the impacts of tourism development have documented negative environmental impacts locally in terms of land use, food and water consumption, and congestion, and globally in terms of the contribution of tourism to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases related to transportation and other tourist activities. Studies of the social impacts of tourism have documented experiences of discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, race, sex, and national identity.

The sustainability of tourism as an economic sector has been examined in terms of its vulnerability to civil conflict, economic shocks, natural disasters, and public health pandemics. Most studies conclude that tourism may have positive impacts for regional development and environmental conservation, but there is evidence that tourism inherently generates negative environmental impacts, primarily through pollutions stemming from transportation. The regional benefits of tourism development must be considered alongside the global impacts of increased transportation and tourism participation. Global tourism has also been shown to be vulnerable to economic crises, oil price shocks, and global outbreaks of infectious diseases. Given that tourism is dependent on energy, the movement of people, and the consumption of resources, virtually all tourism activities have significant economic, environmental, and sustainable impacts. As such, the role of tourism in sustainable development is highly questionable. Future research on the role of tourism in sustainable development should focus on reducing the negative impacts of tourism development, both regionally and globally.

Resources, tourism

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Tourism resources are stock that generates necessary inputs, together with the input of labor and capital, for the production of tourism goods and services (Stabler et al. 2010 ). Labor and capital play important roles in the production of tourism activities, and also in their characterization that enables operators to differentiate one’s services from the Other . In general, labor and capital can be procured from everywhere, and often do not necessarily have a relationship with locality. Nevertheless, tourism resources are formed over a long period of time based on specific local natural and cultural conditions. Thus, these conditions are difficult to be imitated. In this context, tourism resources tend to have locality, irreversibility, and history. It is hard to restore them once these characteristics are lost; at best they can only be restored over a long time. Natural environment and cultural heritage are typical examples.

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Ohe, Y. (2014). Resources, tourism. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_161-1

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Research Article

An estimation and development model of tourism resource values at the township scale on Hainan Island, China

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology

Affiliation College of Management, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China

Roles Data curation, Investigation, Methodology

Affiliations Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing, China, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology

* E-mail: [email protected]

Roles Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation

Affiliation College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, Shandong, China

Tongyan ZHANG,
Yingjie WANG,
Shengrui ZHANG,
Yingying Wang

Published: January 24, 2022
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837
Reader Comments

The scientific evaluation of tourism resources provides the basic conditions for the rational development and utilization of tourism resources, which is significant for the sustainable development of tourism. On the basis of obtaining a large sample of tourism resource data, this study constructed an evaluation index system of regional tourism resources from four aspects: quantity, type, grade, and a combination of regional tourism resources, taking the township scale as the spatial evaluation unit. The combination weighting method was used to evaluate the grade of tourism resources in each township, and the hierarchical clustering method and spatial autocorrelation method were used to analyze the spatial patterns of the tourism resource values. On the basis of the evaluation’s results and spatial pattern analysis, this paper analyzed the influencing factors of tourism resource patterns and puts forward a tourism development model suitable for Hainan tourism development. The results showed that the overall value of tourism resources on Hainan Island was low, and the spatial pattern was obviously different, showing that the northern piedmont plain area was higher than the southern hilly area, and the east coast area was higher than the west coast area. Based on the analysis of quantity density, type abundance, grade advantage, and spatial combination, the tourism resource values of Hainan Island was divided into four combination areas: the first area was diversity and good combination, the second area was large quantity and good combination, the third area was diversity and high-quality resources, and the fourth area was large quantity. In addition, from the analysis of the spatial agglomeration effect, the phenomena of high and low agglomerations of tourism resource values were obvious. Finally, this paper puts forward a tourism development model for Hainan Island by grading, classification, and zoning. The results of this study can determine the time sequence and mode of regional tourism resources development and provide spatial implications and suggestions for regional tourism planning and management.

Citation: ZHANG T, WANG Y, ZHANG S, Wang Y (2022) An estimation and development model of tourism resource values at the township scale on Hainan Island, China. PLoS ONE 17(1): e0262837. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837

Editor: Jun Yang, Northeastern University (Shenyang China), CHINA

Received: July 6, 2021; Accepted: January 5, 2022; Published: January 24, 2022

Copyright: © 2022 ZHANG et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: The data underlying the results presented in the study are available from Hainan Provincial Government Data Open Platform ( http://data.hainan.gov.cn/ ). The data used in this paper were third party data. We confirmed that others would be able to access these data in the same manner as the authors.

Funding: This research was funded by the Youth Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 42001243), the Humanities and Social Science Project of the Ministry of Education of China (20YJC630212) and the Youth Program of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2020QD008). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

1. Introduction

The 2019 World Island Tourism Development Report revealed that the global tourism industry continues to grow and that island tourism is an important aspect of it [ 1 ]. For more than 40% of tourism destinations that are islands, it contributes more than 20% to their GDP [ 2 ]. Island tourism has become one of consumers’ favorite forms of tourism, which has promoted the development of world tourism [ 3 ]. Island tourism originated in Europe, America, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Southeast Asia. Many islands attract tourists from all over the world because of the sunny weather, waves, beaches, reefs, blue sky, white sails, and seafood, and islands have become a popular tourist destination [ 4 ]. Island tourism development in China originated in the late 1970s, mainly concentrating on Hainan Island, Shanghai, Hengsha Island, Putuo Island, Zhejiang, and in other coastal cities [ 5 ]. In 2010, the Chinese government began to promote the construction and development of the Hainan International Tourism Island and built Hainan into a world-class island leisure resort. As the only tropical island in China, Hainan Island occupies an important position in the international tourism market with its unique resource advantages and the policy support by the Chinese government. To a great extent, the development of tourism in a region depends on the abundance of resources and the scale and direction of development [ 6 ]. Therefore, tourism resources are not only the basic material condition of tourism development but also support regional tourism’s spatial competition [ 7 , 8 ].

Scientific evaluation of tourism resources is an important basis and means for the rational development and utilization of tourism resources. It is the premise of tourism development and is of great significance to the healthy and sustainable development of tourism. Some early researchers evaluated the value of tourism resources such as landscape quality [ 9 – 12 ], currency value [ 13 – 17 ], and the suitability of resource and product transformation [ 18 ]. The evaluation of the potential for tourism resources development includes the attraction, accessibility, tourism facilities, and environmental quality of tourism resources [ 19 – 21 ]. Moreover, according to the value evaluation theory of tourism environmental resources, some scholars have introduced the travel cost method (TCM) and conditional value method (CVM) to evaluate environmental resources [ 22 – 24 ].

The above research was aimed at individual or individual tourism resources, but those with a high value of tourism resources may not be able to form at scale. Only when they are concentrated in a certain region (i.e., have a certain abundance and density) and have a coordinated layout and combination of various types of resources can they form a certain scale of development. Therefore, a region’s tourism resources exist in the form of tourism resource groups, and the rational development and utilization of tourism resources are influenced by their quantity, type, abundance, hierarchy, spatial combination, and external environment [ 25 ]. Scholars have also conducted relevant studies on the evaluation of regional tourism resources clusters such as comprehensively evaluating the value of a region’s tourism resources from the aspects of total tourism resources, monomer density, type abundance, reserve abundance, average quality, and excellent monomer quantity [ 26 – 32 ]. Some scholars believe that stakeholder cooperation plays a leading role in tourism development and planning [ 33 ]. Tourism development is an important method for local governments to develop the local economy, but it is necessary to attract tourists according to the corresponding basic conditions. For those regions with competitive conditions in the process of regional tourism development, the largest problem lies in how to transform their relative resource advantages into competitive advantages, and the introduction of the concept of industrial clusters will help to promote this process [ 34 ]. There are many evaluation methods for tourism resources including the evaluation of resources, themselves, and the overall evaluation of regional divisions. The former is the value of determining the location that is suitable for tourism or entertainment development, while the latter regards choosing the key development locations from several departments [ 35 ].

From previous studies, it can be found that scholars have begun to pay increasing attention to the regional evaluation of tourism resources. At present, most of the studies are carried out at the county level, which mainly analyzes and evaluates the value of tourism resources from three aspects: quantity, type, and grade, while there are few studies on the comprehensive evaluation of the value of tourism resources at the township level in a region. Towns (streets) are the basic units of Chinese administrative divisions. Exploring the distribution law of tourism resources at this scale has important reference values for creating regional tourism development plans, and it can better reflect the challenges in the process of regional tourism development. The value of tourism resources in villages and towns should be paid more attention. If this value is underestimated or overestimated, it will create misleading policies for the protection and development of regional tourism resources. Therefore, for the sustainable development of regional tourism, it is of great significance to evaluate and develop tourism resources in villages and towns. In this study, by constructing a Hainan Island tourism resources spatial database, taking the township scale as the evaluation unit, the value index system of township tourism resources was constructed from four aspects: quantity, type, quality, and spatial combination. The weight of each index value was calculated by subjective and objective combination weighting methods, and the noumenon value of tourism resources in 184 townships was evaluated. On the basis of the evaluation’s results, using hierarchical clustering analysis and spatial autocorrelation analysis, this paper analyzed the spatial pattern and influencing factors of tourism resource values and puts forward a tourism development model of Hainan Island, providing a reference for regional tourism development and management.

2. Research region

Hainan Province is located in the southernmost part of China, which has a total land area of 35,400 km 2 (mainly comprising Hainan Island, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands, and Nansha Islands). Hainan Island is the second largest island in China after Taiwan Island, with an area of 33,900 km 2 . Guangdong Province borders the Qiongzhou Strait in the north; Vietnam is across the sea to the west; the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia are to the east; the South China Sea lies to the south. Hainan Island is oval in plane; the highest point is Wuzhi Mountain in the middle, and it descends to the periphery step by step. It consists of mountains, hills, terraces, and plains that surround the mountains in the middle part of China. The outermost circle of the zonal structure on Hainan Island is the coastal plain belt around the island, which consists of a coastal plain, sandbar plain, lagoon plain, and delta plain. The climate belongs to a tropical maritime climate, which is warm and hot all year round, with abundant rainfall, obvious dry and wet seasons, frequent typhoon activities, and diverse climate resources; it is known as the treasure house of tropical resources in China. The island has undulating terrain and crisscrossing rivers, forming abundant forest layers and geomorphic units. Hainan Island, with its unique geographical location, climatic characteristics, and good ecological environment, is a high-quality tourism space suitable for all seasons, which is very attractive to the market, and it is one of the key tourist areas in China. In this study, 184 towns and districts administrative units on Hainan Island were selected as the research objects: Haikou city, Sanya city, Danzhou city, Wuzhishan city, Wenchang city, Qionghai city, Wanning City, and Dongfang city; Ding’an County, Tunchang County, Chengmai County, Lingao County, and Baisha Li Nationality ( Fig 1 ).

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837.g001

3. Data and methods

3.1. data sources and preparation.

Tourism resource data for Hainan Island were obtained from five sources: tropical forest tourism planning texts of Hainan Province, the database of the second census of geographical names, high-resolution remote sensing images, the official tourism website of Hainan, and a field survey conducted in 2018. The field survey covered the entire island and collected 10,260 spatial points of data, including data on developed, developing, and undeveloped tourism resources. The survey provided the location, type, nature, and characteristics of tourism resources, the surrounding environment, and attribute information on the protection and development conditions. Among the investigated attributes, only the type and value attributes of tourism resources were used in this study. According to China’s national standard, “Classification, Investigation and Evaluation of Tourism Resources” (GBT 18972–2017) and on the basis of Hainan’s natural environmental characteristics, tourism resources were divided into nine categories: geological landscapes; water landscapes; biological landscapes; astronomical phenomena and meteorological landscapes; buildings and facilities; ruins and remains; human activities; tourism commodities; ocean and coastal landscapes. These categories can be further divided into 25 subtypes and 135 fundamental types. We asked local experts, tourism experts, geography experts, and government personnel to score the tourism resource value. The evaluation results were divided into five grades ( Table 1 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837.t001

3.2. Tourism resources value indicator system development

The abovementioned tourism resource grades are only for the evaluation of individual tourism resources, and it is also necessary to evaluate the value of tourism resource groups within a certain space a second time. Within a certain spatial scope, tourism resource groups are characterized by a large number of individual units, various types, different grades, and various spatial combinations. Based at the township scale, this paper constructed the quantity density, type diversity, grade superiority, and spatial combination to express the quantitative, type, grade, and combination characteristics of tourism resources, and it comprehensively reflects the self-value of tourism resources groups with a certain spatial scale. The meanings and calculation formulas of specific indicators are as follows.

3.2.1. Quantity density.

Quantity density refers to the quantity of tourism resources per unit area of a certain spatial unit. When there are more tourism resources in a certain scale space, the scale of tourism resources will be larger and the value of tourism resources will be greater.

In the formula, S r is the quantitative density, m is the total number of regional tourism resources, and A is the area.

3.2.2. Type diversity.

Type diversity refers to the type diversity of tourism resources in a space unit. Therefore, the richer the types of tourism resources, the more diverse the tourism landscapes, providing more sightseeing opportunities for tourists, a higher value for the tourism resources.

For the proportion of the fundamental types of tourism resources in villages and towns, in the formula, R r is the type abundance, n is the number of fundamental types in the region, and N is the total number of fundamental types in the province.

3.2.3. Grade superiority.

Grade advantage refers to the position of excellent tourism resources in the same spatial unit and the same type of tourism resources group, indicating the dominant position of this type of tourism resources in the tourism resources group. In a certain spatial unit, the better the tourism resources, the better the advantages and the higher the value of township tourism resources.

For the proportion of tourism resources at all levels in the region, in the formula, D r is the quality proportion, i is the level of tourism resources, w i is the weight of level i , (level 5 is 1.0, level 4 is 0.7, level 3 is 0.5, level 2 is 0.2, and level 1 is 0.1), m i is the number of tourism resources of level i , and m is the total number of regional tourism resources. The weight of each level was determined through expert scoring.

3.2.4. Spatial combination.

Spatial combination is a highly dependent and indivisible combination of tourism resources formed by several individual resource components with similar geographical positions and different resource levels according to certain landscape structures and functions; this shows the combination rule in type, quality level, and regional space. The better the degree of integration, the higher the grade allocation, the more individual types, the more coordinated the proportion of tourism resources in the region, the closer the links among tourism resources, and the greater the attraction to tourists. The index of combined regional tourism resources reflects the coordination degree of a combination of tourism resources under a certain distance threshold. The more diversified the combination types, the higher the value of regional tourism resources. This study mainly referred to the network in graph theory to express the combination relationship among different types of tourism resources. Under a certain distance threshold, tourism resources of different categories are expressed as a binary group G = (V, E), where V is the set of tourism resources points, and E represents the set of the connecting edges of different categories of tourism resources, where each edge is formed by connecting two points in V.

Here, C r is the combination degree of resources; E d is the number of connecting edges for threshold distance d ; d is the distance threshold, the median of the nearest distances of tourism resources in a certain area; V is the number of edges in the network. The larger the C value, the more coordinated the tourism resources are in the regional distribution.

3.3. Evaluation method for tourism resource values

3.3.1. standardization of the evaluation index..

3.3.2. Determination of the evaluation index weight.

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method is a comprehensive evaluation method combining qualitative and quantitative analyses; it has high reliability and accuracy but is easily affected by subjective factors [ 38 ]. The entropy weight method objectively determines the weight according to the distribution information of data, but it is greatly influenced by data. Therefore, this study integrates subjective and objective weighting methods to calculate the weight, avoid the deviation of the single weighting method, and to improve the objectivity, accuracy, and rigor of the comprehensive measurement of the evaluation index system [ 37 ].

1. Analytic hierarchy process (AHP)

The core idea of the AHP method is to decompose complex evaluation problems, form a multi-level and multi-factor structure, and compare and judge the importance between two indicators. By constructing a judgment matrix, calculating the maximum eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenvectors of the matrix, and calculating the index weight subset of the single layer through the single layer consistency test, the weights of different indexes are finally obtained [ 39 ].

2. Entropy weight method

3. Combination weighting method

The weights are combined using the sum of weights obtained by the AHP and entropy weight methods, and the calculation formula is as follows.

In the formula, W j is the combination weight of j index, w 1 j is the weight calculated by the AHP, and w 2 j is the weight calculated by the entropy weight method.

3.3.3. Calculation of comprehensive evaluation index.

After obtaining the index value and combination weight, the value of tourism resources is calculated by linear weighting method [ 40 ].

3.4. Hierarchical clustering analysis

In order to measure the differences among tourism resources values in different dimensions, hierarchical clustering algorithms based on cosine distance were introduced to divide the value combination of tourism resources in each township. Cluster analysis is an analysis process in which multiple objects without obvious classification characteristics are divided into multiple clusters according to certain similarities [ 41 ]. At present, there are many clustering algorithms and techniques such as K-means clustering, DBSCAN clustering, compressed hierarchical clustering, and EM clustering. The essence of hierarchical clustering analysis is to establish a classification method that clusters the most similar objects together according to the proximity between cases and variables. Its advantage is that the clustering algorithm is simple, fast, and widely used, and the distance measure is not strictly selected [ 42 ]. A hierarchical clustering algorithm is an iterative solution method that includes the following steps.

Step 1. Select the number of clusters to start data clustering;
Step 2. Each data point in the original data is regarded as a class, and then the ranging standard between the two classes is selected;
Step 3. Combine the minimum cosine distance of the two clusters into one cluster and iterate continuously until all data points are combined into one cluster.

The expression for calculating cosine distance is as follows.

3.5. Spatial autocorrelation analysis

The local Moran index is positive (negative), indicating that similar (different) attribute value elements are adjacent in space, and the greater the absolute value, the higher the degree of closeness. The agglomeration types are divided into four types: H–H, H–L, L–L, and L–H agglomeration.

4. Evaluation and spatial pattern analysis of tourism resources at the township scale in Hainan Island

4.1. the value grade distribution of tourism resources.

According to the evaluation index system and comprehensive evaluation method, taking 184 villages and towns in Hainan Island as tourism development units, the tourism resources value of each village and town in Hainan Island was calculated. Using the natural breakpoint method, the value of the tourism resources was divided into four grades: the highest value was 0.45–0.85, the higher value was 0.3–0.45, the lower value was 0.2–0.3, and the lowest value was 0.1–0.2. The differentiation pattern of the tourism resources values of villages and towns in Hainan Island was obtained ( Fig 2 ). Fig 2 shows the sporadic distribution of the highest value, involving 11 townships, mainly distributed in four townships in the north of the city, one township on the west coast, three townships on the east coast, and Sanya in the south. The higher value was scattered and the number was relatively small, including 32 townships that are concentrated in the Qionghai area in the north. The lower values were scattered and large in number, involving 80 townships, mainly distributed in the central mountainous areas and southwest coastal areas. The lowest value involved 61 villages and towns, mainly concentrated in the central mountainous areas and southwest coastal areas and also concentrated in Tunchang in the north.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837.g002

4.2. The value combination distribution of tourism resources

The spatial difference patterns of the four dimensions were compared: quantity density, type diversity, grade superiority, and spatial combination ( Fig 3 ). Fig 3 shows that the spatial differentiation patterns of the four dimensions showed an obvious differentiation patterns of high value areas and low value areas. There were obvious regional differences and concentrated distributions between high and low value areas of quantitative density. The high-value areas were distributed in the north of the Haikou provincial capital city and the southeast coastal area of Sanya, while the low-value areas were distributed in the east and southwest coastal area of Ledong City. There were also obvious regional differences in the distribution of high-value areas and low-value areas that were relatively concentrated. The high-value areas were distributed in Dongfang City on the west coast, while the low-value areas were distributed in Haikou and Anding in the north, Sanya in the south, Baisha, and Qiongzhong mountain in the middle, which were just opposite to the distribution trend of quantity density, indicating that although there are many tourism resources in these areas, the types are relatively single. Grade superiority and spatial combination were scattered, but the differentiation patterns of high and low dominance values were obvious. The areas with higher dominance values were mainly distributed in the southern coastal areas, while the overall integration level was not high and the spatial differentiation pattern was not obvious. Generally speaking, from the comparison of the number of villages and towns in different dimensions, the low values of number density, richness, and combination degree were greater than the high values, while the high values of dominance degree were greater than the low values ( Fig 4 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837.g003

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837.g004

According to the results of each dimension index value, four different classification results were obtained by hierarchical clustering analysis. Class I: lower–higher–lowest–higher, which indicates that the total amount and quality of resources of this kind were small, but the types were diverse and the resource combination was good. Class II: high–low–high–high–high, which shows that the total amount of tourism resources in this area was large, the quantity of high-quality resources was relatively large, and the resource combination was also the best, but the type was relatively single. Class III: lowest–highest–highest–lowest, which shows that the total amount of this kind of tourism resources was small, the combination was poor, but there were many kinds and the quality of the resources was high. Class IV: highest–lowest–lowest–lowest, which shows that the total amount of this kind of tourism resources was relatively high, but there were few high-quality resources, single types, and poor combinations ( Fig 5 ). It can be seen from Fig 5 that the first type of resources were diverse and well combined, mainly distributed in the central mountainous area, involving 34 towns and villages, accounting for 18% of the total number of towns and villages on Hainan Island. The second category of resources was large in quantity and well combined, scattered in the Wuzhishan area, involving 14 townships, accounting for 8%. The third category of diversified high-quality resources was scattered in the southern region, involving 77 towns and villages, accounting for 42%. The fourth region with higher total resources was mainly distributed in Haikou city in the north and the Sanya tourist area in the south, involving 59 townships, accounting for 32%. Altogether, the spatial patterns of township tourism resources on Hainan Island could be divided into four combined areas: The first category was diversified and well combined, with the characteristics of small quantity but concentrated distribution. The second type was of large quantity and well combined, which was characterized by small quantity and scattered distribution. The third category was diversified high-quality resources, which have the characteristics of large quantity but a scattered distribution. The fourth was a large number and concentrated distribution.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837.g005

4.3. The value agglomeration distribution of tourism resources

According to the analysis using GeoDa software, the Moran’s I index value of the tourism resources value of 184 villages and towns in Hainan Island was 0.237, and the normal statistic z-value of Moran’s I index value was greater than the critical value of the 0.05 confidence level 1.96. The Moran’s I index was at a significant level of 0.1%, and the tourism resources value of 184 villages and towns had significant global spatial autocorrelation characteristics. The spatial distribution of tourism resources value on Hainan Island presents the spatial agglomeration of similar values, rather than a completely random state, that is, the spatial characteristics of high-value agglomeration and low-value agglomeration of a tourism resources value index.

The results of Moran’s I show that the value of tourism resources on Hainan Island shows significant spatial correlation as a whole, but it fails to show where there are high-value agglomeration or low-value agglomeration. In order to further study the local spatial aggregation characteristics of tourism resources value on Hainan Island, the Moran scatter plot was selected to draw an LISA aggregation graph to describe the local spatial heterogeneity characteristics of the tourism resources value ( Fig 6 ). As can be seen from Fig 6 , the spatial aggregation types of the value index of each township unit were divided into four categories that corresponded to the four quadrants in the figure: The first quadrant is the “H–H” aggregation area, and the ontology value of the township unit itself and its surrounding areas was high, and the spatial difference between them was small and positively correlated. The second quadrant is the “H–L” gathering area, where the unit value of the villages and towns was higher than the surrounding areas, and there was a large spatial difference among them, showing a negative correlation. The third quadrant was the “L–L” gathering area, and the value of the township unit itself and its surrounding areas was low, and the spatial difference among them was small and positively correlated. The fourth quadrant is the “L–H” gathering area. The value of the township units was low, but the value of the surrounding areas was high. There was a large spatial difference and negative correlation between them. There were only 3–4 townships in the second and fourth quadrants, and there were two differentiation modes in the first and third quadrants: high concentration (HH) and low concentration (LL).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837.g006

The high–high agglomeration regions were mainly distributed in northern Haikou and Qionghai, including eight towns such as Dongshan town, Zuntan town, Hongqi town, Penglai town, and Huiwen Town. These places have a good foundation for tourism and superior locations, which will become international tourism centers and play an important role in the construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Although Sanya is an important city for tourism development, its tourism resources value was at a high level, while the neighboring Ledong tourism resources value index was relatively low, so the resource value in the southern region did not seem to be gathered at a high level.

The low–low agglomeration regions were mainly distributed in the central and southern mountainous areas, such as Qiongzhong, Wuzhishan, and Ledong, including 35 townships such as Guoli town, Baoyou town, Wanchong town, Maoyang town, and Yingen town. These places belong to the urban–rural fringe, and tourism is relatively underdeveloped, but the potential for development of the tourism resources is large.

The agglomeration phenomena of high–low agglomeration regions and low–high agglomeration regions were not significant, and they were two types of agglomeration between high–high agglomeration areas and low–low agglomeration areas. Long Fu Township and Zuntan town, which had high tourism resources values, were not in the same quadrant, because the adjacent areas to Zuntan town, such as Dongshan town and Hongqi town, were also high-value areas, that is, high-value areas surrounded by high-value areas, reflecting the spatial dependence of tourism resource values in geographical spatial distributions. However, Nanfeng town and Yaxing town, which are adjacent to Long Fu Township, had lower values, that is, the high and low gathering areas were surrounded by areas with lower noumenon values, which reflects the heterogeneity of tourism resources values in geographical spatial distributions.

The results of high concentration and low concentration were divided into four concentrated areas of tourism resources: north concentrated area (Haikou area), south concentrated area (Ledong–Baisha area), west concentrated area (Danzhou–Lingao area), and the central concentrated area (Qiongzhong area). The comprehensive score of the tourism resources values of each gathering area is presented in a box diagram ( Fig 7 ). It can be seen from the figure that, according to the overall data distribution trend, the score value in the northern region was the highest, followed by the western and southern regions, and the distribution interval of the central region was the lowest. The value of the tourism resources on Hainan Island shows a differentiation pattern from the northern, western, southern, and central plains to hilly areas.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262837.g007

4.4. Factors influencing the spatial pattern of tourism resources values

4.4.1. natural environment..

Terrain, climate, hydrology, and other natural factors have an important impact on the distribution of Hainan Island’s tourism resources. As far as natural tourism resources are concerned, complex topography and diverse hydrometeorological conditions have created various landscapes for tourism. In addition, natural factors have a great influence on the distribution of humanistic tourism resources. Natural factors determine regional accessibility and communication efficiency with the outside world, which leads to different cultures, architectural styles, and facilities. The spatial patterns of tourism resources with different qualities on Haikou and Lingshui are a good example. Haikou has a remarkable cluster of high–high building facilities, while Lingshui has a cluster of low–low forest landscapes. One reason for the difference may be that Lingshui is close to the east coast, and there is complex mountainous and hilly terrain in Lingshui that creates various vegetation landscapes, which leads to the high-level cluster of Lingshui forest landscapes and creates local traditional culture and folk customs. Therefore, the spatial differences in the quality of island tourism resources may be caused by natural factors such as topography, climate, and hydrological conditions.

4.4.2. Cultural diversity.

Regional cultural diversity is another factor that affects the spatial difference in tourism resource quality on Hainan Island. Due to the geographical location and historical factors, the cultures and customs of residents living in the same area may be similar. If there are obvious cultural differences between a county and other surrounding areas, its cultural tourism resources may be more diversified due to the fact of cultural interaction, resulting in obvious differences in the types and quality of resources, while the high–high concentration distribution in geographical distribution is not significant. For example, the residents’ culture and customs in the Yazhou District of Sanya have formed unique cultural characteristics compared with other areas in Sanya. There are a large number of arcades distributed on Haikou, which form an arcade culture geographically, with a single cultural form and a high–high concentration of resources geographically.

4.4.3. Regional policy.

Regional policy is another important factor affecting the development of urban and rural tourism resources on islands. The mountainous area in the central part of Hainan Island is the main area in the urban–rural fringe, and it is also an underdeveloped area of regional tourism. The government chooses tourism resources in different regions as the first choice for development. Therefore, although the quantity and diversity of tourism resources in some urban–rural areas are similar, the spatial pattern of tourism resource quality is inconsistent. High–low and low–high concentrations of tourism resources were obvious in urban–rural areas, which means that the tourism development policies of neighboring administrative regions are different. For example, Diaoluo mountain spans Qiongzhong County and Lingshui County, and the Lingshui County government has focused its local tourism on mountain tourism resources. In contrast, the development of tourism at Diaoluo mountain in Qiongzhong County is insufficient, which leads to the unbalanced development of tourism resources of the same quality in different regions, and the resources in Qiongzhong County are now of low–low agglomeration.

4.4.4. Level of public service facilities in rural.

Last but not least, public facilities in rural areas have an important impact on the development of tourism. Transportation and accommodation facilities in mountainous areas are the foundation and supporting factors of tourism development. Improving the public infrastructure in rural areas, such as mountains and hills, can attract more tourists and earn more income. At the same time, data show that in 2018, Hainan Province received 67,4501 million tourists and realized a total tourism revenue of 81.199 billion yuan, while Hainan rural tourism realized a total of 10,2464 million tourists and a total rural tourism revenue of 3.216 billion yuan [ 43 , 44 ]. It can be seen that tourism and rural tourism in Hainan Province are developing well, which also lays a good industrial foundation and development platform for tourism development in Hainan Province.

5. Analysis of the Hainan Island tourism development model

5.1. graded development mode.

There are differences in the quality of tourism resources in different regions, resulting in the spatial patterns of “high in the north, low in the south, high in the east and low in the west” tourism resource values on Hainan Island. High-level tourism resources are more likely to form tourism projects, while low-level tourism resources are more likely to form large-scale tourism projects. Low-level tourism resources can be combined with high-level resources to form a better tourism resources development zone [ 45 , 46 ]. Therefore, according to the spatial distribution patterns of the tourism resources value grades on Hainan Island, different tourism development mode have been adopted.

The east coast of the northern plain area has become a priority development area, so it is necessary to intensify tourism development. The northern area should make full use of international cultural tourism resources, with Boao town as a representative, and accelerate integration with international tourism. The east coast has become tourism’s connecting line between Haikou in the north and Sanya in the south, while the eastern cities have become important tourism nodes and tourism industry clusters. The eastern coastline will continue to make full use of high-quality beach resources, giving full play to the advantages of coastal tropical holiday tourism and promoting the development of the tourism;
The west coast is a secondary tourism development zone. Compared with the west coast, the east coast has always been an important coastal tourism development area, relying on high-quality coastal resources and seawater quality. Tourism development on the west coast is underdeveloped, and tourism development basically follows the development of the east coast, developing beach tourism, but the quality of resources is far less than that of the east coast. Therefore, west coast tourism development should focus on its original characteristics. Compared with the eastern and central regions, the western resources are unique. Full use should be made of biological resources, tropical karst landforms, ports, and original ecological human resources, while paying attention to cultural excavation and protection and developing products of natural heritage, cultural heritage, and historical and cultural villages and towns;
The mountainous and hilly areas in the south-central are the last tourist areas to be developed. The Hainan government should work to protect resources, highlight the “tropical” characteristics, give full play to its resource advantages, and develop tropical forest tourism and holiday products such as exploration, rock climbing, and scientific research. It is also necessary to strengthen the construction of tourist traffic between mountain scenic spots and expanding viewing spaces. The southern mountainous areas are also a gathering place for ethnic minorities, so it is necessary to give full play to ethnic cultural characteristics and turn Tongshi town into a supporting city for tourism with ethnic characteristics.

5.2. Classified development mode

Based on the differences in the quantity, category, quality, and combination of tourism resources in the combined areas of Class I, Class II, Class III, and Class IV as well as the different economic development levels and tourism industry base of each township, Hainan Island was developed using a different combination of methods.

Class I combination areas should give full play to their advantages in the type diversity and resource combination, create product combination types from multiple dimensions, design and develop products that are combined with the tropical forest alone, national culture alone, or combined with nature and humanities;
Class II combination areas should give full play to their advantages in quantity and combination, develop horizontally in product combination, develop as many products of different combination types as possible to attract tourists, improve the length of time tourists stays, and transform tourism resources into tourism products to meet the diversified needs of tourists;
Class III combined zones have advantages in diversity and high-quality resources, and should focus on building high-quality resources, digging deep into the cultural connotations of the tourism resources, develop products vertically, build high-quality tourist attractions in depth, and become the key tourism areas in the region, thus promoting the high-quality development of the tourism industry;
Class IV combined areas should give full play to the advantages of abundant resources and carry out scale development and sustainable development of tourism resources in these areas.

5.3. Zoned development mode

Through the auto-correlation analysis of tourism resources value, it was concluded that the high–high tourism agglomeration areas and the low–low tourism agglomeration areas were in the north (Haikou area), and the low–low agglomeration areas included the south (Ledong–Baisha area), the west (Danzhou–Lingao area), and the middle (Qiongzhong area). Because of the differences in resource values, spatial relationships, and environmental characteristics, different types of tourism gathering areas adopt different development models.

The northern part (Haikou area) is rich in tourism resources, such as the coastline, craters, geology, Nanyang culture, historical sites, and villages, that produce the tourism value agglomeration effect in space. Therefore, we should keep the northern region fully open, dig deep into the cultural characteristics, and hold large-scale festivals, exhibitions, and sports events with wide influence in order to expand the influence of the northern region and enhance the overall international influence of Hainan Island;
Low–low agglomeration areas should rely on their own characteristics, fully tap the value of tourism resources, highlight characteristics, and pay attention to driving, regional linkage, and comprehensive development. Gathering areas in the south (Ledong–Baisha area) should make full use of mountain ecological resources, and develop tourism product clusters of “ecological leisure”, “ecological movement”, “ecological village”, “ecological sightseeing’, “ecological vacation”, and “ecological health preservation”. In the west (Danzhou–Lingao area), the treasure house of harbor and fishing village resources should be excavated, focusing on tropical rain forest sightseeing, exploration, rural vacations, and ethnic customs of harbor and fishing villages, with an emphasis on the dominant brand of “harbor and fishing village”, forming a series of products including landscape sightseeing, cultural experience, business meetings, and leisure vacation, and build a blue product combination brand. The central region (Qiongzhong region) should explore the cultural characteristics of the Li nationality, promote the innovation and upgrading of tourism products in the Qiongzhong region, build a tourism product system with its own characteristics, and build a characteristic product system of “theme scenic spots, characteristic towns, beautiful countryside, shared farms, characteristic homestays, ethnic trails, ethnic campsites, and the March 3 Limiao Cultural Festival”.

6. Conclusions and discussion

6.1. conclusions.

This study obtained a large sample of tourism resources data that covered natural and humanistic tourism resources from the perspective of tourism resource types. From a perspective of the state of development, it included not only the undeveloped but also the developed and developing states. On the basis of obtaining a large amount of individual spatial data and attribute information of tourism resources, this paper constructed an evaluation index system of regional tourism resources from four aspects: the quantity characteristics, quality characteristics, type characteristics, and spatial combination relationship, and then evaluated the tourism resources of each township, using a combination weighting method, and analyzed the spatial patterns of tourism resource values using the hierarchical clustering method and spatial autocorrelation method. On this basis, the spatial development mode of tourism resources were put forward. This research can determine the time sequence and mode of regional tourism resources development and provide spatial implications and suggestions for regional tourism planning and management. The main conclusions are as follows.

From the perspective of tourism resources combinations, this paper puts forward the ideas and methods of tourism resources evaluation. Taking the township scale as the spatial analysis unit, it constructed the regional tourism resources evaluation index system from four aspects: quantity, type, grade, and combination, and constructed the calculation method for the tourism resources value quality score using a combination weighting method;
According to the evaluation results, the overall value of Hainan Island’s tourism resources is low on the scale of villages and towns. The piedmont plain area in the north is higher than the hilly area in the south, and the eastern coastal area is higher than the western coastal area. From the four dimensions of quantity density, type diversity, grade superiority, and spatial combination, the distribution difference of tourism resources quality combination was obtained. The value of tourism resources on Hainan Island can be divided into four combined regions. The first type of combination area was diversified and well combined, which was characterized by small quantity but concentrated distribution. The second type of combination area was characterized by a large number and good combination, which was characterized by a small number and scattered distribution. The third type of combination area was diversity and high-quality resources, which was characterized by large number but scattered. The fourth type of combination area had a large number and concentration. From the analysis of spatial agglomeration effect, it was obvious that the value of tourism resources on Hainan Island is high and low. The results of high concentrations and low concentrations can be divided into four tourist resources gathering areas: north (Haikou area), south (Ledong–Baisha area), west (Danzhou–Lingao area), and the middle (Qiongzhong area);
On the basis of the evaluation’s results of the tourism resources quality and through the analysis of the spatial patterns of tourism resources quality, this paper puts forward three tourism development modes suitable for Hainan Island, including the grading, classification, and zoning development modes of tourism product design.

6.2. Discussion

6.2.1. innovation..

In 2017, Haikou city in the north and Sanya city in the south received a total of 33,188 million tourists, accounting for 59.36% of the total annual tourism reception in Hainan Province. The total tourism income of the two cities was 67,216 billion yuan, accounting for 76.33% of the total tourism income for the province. Good locations, diversified tourism resources, and policy support were important factors for the strong momentum of tourism’s economic development in Sanya and Haikou. Wanning city, Qionghai city, and Lingshui County, as the eastern coastal areas, accounted for 12.14% of the province’s total tourism revenue in 2017, with obvious advantages in tourism economic development, and they gradually merged with Sanya and Haikou to form a marine tourism line along the eastern part of Hainan. In 2017, the total tourism economy of other regions was relatively small, and most of these counties and cities are concentrated in the central and western regions of Hainan Province. The gap in tourism development levels between the east and west coasts of Hainan Province is widening, which leads to the Matthew effect in regional tourism development. The Matthew effect leads to a development gap between active and lagging areas of tourism development in the region, which, in turn, means local governments are treated differently in terms of policy and resource enjoyment, and cross-regional enterprises cannot have an equal dialogue. In addition, community residents are dissatisfied that vested interests do not support tourism development. It can be seen that the influence of the Matthew effect on tourism development is extremely detrimental to overall regional tourism development [ 47 ]. It disturbs the normal tourism development order, destroys the economic harmony among different administrative regions, and leads to many regional public problems [ 48 ]. This study compared and analyzed the value of tourism resources on Hainan Island with the township administrative units as the research scale. The results were consistent with the differences in tourism development and distribution in Hainan Province, which indicates that the richness, hierarchical allocation, and regional combination of regional background resources are the basic factors restricting the development of regional tourism.

It has always been a challenge for decision makers when developing tourism policies to conduct scientific research at different levels and step by step in a region [ 49 ]. Scholars take a number of tourist areas which are then compared with each other as the evaluation object. First of all, they compare and evaluate the same type of tourism destinations in different regions and then evaluate the comprehensive potential of all different types of tourism destinations in each tourism region [ 50 ]. Stephen determined six time series of regional tourism development based on the model of county-level tourism resource [ 51 ]. Ge Jingfeng’s model for evaluating the quality potential of tourism land belongs to this type [ 52 ]. Wu established an evaluation model of tourism resources by using an index method [ 53 ]. Deng Yadong and others evaluated the opportunity and quality level of karst cave resources for tourism development in Yanjin Geopark [ 54 ]. In the above research, we mainly evaluated the development timing of tourist destinations including at the provincial scale and tourist areas and scenic spots. Our research takes villages and towns as the spatial unit of future tourism development, which is more microscopic than the county scale, which can not only reveal the spatial differences in tourism resource values within the region but also reflect the essence of regional tourism development at the rural–urban fringe. Therefore, the scale of villages and towns can better guide the region to follow a future tourism development strategy in an orderly way, realize the optimal layout of tourism resources in time and space, and improve land-use efficiency.

This study is different from traditional past studies, and the large sample size of tourism resource data obtained was one of the innovations of this paper, which is characterized by a large number of resources and full coverage of types. The second innovation was to quantitatively evaluate the quality of regional tourism resources from four aspects: quantity, quality, type, and combination, and to study the contribution mechanism of quantity, quality, type, spatial relationship, and distribution law of regional tourism resources to the quality of regional tourism resources. This study can not only scientifically and accurately determine the hot spots of resources but also dig deep into the spatial combination relationship among resources and determine the combination configuration and spatial patterns of tourism resources, which will play a guiding role in the key development and combination development of future tourism products.

6.2.2. Implication.

In this study, from the perspective of a “quality evaluation-spatial pattern-influence mechanism-development model”, the contribution mechanism of quantity, quality, type, spatial relationship, and distribution law of regional tourism resources to the value of regional tourism resources was analyzed using methods and technical means, such as model building and GIS spatial analysis, and the analysis framework and method system for evaluating the characteristics and relationship of regional tourism resources were put forward, enriching the research methods of tourism resources science and tourism planning. The results can determine the time sequence and layout of regional tourism resources development, and provide spatial decision support for the development and management of regional tourism resources.

6.2.3. Limitations and future research.

This study certainly has several limitations. Our research focused on the group value of several tourism resources in a region, that is, the value of regional tourism resources without considering the development conditions and ecological environment of the region such as attractiveness, accessibility, environmental quality, and tourism facilities. Saad Jubran H. Alkahtani conducted a systematic evaluation of the accessibility of the study area [ 55 ]. Qian Cheng evaluated the development potential of its low-carbon tourism resources by taking Xixi Wetland Park as an example [ 56 ]. In the future, in addition to the value of tourism resources, we can also consider a comprehensive evaluation of the development conditions and ecological environmental factors that affect the development of tourism.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge grants from the Project of the Hainan Tourism Resources Survey and Planning Information Database funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television, and Sports of Hainan Province, China.

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Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Cooperative community, Sacred Valley.

Community-based tourism: how your trip can make a positive impact on local people

Community-based tourism can reap great rewards. Done well, it enables local organisations to protect precious habitats, preserve unique culture and empower grassroots employees.

In the mid-1990s, the remote community of Klemtu in Canada’s British Columbia had to make a choice. Hit hard by the collapse of the fishing and forestry industries, unemployment was rocketing, and options were running out. But they knew there were two things in the Great Bear Rainforest that you couldn’t get anywhere else: their own Indigenous culture and the rare, ghostly-white Kermode bear, also known as the Spirit Bear. And that’s how Spirit Bear Lodge was born: a showcase of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation, and an entry point for exploring the extraordinary wilderness of the largest temperate rainforest on Earth, with the added benefit of spotting those elusive bears, along with wolves, whales and brown bears. Today, the lodge is a blueprint for conservation-based, community-based tourism, with a string of successes under its belt: the surrounding rainforest is now protected from logging, bear hunting has been banned and the community has a steady income. It has also, they say, fuelled a cultural renaissance. “The lodge has created opportunities for young and old to thrive in their homelands, while educating people from around the world with our rich culture,” explains Roxanne Robinson, guest services manager at the lodge. Guests learn about Kitasoo/Xai’xais culture from the lodge staff and their guides on wildlife expeditions, kayaking tours and cultural visits, while younger community members drop by as part of the Súa Educational Foundation programme. “Súa means ‘thunder’ in our language, and they come to share stories, songs and dances with guests in our traditional big house,” says Robinson. Guests not only have an incredible experience, but they can also sleep easy knowing that their tourist dollars are doing good. Doing good, if reports are anything to go by, is something we all want to do more of. According to an American Express poll last year, 72% of travellers want to help boost tourism revenue in local economies. And the latest sustainability report by Booking.com showed that 73% of travellers would like to have authentic experiences that are representative of the local culture; 84% believe that preservation of cultural heritage is crucial; and 76% want to be sure that their economic impact is spread equally throughout society. So, being a responsible traveller is no longer just about protecting the environment or reducing our carbon footprints. It’s about how our tourist dollars can do good in the places we visit. It’s about communities. It’s taking the ‘buy local’ mantra — supporting your neighbourhood bookshop instead of buying on Amazon, say, or eating in a local restaurant instead of McDonald’s — and using it on your travels. When travelling, though, buying locally can be more nuanced. It could mean eating out in a local restaurant — but who owns the restaurant? Are the staff local but the profits going abroad? Does the restaurant support local producers and farmers, or are the ingredients imported? Is the attached gift shop a showcase of Indigenous craftsmanship, or are the souvenirs all made in China?

It is, in other words, complicated. “Is it tourism that takes place in a community?” asks Dr Albert Kimbu, head of tourism and transport at the University of Surrey. “Or is it tourism that’s actively engaging and benefitting communities?” That’s the key. That’s the question we, as travellers, need to be asking. “My take on community-based tourism, or CBT,” explains Dr Kimbu, “is that it has to be by the community, for the community.” In other words, if a hotel or lodge takes guests to visit a local school, or to see a cultural dance in a local village, which might be taking place in the community — is the community genuinely benefitting? They might be getting paid, but it could also be straight-up cultural exploitation. Jamie Sweeting, CEO of Planeterra, the non-profit partner of G Adventures, which specialises in community tourism, agrees: “It needs to be owned, led and run by the communities themselves.” Why? “Because,” explains Dr Kimbu, “When communities become aware that what they have is a product that can be sold, then they have a stake in protecting it.” Take the Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge in Rwanda. The saleable product here is the mountain gorilla that inhabits Volcanoes National Park next door. Visitors will pay a high price to see them in the wild. Working with Sacola, a local non-profit, the idea of a lodge that’s 100%-owned and -run by the community was born, with all profits going back into social and economic projects, as well as conservation within the park. It’s worked a treat. Since opening in 2006, US$4m (£3m) has gone into community and conservation projects, while the gorilla population in the park now includes 10 different gorilla groups. So, the community recognised the financial benefits of their neighbouring gorillas and now benefit by protecting their environment. But CBT at its best goes way beyond employing locally. It means the community gets to decide how to protect the culture and environment on which it depends. So, the community benefits, the environment and local culture is safeguarded, and the resulting economic benefits stay within the community. Win-win-win. There are ripple effects, too. Spier, a wine estate in South Africa’s Stellenbosch region, has a Growing for Good programme, which includes mentoring and assisting local entrepreneurs to create businesses that can then be used by Spier. This has worked with a local laundry service, for example, as well as a taxi service used by its guests. And Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland, Canada is all about the ripple effects, having been created entirely for the benefit of the local community. This 29-room luxury inn was built by local philanthropist Zita Cobb through her Shorefast Foundation, and 100% of operating surpluses are reinvested in the community — a community that was in dire straits just a decade ago, thanks to the collapse of the global cod market.

Power in partnership

Sabyinyo, Spier and Fogo are examples of when it works. When it doesn’t work, community involvement is nothing short of exploitation. As Amanda Ho, the co-founder of Regenerative Travel, puts it: “In many cases, what we’ve seen is communities around the world angry that their health, wellbeing, and priorities are not being recognised or respected by tourism.” Jamie Sweeting tells me about a particular lodge in Botswana — he won’t name names — which was ‘talking the talk’ about working with the Indigenous San. “The website was shouting about empowering the local community,” he says. But when Planeterra did some digging, it found that while the San were used to put on cultural shows at the lodge, they were earning below the living wage and staying in poor accommodation with barely enough food. Planeterra worked with the local San people to promote and upskill the community-owned Dqae Qare San Lodge nearby, helping them gain direct access to the same markets the other lodge was benefitting from.

“Community-based tourism can be especially beneficial in empowering women, who are often responsible for the homestay or dining components of a trip” Francisca Kellett

That lack of access to market — and the lack of the knowledge, skills and infrastructure needed to run a successful travel business — is key. As Justin Francis of Responsible Travel puts it: “Being able to access the distribution chains of the tourism industry — to get guests through the doors — is difficult without the partnership of an established tour operator.” When CBT first appeared around 20-25 years ago, he says, NGOs and donors would pitch up at communities, build beautiful ecolodges, but allow the communities very little say — and then fail to provide the training, infrastructure and business know-how to lead to any kind of success.

Having a voice, Francis says, is key where elected community representatives participate in the decision making: “The driving force behind successful CBT projects is local people setting the terms. It’s about them making informed decisions around how tourism develops.” In the case of the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Cooperative in Peru’s Sacred Valley, it was three women that had that voice. “When they first came to us, only a handful could do traditional Inca weaving,” Sweeting says. Led by those women, Planeterra assisted with training, infrastructure and marketing, and the co-op has boomed, now owned and run by more than 65 individuals, with an attached homestay attracting overnight visitors. CBT can be especially beneficial in empowering women, who are often responsible for the homestay or dining components of a trip. Dreamcatchers, a tour operator in South Africa, recognised this over 30 years ago, and helped launch a range of CBT enterprises including ‘Kammama’, a selection of nationwide, women-run homestays and experiences, from cooking courses in Soweto to an overnight stay with a family in the Cape Winelands. In the case of Ccaccaccollo, the ripple effect has been a huge uptick in education in the community: all the women involved are now fully literate in Spanish, the first generation to achieve this locally, and most have children in tertiary education — another first. “And there has been an uplift in the pride in their culture. They’re embracing it. They can see that people from dozens of countries travel to visit them because they have something special to offer,” says Sweeting. That special offering is what’s in it for us. “For travellers, CBT offers a genuinely authentic experience and insight into local life,” says Zina Bencheikh, at Intrepid Travel. “Travellers are welcomed into a community and have the chance to immerse themselves.” Intrepid now aims to bring a degree of CBT into many of its sustainable, small-group adventure tours. “Our clients often talk about our CBT experiences as one of the unexpected highlights of their trip,” says Bencheikh. So how do we spot the good guys? How do we know whether a lodge or restaurant or experience that claims to benefit a community genuinely is? “Ask questions,” says Dr Kimbu. “Have a discussion with those organising your trip.” Bencheikh agrees. “Do your research. Before you visit, ask questions about how the project is run and where the money goes from your visit.” Travelling with a trusted tour operator is also sensible, as is looking out for any certification programmes such as B Corp. Covid-19, of course, has had a dreadful impact on CBT. Planeterra recently launched the Global Community Tourism Network, providing online training, promotion and marketing, to help organisations prepare for when tourists come back. “Many communities don’t have internet or phone access,” explains Sweeting. “So, we also have 16 strategic partnerships, mostly local non-profits with their own network. Our reach is now more than 800 community tourism enterprises in 75 countries.” On the flipside, Covid-19 has also changed how we want to travel. “There’s been a definite shift, with more travellers wanting to find purpose in their trips,” says Sweeting. “We need to take advantage of that. When you’re able to experience something owned and run by a community, it’s much more rewarding, and a more equitable experience for the host and the guest.” As Dr Kimbu puts it, “CBT has a sense of fairness and justice.” It’s that sense of fairness and justice that’s been behind the success of Spirit Bear Lodge for more than 20 years and one that the community hopes will last for generations. “I do hope that my children and future children continue with Spirit Bear Lodge,” Robinson tells me. “Seeing the growth in this company has been amazing. It’s a great way to learn and grow and thrive in our homelands.” You can’t say fairer than that.

Published in the May 2022 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)

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COVID-19: Measures to Support Travel and Tourism

Sustainable tourism needs to be built with the help of locals

Catedrático de Universidad, área de Organización de Empresas, Dirección Estratégica, Turismo (empresas y destinos) - Jubilado, Universidad de Huelva

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In the wake of the pandemic, tourism is experiencing a period of transition in which two trends which were already prevalent pre Covid-19 have gained momentum:

Sustainability, together with climate change, the circular economy and the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

Digitalization, together with the new technological revolution.

If we focus on sustainability – whilst still emphasizing that technological ecosystems are essential for the development of tourism – we have to be aware that making sustainable that which has not been designed as such (a destination, a resort, a mode of transport, etc.) is not easy, fast or affordable. This is especially true since, rather than conforming to standards, labels or certifications, we must change our relationship with the environment in order to be sustainable, rather than just appearing to be so.

Sustainability must be economical, environmental and social

When a term is used so frequently, its meaning tends to become diluted. In fact, in this case, the term sustainable tourism is increasingly being replaced by regenerative tourism.

Not all aspects of sustainability are addressed with equal emphasis. Economic sustainability is taken for granted and environmental sustainability is taken into immediate consideration, while social sustainability is put on the back burner (see, among many others, the case of Ibiza and the cost of housing ).

If there is to be true social sustainability, which in turn drives economic and environmental sustainability, the governance of tourism has to evolve.

Before the pandemic, and in the post-pandemic period, news related to the sustainability of tourism appeared in the media.

Negative attitudes towards tourism are once again prevalent, although in reality these are not directed against tourism itself but against certain models of tourism development, the product of a certain governance where it is important to take a look at who makes decisions and how.

More than a one-off phenomenon, the problem of mass tourism is being tackled with various types of measures, such as the following:

The use of fiscal measures(e.g. ecotaxes ).

Limiting the capacity of certain spaces (or even temporarily closing them).

The use of the variable prices to regulate demand.

The use of technological tools that assist in redirecting tourist flows, in an attempt to disperse the masses to other attractions that are not overcrowded (assuming that those affected wish to do so).

The sanctioning of certain behaviour.

Limiting accommodation options.

The case of the island of Sardinia and its beaches is perhaps less well known than others, but very telling in this context.

Appreciating tourism

The positive attitude of the population towards the impact of tourism development in their area may change significantly if the negative impact is perceived as outweighing the positive effects of it .

This happens when the tolerance level of the local community is exceeded and tourism no longer contributes positively to their quality of life. The problem arises when those who live there permanently begin to feel that friction with tourists disturbs and damages their lives to excess.

When no one asks them, listens to them, takes them into account and decisions are made that severely affect their lives, it is not surprising that citizens turn against tourism when, in reality, the problem is not tourism, but the management of it.

It is only by involving these communities in decision-making that we will find the missing link in tourism governance.

Today, we usually speak of co-governance rather than governance. In other words, public-private partnership: a two-way governance which, although necessary, is not sufficient because they alone are not the only stakeholders involved.

A partnership with citizens , in a broad sense, is essential to ensure their welfare and to avoid or reverse the trend of disconnection with tourism activities.

The point is that tourism is required as an economic activity that affects the entire community, and the latter is something that seems to be missing or unwilling to be addressed. Tourism should not be created by political and business representatives without the local people, but with them. That’s the big difference.

There is an added complexity, particularly in terms of legitimacy, in identifying the representatives of stakeholders in the territory and establishing effective participation mechanisms – not only with a voice, but also with a vote in certain decisions. However, this is the best way to support the tourism industry and to overcome mistrust and detachment.

We must move towards inclusive and integrative governance, with a three-pronged approach : public, private and community, whose study and application are virtually unknown fields.

The question is not so much of what to do, but how to do it: a new model of shared leadership must include a redistribution of power within the system, which will require an extra effort to break down barriers and overcome resistance.

Co-governance and well-being

To avoid negative attitudes towards tourism, and promote harmonious relationships between locals and visitors as a path to sustainability, tourism must be able to forge a broad alliance with society.

It is not about managing a destination, but a community with permanent residents and tourists, the latter being understood as temporary residents. The well-being of both must be at the core of the governance architecture.

Although there is usually short-sightedness in political decisions – marked by electoral horizons – and in business decision-making – especially if they are geared towards speculation and immediate returns – the lack of support from the local population will end up generating a boomerang effect.

Do we know the type of tourism development desired (or tolerated) by host communities? Are the voices of the local population heard and taken into account in the decision making processes, with a view to their well-being? Local communities have a much more decisive role to play in consolidating democracies. A tourism-oriented society must be geared towards tourism and committed to its development and co-creation.

This article was originally published in Spanish

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Support Local Communities with Community Based Tourism

Importance of supporting local communities and the environment

Supporting local communities and the environment is increasingly important as the tourism industry grows. By choosing to participate in community based tourism , travelers can contribute to the development and prosperity of local communities while also having authentic and meaningful travel experiences.

In this article, we will explore the benefits of community based tourism and how it can support local communities and the environment. We will also provide examples of successful community based tourism initiatives , such as the Ccaccollo community project in Peru , which has used tourism as a tool to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources while also providing economic opportunities for women in the community .

II- The benefits of community based tourism

Generating income for local businesses and families

Generating income for local businesses and families: community based tourism initiatives often provide a source of income for local businesses and families. For example, the Ccaccaccollo Women's Weaving Co-op in Peru has been able to contribute to their families' income and provide employment for 60 women in the community through their partnership with Planeterra . This type of tourism helps to stimulate economic growth in local communities and can provide an alternative to traditional industries that may not be as sustainable or environmentally friendly.

Preserving cultural traditions and heritage

Preserving cultural traditions and heritage: community based tourism can also help to preserve cultural traditions and heritage. In the case of the Ccaccaccollo Women's Weaving Co-op, tourism has provided a way to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources, and to express, share, develop, and pursue traditional weaving techniques. By supporting these types of initiatives, travelers can help to keep traditional cultures alive and thriving.

Supporting sustainable development and conservation efforts

Supporting sustainable development and conservation efforts: community based tourism can also support sustainable development and conservation efforts in local communities. By partnering with organizations like Planeterra , communities can use tourism as a tool to preserve their natural and cultural resources. This type of tourism can also provide an alternative to industries that may not be as sustainable or environmentally friendly, helping to reduce the impact on local ecosystems.

Providing authentic travel experiences

Providing authentic travel experiences: Finally, community based tourism offers travelers the opportunity to have authentic and immersive travel experiences. By engaging with local communities and learning about their traditions and culture, travelers can have a deeper understanding and appreciation of the destination they are visiting. This type of tourism allows for a more authentic and meaningful travel experience that cannot be found through traditional tourism options.

III- Example of a successful community based tourism project: Ccaccaccollo community in Peru

Background on the community and its challenges

The Ccaccaccollo community is located in the Andean area of Cuzco, Peru and is inhabited primarily by 140 Quechua speaking families. Despite being located near popular tourist destinations such as Cuzco and Machu Picchu, very few surrounding communities have benefited from tourism. The Ccaccaccollo community maintains a traditional way of life, with many people working in agriculture. However, like many communities around the world, women in the Ccaccaccollo community have often been excluded from educational and economic opportunities.

Description of the Ccaccaccollo Women's Weaving Co-op and Community Homestay

To address this issue, Planeterra , a non-profit organization, developed a partnership with the Ccaccaccollo community in 2005 to create a women's weaving cooperative. The goal of the cooperative was to provide economic opportunities for the women of the community through the production and sale of traditional woven items made from llama and alpaca wool. Planeterra provided capacity building programs, built facilities, and purchased equipment for the co-op, as well as supporting the women with new methods of production to make their items more desirable to travelers.

Since its inception, the Ccaccaccollo Women's Weaving Co-op has grown significantly. It is now owned by 46 women, up from just 3 when the project first began. The cooperative has been able to contribute to the income of their families, and those involved in the cooperative are the first generation to be completely literate in Spanish. The success of the cooperative has also led to the development of a Community Homestay in the community.

Impact of the project on the community and its members

The Ccaccaccollo community tourism project has had a significant impact on the community and its members. The women who have been involved in the project since the beginning report that all of their children now study in university. In addition, the project has helped to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources, as well as allowing the community to express, share, develop, and pursue their traditions through tourism. The project has also provided a way for the community to use tourism as a tool for sustainable development and conservation efforts. Overall, the Ccaccaccollo community tourism project is a great example of the benefits of community based tourism and how it can support local communities and the environment.

Watch the video from Planeterra :

IV- How to support community based tourism

Tips for travelers on how to participate in responsible tourism.

As travelers, there are many ways to support and participate in responsible tourism and community based tourism. Here are some tips on how to get involved:

Research and book with companies that prioritize community based tourism: Look for travel companies and organizations that prioritize the involvement and benefit of local communities in their tourism offerings. This can include supporting local businesses, preserving cultural traditions, and promoting sustainable development.
Choose accommodations and activities that are locally owned and operated: When booking accommodations and activities, consider supporting locally owned and operated businesses. This can help to ensure that the economic benefits of tourism are directly benefiting the local community.
Respect local customs and traditions: When traveling to a new destination, it's important to respect the customs and traditions of the local community. This can include dressing modestly, avoiding loud noise or behavior, and asking permission before taking photos of people.
Be a responsible traveler : Be mindful of your impact on the environment and the local community. This can include reducing your use of single-use plastics, respecting wildlife and natural habitats, and supporting local conservation efforts.

Ways to research and book community based tourism experiences

Ways to research and book community based tourism experiences: One way to support community based tourism is to book your trip through a responsible travel agency , such as Travel Differently . At Travel Differently , we prioritize authentic and immersive experiences that benefit local communities and the environment. We work with local partners and support initiatives that empower communitie s and preserve cultural traditions . By booking with us, you can have the peace of mind that your trip is supporting sustainable tourism practices .

The role of travel companies and organizations in promoting community based tourism

Travel companies and organizations also have a role to play in promoting and supporting community based tourism. This can include partnering with local communities to offer authentic travel experiences , investing in sustainable tourism initiative s, and promoting responsible tourism practices . By supporting community based tourism, travelers and travel companies can help to create positive and lasting impacts on local communities and the environment.

V- Embrace the Power of Community-Based Tourism: Make a Positive Impact on Your Next Trip

In conclusion, community based tourism is a sustainable and responsible way to travel that benefits both the traveler and the local community. By supporting local businesses and cultural traditions, travelers can contribute to the long-term economic and social development of the communities they visit.

At Travel Differently , we believe in the power of tourism to create positive change and are committed to partnering with communities around the world to create authentic and meaningful travel experiences. We encourage all travelers to consider the impact of their trip and to choose community based tourism as a way to support local communities and preserve cultural traditions.

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IB Geography Intro
Command Terms
Concepts in IB Geography
1. Population and economic development patterns
2. Changing population & places
3. Challenges & opportunities
1. Causes of climate change
2. Consequences of climate change
3. Responding to climate change
1. Global trends in consumption
2. The Impacts of changing trends in resource consumption
3. Resource stewardship
Infographic Analysis
1. Ocean–atmosphere interactions
2. Oceans & Coastal Places
3. Managing coastal margins
4. Ocean management futures
1. Geophysical systems
2. Geophysical Hazard Risks
3. Hazard Risk and Vulnerability
4. Future Resilience and Adaptation
1. Changing leisure patterns
2. Tourism and sport at the local and national scale
3. Tourism & sport at the international scale
4. Managing tourism and sport for the future
1. Measuring Food & Health
2. Food Systems & Spread of Disease
3. Stakeholders in Food & Health
4. Future Health & Food Secuirty
1. The variety of urban environments
2. Changing urban systems
3. Urban stresses
4. Sustainable Cities
1. Global interactions and global power
2. Global networks and flows
3. Human and physical influences on global interactions
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2. Changing identities and cultures
3. Local responses to global interactions
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Leisure, tourism, sport homepage

2. tourism and sport at the local and national scale, syllabus link: how physical and human factors shape places into sites of leisure, factors explaining the growth of tourism hotspots, introduction.

Sphere of Influence of Sport & Tourism

Leisure: Large Scale Festivals

Geography of a Sports League

Factors affecting the geography of a national sports league, including the location of its hierarchy of teams and the distribution of supporters, the epl: case study of one national sports league .

Japan National Tourism Organization continues focusing on sending inbound travelers to local regions in FY2024

Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) continues focusing on sending inbound travelers to local regions in FY2024 under the government’s Tourism Nation Promotion Basic Plan. As a marketing strategy, JNTO is developing a joint advertising campaign for all source markets in partnership with travel companies and airlines.

Large-scale campaigns will be developed in 10 Asian source markets in partnership with OTAs, particularly targeting light repeaters who have visited Japan two to five times before. Also, JNTO will invite influencers from South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong to let them deliver hot topics in Japan on their SNS accounts.

For Europe and U.S., JNTO continues introducing sustainable tourism stories through media and also encouraging travelers to use domestic flights to local regions.

To increase travelers to local regions, JNTO is enhancing partnerships with 10 wide-region DMOs for joint advertising campaigns and digital marketing and also with other-related ministries for delivering information on tourism contents in each of covering spaces.

For international MICE, JNTO recognizes partnerships with local governments and local university as keys.

Inbound travelers exceeded 3 million in March 2024 for the first time on a single month basis. However, guests nights or the recovery rates are still a gap between three major urban areas and local regions.

Let us hear your VOICE Please feel free to leave any comments or opinions.

Ana unveils the taas platform concept for seamless travel, expanding travel opportunities without air, latest news, what are reasons for foreigners to apply for japanese ‘digital nomad’ visa started on april 1 2024, airbnb contributes $1 million to a japan-u.s. regional tourism exchange program, sending japanese tourism professionals to u.s., jr tokai, a train operator of japan, will introduce luxury private rooms in tokaido shinkansen bullet train for executive passengers.

JAL and ANA have received around 10% more international flight bookings for this coming Golden Week holiday period

Japanese outbound travelers still recovered slowly to 1.2 million in March 2024

International visitors to Japan exceeded 3 million in March 2024, the record-breaking single month result in the history

Guest nights in home-sharing in Japan for the first two months of 2024 were 30% more than a year ago

Interest in overseas travel of Japanese people is much lower than the world’s average

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Destroyed by cyclones, impacted by climate change and neglected by foreign owners – these abandoned island resorts are now an eyesore

A pool lined with green sludge, rotting roofs and termite infested buildings – this derelict island resort has become a sad tourist attraction for all the wrong reasons, and it's not an isolated case.

At least half a dozen resorts along the Queensland coast have fallen to a similar fate.

In the heart of tropical Far North Queensland, the picturesque Double Island was once a thriving hub for holiday-makers including former Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston.

The island resort, 30 minutes north of Cairns, even built a gym for actor Keanu Reeves, so frequent were his stays.

But the resort has long been in a state of disrepair, with rotting roofs punctured by falling coconuts and green sludge lining the bottom of the once sparkling pool.

Brad Madgwick offers guided kayaking tours to the island, and recently incorporated the island's decay into his regular marine-life spotting adventures.

"We've always walked the shorelines looking for wildlife, but in the last few years, we have been given permission to go through the resort," Mr Madgwick said.

Buildings with damaged roofs on Double Island.

"The coconuts have taken a toll and the termites are having a good feed, it's sad really because it used to be a very glamorous resort back in the day."

The derelict state of the resort — safari-style tents covered in mould are dotted throughout — is shaping up to be one of the biggest legal battles ever held over an island in Australia.

The Queensland Government's Department of Resources will attempt to strip Hong Kong based billionaire Benny Wu of the island's lease in the Land Court in Cairns within weeks.

The pool at Double Island resort is lined with green sludge.

Mr Wu's Fortune Island Holding's is accused of non-compliance for failing to bring the facilities up to scratch and open the island to the public.

The day can't come soon enough for some local Palm Cove business owners, although opinions vary about what should happen with the island, if the state government is successful in its proceedings.

"When it was taken over in 2012, it was a thriving business," said local businessman Tony Richards, who would like to see a resort rebuilt.

"Nothing has been done to it since then. It's a complete bulldoze job."

The ABC has contacted Mr Wu for comment.

Brad Madgwick stands on the beach near kayaks

Paradise lost

Across the Great Barrier Reef, cyclones and neglect have left half a dozen island resorts shuttered and abandoned, with ruined infrastructure and damaged environments.

Brampton Island Resort, off Mackay, was a jewel in Queensland's tourism crown until it was bought by United Petroleum in 2010 for $5.9 million, its ocean side pool now filled with sand.

A wheelchair on the beach in front of a rundown building.

Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays, once famed for being the first Club Med in Australia, has sat in ruins since it was pummelled by Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

The Singaporean company, Well Start, has since bought the island and pledged to restore it.

Resorts on South Molle and Hook Island have also been closed for years.

The 1980s party paradise, Great Keppel (Woppa) Island off the central Queensland coast, has been laying in ruin for 15 years, with the Queensland government recently announcing a $30 million master plan including provisions for an eco-resort , new sewage system and conservation areas.

An old and abandoned building with smashed glass windows on a beach.

Meanwhile, the beleaguered Dunk Island resort off the coast of Far North Queensland, was also destroyed by Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

There are plans to open "glamping" style accommodation on the island within months, following billionaire Annie Cannon-Brook's purchase in 2022.

An old building with blue mesh fencing around it and trees

Professor Daniel Gschwind, from Griffith University's Institute for Tourism, said abandoned and closed resorts not only had an impact on the Great Barrier Reef's reputation, but Australia's broader tourism brand.

"Globally, the Great Barrier Reef is recognised as an outstanding asset, it's World Heritage listed, which in itself draws a lot of attention," Professor Gshwind said.

"The way Australia manages that asset and presents the asset to visitors is absolutely, critically important for our global reputation."

He said island resorts helped to bring in billions of tourism dollars each year and there needed to be an "expectation that lease holders fulfil their obligations".

However, he said the high cost of maintaining as well as accessing the resorts by plane or barge was impacting on owners to turn a profit, as well as skyrocketing insurance premiums.

"So there are great obstacles to overcome, but the benefit and the value of those islands as a tourism destination really can't be overstated."

Parliamentary inquiry into Queensland islands

Queensland's Transport and Resources Committee held a parliamentary inquiry examining the economic and regulatory frameworks for Queensland's island resorts, tabling a report just over a year ago.

Eighteen recommendations were made to the state government, including cancelling the leases of developers who let the resorts fall to rack and ruin.

Several of the submissions raised concerns about foreign ownership, as well as the impact of climate change, including intense cyclones, on resort infrastructure.

Professor Tim Harcourt, chief economist at the Institute for Public Policy and Governance at the University of Technology Sydney said buying up tropical islands could be seen by some international companies as an attractive proposition.

"They've got to get their money out and they're going to put it somewhere, and buying land is the easiest thing to do," Professor Harcourt said.

He also noted the longevity and success stories of the Hamilton and Hayman Island resorts in the Whitsundays.

The Andrew Forrest-owned Lizard Island, off Cooktown in Far North Queensland has been rebuilt twice due to successive cyclones, and is enjoying strong occupancy numbers.

Orpheus Island and Pelorus Island north of Townsville have also undergone extensive renovations.

Kayaks on the water with a sunset in the background

Back on Double Island, Mr Madgwick said he would like to see the island returned to its natural splendour.

"I would love to see the island turned into a national park, with a communal kitchen, maybe a caretaker on the island, and to open it up to camping," Mr Madgwick said.

"It's a beautiful island and it should belong to the people."

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