Criteria for Assessing the Sustainability of Tourism Activities

1.1.6. Criteria for assessing the sustainability of tourism activities

Assessment of tourism sustainability: rapid assessment indicator for sustainability of tourist destinations

Tourism activities are vulnerable to negative impacts from the environment, economy and society. Just one environmental incident occurs, tourists will immediately choose another tourist destination. Therefore, it is necessary to have appropriate methods to evaluate the sustainable development of tourism activities. These methods are on the one hand a measure of the success of management and operation, on the other hand, an early warning system to help managers detect early the dangerous situation of the tourist area. The assessment method based on environmental indicators is an optimal solution to this problem. Its content is as follows:

First, the Directive on meeting the needs of tourists:

 Percentage of returning guests/total guests

Maybe you are interested!

 Average number of days of stay/tourist

 Percentage of health risks (illness, accidents) due to tourism/number of tourists.

Second, the set of indicators to assess the impact of tourism on natural ecosystems:

 % of waste not collected and treated

 Electricity consumption/tourist/day (calculated by season)

 Water consumption/tourist/day (seasonal)

 % of landscape area degraded by construction/total area used by tourism.

 % of architectural works not in accordance with local architecture (or landscape)/total number of works.

 Consumption level of rare animal and plant products (common, rare, absent).

 % clean transport capacity/motorised transport capacity (by tonnage)

Third, the Directive assesses the impact on the economic subsystem:

 % of investment from tourism for local social welfare compared to total investment from other sources.

 % of tourism jobs for locals compared to total local employment.

 % of local economy's GDP damaged by or benefited by tourism.

 % of local construction material cost/total construction material cost.

 % of value of local goods/total value of consumer goods for tourism. Fourth, the set of indicators to assess the impact of tourism on the social and human subsystem:

 Doxey Index

 The occurrence of diseases/epidemics associated with travel

 Social evils related to tourism

 Current status of local historical and cultural relics (compared to original form)

 Number of beggars/total local population

 Percentage of currency depreciation during peak tourist season

 The level of commercialization of traditional cultural activities (festivals, funerals, weddings, customs, practices, etc.) is determined through discussions with experts.[10]

Assessing the sustainability of tourism activities based on IUCN sustainable tourism standards

In October 2008, the IUCN World Conservation Congress published the first set of global sustainable tourism standards. This set of criteria was built on the basis of thousands of criteria that have been effectively applied in practice around the world. The content of this set of standards includes:

First, effective and sustainable management

Tourism companies need to implement a sustainable management system, appropriate to their size and capacity, to cover environmental, socio-cultural, quality, health and safety issues.

Comply with relevant local and international laws and regulations. All employees are periodically trained on their role in environmental management, socio-cultural, health and safety practices.

Customer satisfaction needs to be assessed to take appropriate corrective action. Advertise truthfully and do not make promises that are not included in the sales program.

Infrastructure design and construction: (i) Comply with local heritage conservation regulations; (ii) Respect local natural and cultural heritage in design, impact assessment, land ownership and benefits; (iii) Apply locally appropriate sustainable construction methods; (iv) Meet the needs of individuals with special needs.

Provide information to customers about the surrounding environment, local culture and cultural heritage, and explain to customers about appropriate behavior when visiting natural areas, cultures and cultural heritage sites.

Second, increase socio-economic benefits and minimize negative impacts on local communities.

The tourism company actively supports initiatives to develop social infrastructure and community development such as the construction of educational, health and drainage facilities. Local workers are employed, and training is provided where necessary, including for management positions. Local goods and services should be widely marketed by the business wherever possible.

The tour company provides the means for local small businesses to develop and market sustainable products based on their local characteristics.

about local nature, history and culture (including food, drinks, crafts, performing arts and agricultural products).

Establish a regulatory system for operations in indigenous or local communities, with the consent and cooperation of the community. The Company shall implement a policy against commercial exploitation, especially of children and adolescents, including sexual exploitation.

Treat women and minorities fairly, including in management positions, and limit child labor. Comply with international and national laws on labor protection and pay adequate wages. Company operations must not endanger the basic resources such as water, energy or drainage systems of neighboring communities.

Third, increase benefits to cultural heritage and mitigate negative impacts

Comply with guidelines and regulations on behavior when visiting cultural or historical sites, to minimize impacts from visitors.

Archaeological or historical artifacts may not be sold or displayed, unless permitted by law. Responsible for contributing to the preservation of historical, cultural, archaeological sites and properties of spiritual significance, and absolutely not hindering access by local residents.

Respect the intellectual property rights of local communities when using local art, architecture or cultural heritage in business, design, decoration and cuisine.

Fourth, increase environmental benefits and reduce negative impacts

Protecting natural resources: (i) Prioritize the trade of environmentally friendly products such as construction materials, food and consumer goods; (ii) Consider the trade of consumer products that are difficult to decompose and find ways to limit the use of these products; (iii) Calculate the consumption of energy as well as other resources, consider minimizing consumption as well as

Encourage the use of renewable energy; (iv) Control the consumption of clean water and water resources and take measures to limit the amount of water used.

Pollution reduction: (i) Control greenhouse gas emissions and replace production lines to limit the greenhouse effect, aiming for climate balance; (ii) Wastewater, including domestic wastewater, must be thoroughly treated and reused; (iii) Implement a solid waste treatment plan with the goal of limiting waste that cannot be reused or recycled; (iv) Limit the use of toxic chemicals such as pesticides, paints, and bleach, replace them with non-toxic products, and strictly manage the chemicals used; (v) Apply regulations to minimize noise, light, wastewater, corrosive substances, ozone-depleting compounds, and air and soil pollutants.

Conservation of biodiversity, ecosystems and natural landscapes: (i) Wild animals harvested from the wild for consumption, display or sale must comply with regulations to ensure sustainable use; (ii) Wild animals must not be captured, except for ecological regulation activities. All living animals must only be captured by organizations with sufficient authority and conditions to raise and care for them; (iii) Businesses that use native animals for decoration and landscape enhancement must apply measures to prevent invasive alien species; (iv) Contribute to biodiversity conservation activities, including support for nature reserves and areas of high biodiversity value; (v) Activities that interact with the environment must not have any harmful effects on the viability of biological communities, and must limit and restore any negative impacts on the ecosystem, as well as have a contribution fee for conservation activities. Coastal, marine and island conservation. Raising awareness for local coastal communities, creating opportunities for them to participate in sustainable marine tourism activities or developing community tourism, aiming to change careers, improve livelihoods and contribute to poverty reduction.

1.2. Experience of some countries in sustainable tourism development.

1.2.1. Unsustainable tourism development

Before it was developed as a tourist resort in the 1970s, only 12 families lived on the island of Cancun (Mexico). The entire area, which then comprised the state of Quintana Roo, was made up of relatively untouched rainforest and pristine beaches and was inhabited by 45,000 indigenous Mayan residents. Today, Cancun has over 2.6 million visitors annually and has over 20,000 hotel rooms and a permanent resident population of over 300,000. Environmental and social impacts were considered secondary in the development of Cancun. For example, housing was not provided for low-income, migrant workers in the area, resulting in slums developing and about 75% of the waste from these communities was not treated. Mangroves and inland forests were cleared, lagoons were leveled and hills were lost. Many species of birds, marine life and other animals were also lost. (Jame EN Sweeting. 1999). [25]

The same story happened in Pattaya (Thailand). In the 50s of the last century, Pattaya was still a fishing village, by the early 80s, it had become the largest coastal tourist center in Southeast Asia. Due to the rapid growth, the planning process could not keep up, the situation became chaotic. Tourist activities were squeezed into a narrow space. Bars, nightclubs, and massage parlors were crowded in a 300m long street. Hotels dumped garbage and wastewater directly into the sea, the beach was polluted by garbage from tourists, mixed with tourists, boats and street vendors. By the mid-80s, environmental pollution had reached an unbearable level. There was a lack of infrastructure, water, electricity, information systems and drainage systems. Security for tourists was at a terrible level. (Wong, P, P., 1991) [26]

However, the government's quick response can help to overcome some of the environmental problems caused by tourism activities, as can be seen in the case of Anhui Province and its efforts to protect the Hengshan tourist area. Hengshan is a scenic mountain area in Anhui Province, eastern China, a scenic area with beautiful natural scenery and a historical and cultural relic site. Covering an area of 154 square kilometers , the area has 72 different small mountains, 2 lakes, 3 waterfalls, 36 mineral springs, 24 natural streams, and 20 large and small swamps.

different, the natural resources here are deciduous forests, flat marshes, pine forests, rare and protected flora and fauna. Hoanh Son also has many temples, convents, towers, and stone carvings. The rapid growth of Hoanh Son tourism has led to 5 environmental degradation problems such as:

- The number of flora and fauna has decreased. The construction of roads and cable cars over the mountains and irrigation projects have destroyed or damaged the forest vegetation, including many rare species of plants. This vegetation once created habitat for animals that are rarely seen today.

- Construction and development have reduced the natural beauty, widespread construction at the famous scenic tourist destination of On Tuyen has reduced its beauty.

- The supply of water for domestic use by tourists has distorted the hydrological systems. Reservoirs and other water structures have been built to ensure the supply for tourists. Therefore, it is necessary to build dams across streams, thereby causing major changes to the river basin.

- Some attractions are overwhelmed with visitors. Tourism in the Hoanh Son mountain area has grown from 282,000 visitors in 1979 to

to 1,300,000 in 1990. At peak times there were about 10,000 visitors daily.

- Solid waste and wastewater cause serious environmental pollution. A lot of garbage is dumped in the Hoanh Son scenic area. Some of the domestic waste is buried, but daily domestic wastewater is flowing freely down the valleys and into streams and rivers, causing harm to the quality of water sources.

The above problems are manifestations of unsustainable tourism development. In order to cope with and manage the negative environmental impacts caused by unsustainable tourism development in Hengshan, the Anhui provincial government has developed a strategy to protect the tourist area including 10 points:

1. Approve the guiding principles of prevention

2. Strengthen the integrated program to integrate necessary administrative and planning actions

3. Water quality monitoring, water supply and management.

4. Disperse tourism over a wider area

5. Use pre-booked tours to regulate the number of visitors to a particular tourist area.

6. Stop tourism activities in areas with damaged ecosystems to allow these ecosystems to recover through natural development.

7. Strictly manage construction activities in tourist areas. This will prevent damage to the landscape and minimize pollution. Construction works must be designed in harmony with the landscape and local characteristics. Construction permits will not be granted for works that do not meet the above criteria.

8. Implement management measures that are beneficial to the environment and reduce pressure on the ecosystem.

Comment