Sustainability Assessment for Tourism Destinations

In recent years tourism researchers have acknowledged the necessity to view and assess tourism destinations as complex adaptive systems (CASs), and have discussed the unpredictability of these systems. CASs approaches, which have been successfully applied by ecologists and economists in other areas, are indicated for tourism management, but have been rarely used in order to promote sustainable tourism development and planning. Appropriate methodologies and frameworks for the implementation of CASs approaches into the tourism context are still lacking. This book analyses the potential of a CASs approach based on system dynamics modelling to add value to the currently used assessment tools and monitoring practices for tourism sustainability in an effort to advance sustainable development in tourism destinations. It is argued here that new concepts and assessment tools for sustainable tourism are needed based on collective learning processes and adaptive management practices that acknowledge the complex and dynamic nature of tourism.