Normativa Sanitaria, Técnica y Comercial

sustainable, reflecting a common misapprehension, already mentioned in Chapter 1, that sustainability for tourism refers to a particular type of tourism rather than to a condition for all tourism.

3.3 Integrating national and local level

strategies

In order to achieve effective results, policies must be developed and implemented at both national and local levels. Local decision making is an important aspect of sustainable development. All the more so as many countries are in the process of decentralizing their political and administrative structures.

It is increasingly recognized that the most successful route to sustainable tourism is an integrated approach to the development and management of tourism within local destinations. It is at the local level that the tourism industry most readily relates to, and is in turn affected by, environmental and community issues. Box 3.3 gives some useful background information on what is meant by a ‘local destination’.

It is critically important that national and local tourism strategies are complementary. Typically, tourism strategies at these two levels may vary in their focus:

• National tourism strategies relate to national tourism vision; overall position and direction for tourism; overall issues of product-market fit; broad spatial issues of tourism development; fiscal issues; setting standards for the industry; controlling legislation, regulations and other mechanisms; support programmes including financial resources; research, and the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge; a marketing and promotion strategy, especially at international level.

• Local tourism strategies relate to a holistic vision for the local destination; local objectives and priorities; local resource opportunities and constraints; the volume and nature of tourism sought; destination identity and branding; product development including location and relationship to land use plans; local networks and supply chains; infrastructure provision; specific tourist sites and attractions; visitor management; visitor information and destination marketing.

In Bulgaria steps were taken to strengthen the chances of work on ecotourism influencing mainstream tourism: e.g. integrating the ecotourism strategy into the work of regional tourism associations and into the preparation by municipalities of regional and local development plans (see Case Studies, p 135).

Costa Rica and Australia have also shown the potential influence of work on ecotourism (see Case Studies, p 130 & 139). Bulgaria has developed a National Ecotourism Strategy in parallel with 12 regional ecotourism action programmes, with each informing the other in a two-way process (see Case Studies, p 135).

Mexico has an Agenda 21 initiative that is about taking action in a range of local destinations at the same time. This is based on a framework and process established nationally and reflecting one of the principal pillars of the National Tourism Programme (see Case Studies, p 153).

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Strategies

Put simply, national strategies are more about identifying policies and instruments to create the enabling environment for sustainable tourism, while local strategies are more about determining what happens on the ground. Sustainable tourism requires that both national and local tourism strategies embrace the principles of sustainable development, and that national and local strategies be consistent and mutually reinforcing.

Local Agenda 21 processes and engaging local communities

Many local destinations in different parts of the world have developed strategies and policies for tourism within the context of Local Agenda 211_{. This is a process for} bringing together the broadest possible range of interests in the local area to integrate global environmental concerns into local plans, to decide what sort of future they want and to then work together towards it. Some destinations have pursued Local Agenda 21 processes, where tourism is seen as just one activity alongside many others. Ideally, it is good to take this holistic approach first and to then develop the sustainable tourism strategy out of this process. In some places, where tourism is dominant, a Local Agenda 21 strategy may be tantamount to a sustainable tourism strategy. It is also important to recognize that a destination may well be made up of a number of clearly identifiable individual communities. A sustainable tourism approach would call for careful consultation within each community to ascertain local concerns and perceived opportunities with respect to tourism. The amount of emphasis to place on this depends very much on the nature of the destination. In many developing countries, the involvement of indigenous communities in determining tourism development in their area is critically important.

Box 3.3: Defining a local destination According to the WTO’s working group on destination management:

‘A local tourism destination is a physical space in which a visitor spends at least one overnight. It includes tourism products such as support services and attractions, and tourism resources within one day’s return travel time. It has physical and administrative boundaries defining its management, and images and perceptions defining its market competitiveness. Local destinations incorporate various stakeholders often including a host community, and can nest and network to form larger destinations.’

Local destinations may be cities, towns, resorts or rural areas, or groupings of these. A combination of factors determines what may be a functional destination, including: • Whether the area is coterminous with municipal boundaries or other forms of

designation such as a national park.

• Whether it is unified by certain images and intrinsic features and qualities that can contribute to a clearly identifiable brand.

• Whether it is an area towards which local stakeholders feel a natural affinity and within which it is practicable for them to work together.

In South Africa, a national

Tourism White Paper clearly articulates principles of ‘responsible tourism’ that have provided a direction for tourism policies and strategies throughout the county and have been reflected in the policies, planning frameworks and functions established at a provincial level (see Case Studies, p 162). Calvia, in Spain, is a major tourism destination that used the participatory process of LA21 to bring all stakeholders together (see Case Studies, p 167).

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Notes

1 More information can be found in Tourism and Local Agenda 21, UNEP and ICLEI, 2003.

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Tourism

This chapter looks at the process of developing a strategy for