Title:
|
Monitoring sustainable tourism development : a comprehensive, stakeholder driven, adaptive approach
|
The thesis addresses the question of how to establish an appropriate methodology for
monitoring sustainable tourism development (STD) in Samoa, an independent small
island state in the South Pacific. The theoretical starting point and common thread
throughout this study is that sustainable development can and must form the paramount
context for STD. The author adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on innovative
research in the field of ecology and ecosystem management in order to gain
understanding of new and emerging interpretations of sustainability and their implications
for STD. Three guiding principles are identified and consequently form the conceptual
foundation for the work. That understanding and implementing STD requires: i) a
comprehensive systemic approach; ii) a stakeholder-driven focus; and iii) the adaptive
capacity to accommodate the non-linear behaviour of complex systems.
These principles are tested in the context of the development of a place-based STD
monitoring programme in Samoa. In collaboration with the Samoa Visitors Bureau (SVB)
and a multidisciplinary stakeholder committee, a set of STD objectives for Samoa were
formulated, 20 indicators were identified to monitor progress towards their achievement,
and a monitoring programme was established to utilise the results. The objectives and
corresponding indicators are broad in their coverage of tourism and sustainable
development issues, have stakeholder resonance, and are feasible considering the
technical and human capacity currently available in SVB. The monitoring programme
also has the flexibility to adapt to change as it inevitably occurs.
The work undertaken in Samoa demonstrates that as well as generating timely
information on the current state of STD, if a stakeholder approach is adopted, monitoring
can also provide the opportunity for considerable social learning, and help bridge the gap
between indicator development and indicator use, ensuring indicator results are actually
used to change the way tourism is planned, developed and managed.
|