A sustainable tourism planning model: components and relationships

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to describe the concept of sustainable tourism planning, establishing the theoretical foundations, the components that make up the model, and the relationships that ensure the sustainability of a tourist destination.

Design/methodology/approach

Tourism planning is based on the principles of sustainability and is defined by three dimensions: environmental, economic and cultural tourism development.

Findings

The goal of comprehensive tourism planning is to achieve economic growth and efficiency, ensuring efficiency and social equity by solving the basic needs of the population and on the basis of stable and continuous environmental systems.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation of this paper is the need to validate the dynamic elements raised and test the robustness of the model in an application.

Practical implications

Finding the right balance between these three dimensions is necessary to ensure comprehensive long‐term sustainability, while finding ample references of theoretical and conceptual frameworks of sustainability are based on the triple bottom line, as referred to later in this paper.

Originality/value

The contribution of this paper is to propose, within the model itself, the mechanisms of connection between the three dimensions and the relationships among them, emphasizing the importance of the “stakeholders” in the process.

Citation

Padin, C. (2012), "A sustainable tourism planning model: components and relationships", European Business Review, Vol. 24 No. 6, pp. 510-518. https://doi.org/10.1108/09555341211270528