Sustainable tourism

It is believed that achieving sustainable tourism requires the balancing of five major elements without a single one becoming dominant: economics, tourist satisfaction, society, culture and environment.

The need for sustainable tourism has been recognised at the international level. Although the term itself has never been fully defined, the following key elements can be envisaged:

• concern with biological limits, within which human activities need to stay;

• recognition of the interdependence of economic and environmental systems; and

• long-term perspective on policy-making, as sustainable tourism is a goal that cannot be reached immediately.