Naslov
Measuring Sustainable Tourism Development: Variable Identification and Valuation

Autori
Budimski, Vanja

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Ocjenski radovi, doktorska disertacija

Fakultet
Ekonomski fakultet Zagreb

Mjesto
Zagreb

Datum
14.03

Godina
2014

Stranica
263

Mentor
Gartner, William C.

Ključne riječi
sustainable tourism development; model for measuring sustainability; indicators of sustainable tourism development; principles of sustainability

Sažetak
Sustainable tourism development is a concept of high importance in the contemporary society. Due to the numerous social changes which have caused the inevitable shifts in the way people live, work, spend their leisure time, learn and take part in any other human activity, the issue of how to preserve the overall environment arose, tackling minds of both scholars and business sector. Sustainability has been given significant attention since the 1980s, with sustainable tourism development being one of its derivatives. Mass tourism has had numerous consequences on the global tourism flows, occasionally causing the deterioration of resources upon which tourism development is based. On these presumptions the need for developing a model which would allow measurement of the current state of sustainability in any destination occurred. The main objective of the doctoral dissertation was to develop such model, respecting the differences between destinations and simultaneously testing whether it is possible to create such model on global level or whether it needs to be adjusted for each destination according to its specific characteristics, stage of a life cycle development models and tourism products. The primary research has proved that each destination taking part in the research needs to have unique model for measuring sustainable tourism development, either because certain indicators of sustainable tourism development are not equally important for each destination, or their influence simply does not apply to that particular destination. The main presumption of the model is that the process of choosing the appropriate indicators is crucial for ensuring its accuracy, precision, objectivity and appropriateness. Furthermore, the most appropriate model for measuring sustainability proved to be the strong one, as it ensures the balance between all sustainability principles. It has to be emphasized that each indicator chosen for developing this model has to be measurable for each destination. One of the most important contributions of this dissertation is that it allows destinations to develop their own model for measuring sustainable tourism development and based on those results their future development plans could be created. Based on these assumptions the research in this dissertation was conducted, confirming that sustainable tourism development can be measured according to the specific characteristics of each particular destination, respecting the local resources and balancing economic, sociocultural and ecological sustainability.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Ekonomija

POVEZANOST RADA