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WHAT is sustainable tourism?
EVEN though we can’t welcome visitors to our region right now, we can still make plans for the future; so it’s a good time to think about what we, as a community, can do to ensure the tourism industry is sustainable into the future.
When we talk about sustainable tourism, we usually mean tourism that is ecologically sustainable, economically viable, and ethically and socially equitable.
However, the promise of economic benefits often dictates decision-making and the reality is that for many regional and developing destinations, the outcomes rarely live up to what is promised.
We also need to focus on tourism that contributes positively to the quality of life of those who live in destination communities – and be alert to when it’s not happening.
This means we need to refocus the main goal of tourism planning to be one that supports the needs and wellbeing of destination communities, rather than its potential to attract tourists.
Once these needs are identified, we need to generate possible tourism options that might address these needs, which includes the making of informed decisions by both residents and tourism planners about the style of tourism that should be developed (if it should be developed at all) and how to attract the types of tourists that are most likely to align with the needs and values of the destination community.
So, as we start to plan what a POST-COVID-19 tourism industry might look like, it is important to think about what we want tourists and tourism to contribute to not only the regional Queensland economy, but to the community more broadly.
For example, what sorts of infrastructure and investment can tourism bring that also benefits residents?
After all, if tourism does not improve the quality of life of those who live in destinations, then what is the point of attempting to develop it as an industry?