Tourism resources and sustainability

Sustainable tourism aims to maintain a balance between protecting the environment, maintaining cultural integrity, establishing social justice, promoting economic benefits, and meeting the needs of the host population in terms of improved living standards both in the short and long term throughout the globe, whilst maintaining inter and intra-generational equity (Liu., 2003) and viability of the destination for the foreseeable future (Butler, 1993). The tourism industry contributes to sustainable development through job creation, and employment of women and marginalised people, who in developing countries belong to rural indigenous communities (Gibson, 2013). Tourism in developing countries is important for delivering jobs that build local livelihoods and transform tourism destinations (Sofield et al. 2004). The growth of tourism in these countries has led to increased interest in tourism as a development tool for alleviating poverty. It has also placed a focus on the need for more sustainable tourism planning, policies and programmes that consider tourist expectations of resource management as well as the needs of local communities (UNEP and UNWTO, 2012)