Sustainable Tourism Indicators as Planning Tools

As stated by Lee, T. H., & Hsieh, H. P. (2016), any form of nature based tourism is dependent directly on the relative unequal distribution of the area. Tourism industry is one of the major contributors to economy in the country of New Zealand and provides considerable amount of job opportunities to the general population.  In order to maintain the long term sustainability of the tourism industry, the industry has to develop effective plans and policies at different level of hierarchy. Pulido-Fernández,  Andrades-Caldito and Sánchez-Rivero, (2015) argued that plans and policies have to be implemented at grass root level where activities and interaction with the communities take place as the majority of the impact is felt at this level, be it negative or positive. In the present world economy tourism is one of the major sectors. The management efficiency of the tourism department affects the conditions of the destinations which includes the future prospect for preserving the environment. Therefore, developing sustainable tourism practices in crucial for preserving the tourism activities. This study has critically evaluated different literatures to examine the influence of the sustainability indicators in managing destinations and tourism.

As opined by Mihalic, (2016), widely known definition of sustainable tourism is not available and it can be considered as effective management of the available resources for fulfilling the aesthetic, social and economic needs of the destination while keeping the integrity of the culture, biodiversity and ecological processes intact and unharmed. Gössling, (2015) argued that the main purpose of developing sustainable tourism is enhancing the tourism experience and improving the quality of life.  The practices in sustainable tourism are applicable to all types of tourism destinations, be it niche segment or mas segment.  Sustainable tourism deals with development of balance in the cultural, social and environmental aspect of tourism.  Lew et al., (2016) states that establishing balance in all the different aspects of tourism is essential for gaining long term sustainability in the environment. This signifies that optimal use of the environmental resources is important for the development of tourism which also includes conservation of the biodiversity, and heritage and management of the vital ecological processes.  According to Gössling, (2015), maintaining stable and viable economic environment is also essential for the sustainability as it will provide equal benefits to all the stakeholders including stable employment and opportunities for making a living.  Sustainable tourism is a continuous process which means it requires continues monitoring of the impact of the processes. This will facilitate in taking measures that are preventive and corrective in nature. Moreover. It increases the level of satisfaction among the tourists as it enhances their experiences by making them more aware about the sustainability issues and endorsing sustainability practices in the society.

Impact of Sustainable Tourism Practices

Torres-Delgado and Saarinen, (2014) states that the severity and existence of the current issues are measured by the sustainability indicators. ` This also provides essential indication about the future issues consisting of the potential risk factors and various actions that has to be taken in order to risks. Lee and Hsieh  (2016) proposes that sustainability indicators not only indicates the potential risk but are essential for measuring the suitability of the actions taken and results.   The sustainability indicators consist of different data sets that act as reference for measuring the changes in important factors management and development of tourism. These will consist of internal factors, external factors, impact of the tourism industry and changes in tourism structure. According to Mendola and Volo, (2017), the data types does not limit the indication and effective use of both qualitative and quantitative data can be used for gaining knowledge about the sustainability issues and impacts.  A range of data sets is used to choose the indicators as large chunk of data can be analysed to identify and examine the issues in the tourism industry to which the managers will have to respond.  This assist in reducing the chances of occurrence of the unfavourable situations at various destinations.  Boley, McGehee and Hammett, (2017) states that indicators are information based on time series that can be considered to be strategic for the sustainability of the destination, industry and its corresponding assets.

According to Lozano-Oyola et al., (2012), the data sets that indicate the key risk factors and concerns for the tourism destination are the best indicators.  The best indicators are also responsible for measuring the responses and clarifying the issues.  The cultural asset issues, issues with social values, economic sustainability issues, environment issues and issues related to natural issues are responded with the help of these indicators.  Tanguay, Rajaonson and Therrien, (2013) states the indicators highlight and estimate the sustainability of the destination at tourism development. The need of developing indictors cannot be taken lightly as it measures progress and helps in achieving sustainability in the desired tourism development. The different aspects of the sustainable tourism have different themes attached to it which defines the different indicators. As the indictors exists at tourism, national and regional level, the number of indictors may vary from 9 to 768 (Gössling, 2015). However, this leads to confusion and cross country comparison is hampered. This is the reason that WTO has developed 29 baseline indictors and 12 baselines issues for measuring the sustainability of the tourism destinations. However, it is crucial to understand the fact the different baseline issues are applicable to all the countries and region but the baseline indicators are used based on specific conditions and criteria’s.

Sustainability Indicators in Managing Destinations

Tanguay, Rajaonson and Therrien, (2013) states that decision making at all levels of the tourism destination can be made by the indicators. These levels are regional levels, national levels, specific destinations, tourism companies, tourism establishments by individuals and key tourist sites.  These shows that issues may arise at different levels and all these levels are connected to each other. This means that issues at one level may have impact on the other levels.   The detection of broad changes at the national level can be executed by developing baselines for the change identification at both strategic level planning and localized levels (Lee & Hsieh, 2016). This facilities in identifying the issues in the national level. The issues in regional level can be identified by taking protection processes and regional plans at inputs which will provide information regarding the planning process at the national level.  The indicators at the destination level will consist of key asset elements, risks, tourism sector state and performance. Tourism companies make use of these indicators for developing their own strategic planning and the individual establishments also make use of the indicators in a similar manner.

 Torres-Delgado and Saarinen, (2014) opined that these indicators are highly related to each other which can be used together to develop a high level of indicator. This helps in comparative analysis with other region and creating a benchmarking scheme which will result will standardization of the minimum criteria for the success of the tourism destination spot.  This means that indicators evaluated at the establishment levels are sent to central boards for further evaluation so that it helps in developing effective policies for strategic implementation (Mikuli?, Koži?, & Kreši?, 2015). Sustainability indicators consist of data sets collected at the grass root level so the data gathered by the groups at individual level and lower levels will be the basis of indicator level for the destination management organizations.  

As stated by Mikuli?, Koži?, & Kreši?, (2015), different types of the indicators has different utility while making decisions. However, the most useful are the ones that facilitates in problem identification but there are exists other genres.  The different types of indicators are system stress indicators, current industry state indicator, early warning indicator, effect of development of tourism on the socio-economic and biophysical environment, management effect and performance measures and management effort measurement.  Lew et al., (2016) states that all the indicators are important for managing the tourism effectively and reaching sustainability and the early warning indicator is mostly used by the tourism managers as it has the capability of anticipating the negative impacts on a particular destination. In ideal conditions indicators are a means of taking actions before the occurrence of serious threats. However, it should be noted that different indicators can be used diverse at different conditions as it serves a different purpose based on the situation.  These indicators are expressed differently based on the data type. In quantitative measurement, the indicators can be depicted as raw data, percentages and ratios and in qualitative measurement, the indicators are category indices, nominal indicators, normative indicators and opinion-based indicators.

Decision Making with Sustainability Indicators

As stated by Michalkó, Irimiás, andTimothy, (2015), destination is physical space where a visitor at least spends 24 hours and is provided with attractions and supporting services.  Tourism destination management is the management of all the activities and facilities provided by the organization to the tourists at optimal to balance out the social, ecological and cultural aspects. Boes,  Buhalis and Inversini,  (2015) argued that  attraction in a territory,  friendliness of the local population and availability of the natural resources are not enough to transform the territory into a tourism destination.   The efficacy and quality of relationship between the service providers and with the environment of the destination is essential for the rise of the tourism destination.  This is essential for developing destinations having dynamic agility and turbulence in the market conditions.  The success of the tourism destination depends upon the flexible and integral personal experience provided by the services to the demanding consumers. According to Michalkó, Irimiás, and Timothy, (2015), development of autonomous entities that live and operate in the destination region will provide overall development of the destination, even though they are heterogeneous in terms of their goals, operation environment, and social and cultural they all have the same aim.

As stated by Boley, McGehee and Hammett, (2017), sustainability indicators are one of the most crucial aspects and tools for effectively management tourism destinations.  The fundamental aspect of tourism management and planning are the sustainability indicators. It is also the integral element of promoting the efforts of sustainable development at all scales in the tourism industry. The major stimulus comes from the fact that majority of the destinations are at risk due to negligence in paying attention to effect of tourism on the long term sustainability of the destination venue.  As stated by Torres-Delgado and Saarinen, (2014), there are several destinations that do not make use of effective information in management and planning.  The destination is made attractive by the effective maintenance of the natural environment and social assets so indicators can be effectively used to manage the assets and have a positive effect on the destination.  As already mentioned that indicators are essential for evaluating the potential risk in the sector so preventive measures can be taken by the use of sustainability indicators. Sustainability indicators are one of the most key components of decision making for the managers in the industry.

The literatures evaluated in the study has provided understanding of the importance of sustainability, sustainability indicators and tourism management.  However, the concepts discussed are generalised and are not specific to any region and so the main literature gap is the general aspect of the research papers. Therefore, the research paper that will be proposed will be based on the Nelson region in New Zealand and will develop results that are specific to this region.

The critical analysis of different peer reviewed articles show that developing sustainable tourism is one of the major factors for success in destination management and tourism industry. Sustainability indicators are tools used by the managers in the tourism industry to identify the impact of the tourism business on the destination and the different risk factors. The sustainability indicators can be used in diverse situations to increase the attractiveness of the destination and increase the profitability of the tourism industry which shows that sustainability indicators play an important role in effective tourism and destination management.

Secondary data that will be used in the current research will be collected is deemed to commonly include censuses, information gathered by the government departments, authentic websites offering currently updated information, country-based tourism data and records that was originally gathered for some different research purposes (Espiner, Orchiston & Higham, 2017). The current section will offer elaborations on the secondary data that will be used for attaining reliable outcomes and implications from the current research. The secondary sources will be identified focusing on the importance of sustainability indicators in managing tourism in New Zealand and more particularly in the Nelson region (Ruhanen, Weiler, Moyle & McLennan, 2015).

In carrying out research on “Importance of sustainability indicators in managing tourism in New Zealand, Nelson region” certain authentic secondary sources are used for gathering suitable research outcomes. The secondary sources that is considered for using in this research considers the published reports from the departments and authorizes of New Zealand tourism administration or management websites (Ruhanen, Weiler, Moyle & McLennan, 2015). Secondary data sources selection and use in this research serves as an important step in carrying out investigation on certain constraints in consideration to the existing conditions of the tourism industry. In addition, major focus of selecting the authentic secondary sources is also focused on the major themes or research questions set for gathering desired outcomes on the tourism industry of New Zealand, Nelson under effective sustainability measures taken by the tourism companies in the locality (Molina-Azorín & Font, 2016). The secondary sources will be identified focusing on the importance of sustainability indicators in managing tourism in New Zealand and more particularly in the Nelson region. Five secondary data sources that will be used for collecting data for its analysis is indicated below:

The website source of “https://www.statista.com/statistics/745324/new-zealand-number-of-international-visitors-by-country-of-origin/” is used in the current research that indicates the annual number of the international visitor arrivals to the Nelson area of Nelson at the end of 2017. The graph gathered from this source is indicated below which indicates number of tourist visits in the Nelson area of New Zealand by country of origin (in thousands). This Statista also supports in explaining the tourism and sustainability in New Zealand and more particularly in Nelson region. The data gathered from this website also offers data regarding the fact that tourism in New Zealand is related with several aspects of a society including government policies, tour guides and operators and hospitality along with other service provider’s sustainability initiatives.

Figure 1: Annual Number of International Visitors in New Zealand

(Source: Annual number of international visitor arrivals to New Zealand in 2017, 2018)

• The website “https://www.statista.com/statistics/745455/new-zealand-number-of-international-visitors-by-country-of-origin/” is another useful secondary source that indicates the number of international visitors those are anticipated to visits New Zealand at the end of 2023 because of the increased sustainability tourism practices in the nation by country of origin as mentioned in the graph below. The sustainability initiatives in the New Zealand’s tourism industry is anticipated to b approximately 1.76 visitors as per the data provided by this website source. This secondary source is used in this research is helpful for the reason that tourism and sustainability is effectively explored to gather significant geopolitical norms in the tourism sustainability.

Figure 2: Anticipated International Visitors Increase with better Sustainability Initiatives

(Source: Annual number of international visitor arrivals to New Zealand in 2023, 2018)

• The journal source “Resilience and sustainability: a complementary relationship? Towards a practical conceptual model for the sustainability–resilience nexus in tourism” will also be used in the current research. This journal offers exceptional views on the way in which sustainable practices within the tourism sector in Nelson, New Zealand can facilitate in increasing tourist visits in the locality. This secondary source is anticipated to be helpful in gathering important information on the conceptual model of sustainability that if implemented within the nation can increase resilience in tourism industry of New Zealand (Espiner, Orchiston & Higham, 2017).
• The journal source “Trends and patterns in sustainable tourism research: A 25-year bibliometric analysis” indicates that within the tourism sector of New Zealand the sustainability practices are useful. This secondary source is used in this research is helpful for the reason that tourism and sustainability is effectively explored to gather significant geopolitical norms in the tourism sustainability (Ruhanen, Weiler, Moyle & McLennan, 2015).
• The journal source “Mixed methods in sustainable tourism research: an analysis of prevalence, designs and application in JOST (2005–2014)” is another useful secondary source used in this research. This journal is used in this research for the reason that it can offer certain useful implications for carrying out data analysis through explaining about the mixed research methodology (Molina-Azorín & Font, 2016). This journal also explains the trends as well as patterns within the sustainable tourism research. This secondary source will also offer necessary data on the number of tourists visiting the Nelson region of New Zealand after implementing effective sustainability initiatives.

Secondary resources are being used in this research for the reason that it is readily available and for this time very less time is needed for collecting al the important information related to sustainability in the tourism sector of New Zealand (Ruhanen, Weiler, Moyle & McLennan, 2015). Use of the secondary sources is deemed to be useful as it can offer baseline for the primary research that can be used in comparing the primary data results. Moreover, the secondary data that will be gathered is also deemed to be useful in developing the research design.

 In addition, credibility of these secondary resources is ensured as the data is gathered in the form of statistical tables from reliable websites. Moreover, the credibility of the gathered secondary data is ensured through locating, evaluating and verifying the data in the data analysis process of the research (Ruhanen, Weiler, Moyle & McLennan, 2015). Currently updated websites with statistical data is used in this research in maintaining its credibility along with decreasing chances of errors or discrepancies of out-dated information.

References 

Annual number of international visitor arrivals to New Zealand in 2017, c. (2018). New Zealand – number of international visitors by country of origin 2017 | Statistic. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/745324/new-zealand-number-of-international-visitors-by-country-of-origin/ 

Annual number of international visitor arrivals to New Zealand in 2023, c. (2018). New Zealand – number of international visitors by country of origin 2023 | Statistic. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/745455/new-zealand-number-of-international-visitors-by-country-of-origin/ 

Boes, K., Buhalis, D., & Inversini, A. (2015). Conceptualising smart tourism destination dimensions. In Information and communication technologies in tourism 2015 (pp. 391-403). Springer, Cham.

Boley, B. B., McGehee, N. G., & Hammett, A. T. (2017). Importance-performance analysis (IPA) of sustainable tourism initiatives: The resident perspective. Tourism Management, 58, 66-77.

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Gössling, S. (2015). New performance indicators for water management in tourism. Tourism Management, 46, 233-244.

Lee, T. H., & Hsieh, H. P. (2016). Indicators of sustainable tourism: A case study from a Taiwan’s wetland. Ecological Indicators, 67, 779-787.

Lew, A.A., Ng, P.T., Ni, C.C. and Wu, T.C., 2016. Community sustainability and resilience: Similarities, differences and indicators. Tourism Geographies, 18(1), pp.18-27.

Lozano-Oyola, M., Blancas, F. J., González, M., & Caballero, R. (2012). Sustainable tourism indicators as planning tools in cultural destinations. Ecological Indicators, 18, 659-675.

Mendola, D., & Volo, S. (2017). Building composite indicators in tourism studies: Measurements and applications in tourism destination competitiveness. Tourism Management, 59, 541-553.

Michalkó, G., Irimiás, A., & Timothy, D. J. (2015). Disappointment in tourism: Perspectives on tourism destination management. Tourism Management Perspectives, 16, 85-91.

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Molina-Azorín, J.F. & Font, X., (2016). Mixed methods in sustainable tourism research: an analysis of prevalence, designs and application in JOST (2005–2014). Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24(4), 549-573.

Pulido-Fernández, J. I., Andrades-Caldito, L., & Sánchez-Rivero, M. (2015). Is sustainable tourism an obstacle to the economic performance of the tourism industry? Evidence from an international empirical study. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(1), 47-64.

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