7th International Forum on Tourism Statistics Stockholm, Sweden, 9-11 June 2004

1. INDICATORS TO MEASURE SUSTAINABILITY IN TOURISM 7th International Forum on Tourism Statistics Stockholm, Sweden, 9-11 June 2004 Gabor Vereczi Programme Officer Sustainable Development of Tourism World Tourism Organization

2. World Tourism Organization • UN Specialized Agency • Headquarters in Madrid, Spain • Intergovernmental organization with 150 Member States and Territories • 350 Affiliate Members: private sector (tourism trade associations, major airlines, hotels, tour operators), local authorities, education and research institutions, NGOs

3. 3 World Tourism Organization • Program Activity Sections: • Tourism Statistics • Market Intelligence and Promotion • Human Resources Development • Sustainable Development of Tourism • Quality of Tourism Development • Press and Communication, Documentation, Publications • Regional Representation Sections: • Africa • Europe • Americas • Middle East • Asia-Pacific Affiliate Members: Business Council Education Council Destination Management Programme

4. Trends towards more sustainable tourism Rapid expansion of the tourism sector Forty-fold increase from 1950 to 2000 Tripling in two decades

5. Increased awareness on sustainability concerns • Rio Earth Summit, 1992 • Agenda 21 for the Travel and Tourism Sector, 1995 • UN CSD-7, 1999 • World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002 • International Year of Ecotourism, 2002

6. Instruments for the sustainable development of tourism • Sustainable tourism development plans • Agenda 21 (regional, local) • Legislation and regulations: land use, infrastructure development, heritage assets • Management plans for protected natural areas and archaeological sites • Carrying capacity of tourism sites • Sustainability certification • Indicators

7. Sustainability indicators for tourism • To identify and measure the entire range of impacts (environmental and socio-economic) that tourism can have in a particular area or society. • Accurate information is needed for responsible decision-making Sustainability indicators are information sets which are formally selected for a regular use to measure changes in key assets and issues of tourism destinations.

8. Benefits from good indicators • Better decision-making, lower risks and costs • Identification of emerging risks - prevention • Identification of impacts - corrective action • Performance measurement of the implementation of development plans and management actions • Reduced risk of planning mistakes - identifying limits and opportunities • Greater public accountability • Constant monitoring - continuous improvement

9. Types of indicators • early warning indicators (species disappearance) • indicators of stresses on the system (crime rates) • measures of current state of tourism (occupancy, satisfaction) • measures of tourism impacts (deforestation rates) • measures of management efforts (cleanup cost, repairs) • measures of management effect and performance (changed pollution levels, more returning tourists)

10. WTO’s Indicators Initiative • 1993-6 Initial task force on indicators • 1994-5 Case studies in destinations in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, USA, • 1996 Publication of initial Guide • 1997-2003Regional workshops held in destinations worldwide both as case applications and training sessions

11. New WTO Guide on Indicators • Extensive review of international experiences • Involvement of around 60 expertsworldwide • Focus on local destinations, also covering applications at regional and national levels • The role of indicators in tourism policy and planning; • A recommended procedure for indicators development • A categorized list of common issues and indicators • Destination-specific applications • Ample range of case studies

12. A large menu of suggested indicators Over 50 issue areas and a menu of nearly 500 indicators which respond to them: • Socio-cultural (covering issues related to community wellbeing, cultural assets, community participation, tourist wellbeing) • Economic (covering capture of benefits, sustaining the tourist product) • Environmental (covering protection of valuable natural assets, managing scarce resources, limiting the impacts of tourism activity) • Tourism planning and management (destination planning and control, designing products and services, controlling tourist activity and managing quality) • Responding to Global issues (e.g climate change, epidemics, sex tourism) Twelve baseline issues and 25 recommended indicators to respond to them

13. Procedure for indicators development • Research and Organization • Definition/delineation of the destination • Use of participatory processes • Identification of tourism assets and risks; situation analysis • Long-term vision for a destinationIndicators Development • Selection of priority issues and policy questions • Identification of Desired Indicators • Inventory of data sources • Indicators selectionImplementation of indicators • Evaluation of feasibility/implementation procedures • Data collection and analysis • Accountability and Communication • Monitoring and Evaluation of Results

14. Criteria for selecting indicators • Relevance of the indicator to the selected issue • Feasibility of obtaining and analysing the needed information • Credibilityof the information and reliability for users of the data • Clarityand understandability to users • Comparabilityover time and across jurisdictions or regions

15. Thank you www.world-tourism.org/sustainable