Sustainable tourism planning
and developing
Inappropriate or unplanned tourism development can be
disastrous in terms of habitat degradation and biodiversity
loss and can result in the misuse of natural resources
such as freshwater, forests and coral reefs. To avoid
these negative impacts, sustainable tourism planning
and development needs to consider the selection of
suitable sites and the appropriate construction of tourist
facilities on these sites. Additionally, the local population
also needs to be taken into consideration and involved
in sustainable tourism development in order to benefi t
from it.
Therefore, WWF requires tour operators to apply the
following guidelines when involved in tourism planning
and development or to oblige their subcontractors to
do so:
• Site selection: e.g. no construction with a 100 to 300
metres strip from the shore line, special care has
to be exercised when selecting a site near or in a
protected area.
• Planning and developing tourism projects: an
environmental assessment has to be carried out for
each project (make use of the STING tool (Guidelines
for Sustainable Tourism Investments) developed by
WWF, for example).
• Planning and developing tourist infrastructure: issues
that have to be considered during the planning and
construction phase include eco-friendly design of
facilities, waste management, energy conservation
and use of alternative energy sources.
• Community based tourism development: tour
operators have to respect the cultural values and
intellectual property of the host populations. Any
tourism development should be exercised in such
a way that the host populations benefi t as much as
possible.