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TO U R I S M S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y I N D E X

What Is It?

BENCHMARK

The Tourism Sustainability Index (TSI) is a proposed

Establish

Establish TSI baseline values for each

indicator intended to measure the degree to which the

MAR

MAR country for the year 2006.

tourism industry (including the hotel, marine recreation

and cruise sectors) has taken steps to ensure that

Increase the number of certified tourism

Increase

their activities minimize negative environmental and

businesses to achieve a TSI value of

socio-cultural impacts. This index may be calculated

30%

30% by 2010.

for a specific tourist destination, a country or the

entire MAR region.

TA R G E T

Why Do We Measure It?

Achieve a TSI value of 80% by 2030.

Sustainable tourism attempts to reduce negative

RED FL AG

environmental impacts by minimizing pollution, waste,

energy consumption, water usage, landscaping

TSI value is < 30%.

chemicals and excessive nighttime lighting. It also

attempts to benefit local residents through hiring

practices, community involvement and respect for

local cultures and traditions.

All three sectors are weighted equally within the index.

In areas in which there are no cruise ship arrivals, this

In recent years, voluntary environmental good

element should be left out of the average.

practices programs have been developed to assist

travelers in identifying enterprises (e.g., cruise lines,

Scores range from 0 (indicating no formal presence

hotels and tour operators) that are environmentally and

of environmentally certified tourism operations) to

socially responsible in their day-to-day operations. In

100 (indicating that all major tourism operations are

this regard, businesses may have to make additional

certified).

investments to meet the new sustainable tourism

The index scores are intended for comparison to a

guidelines and standards. Sustainable practices are

baseline year (to be established) with which relative

increasingly considered by travelers to be an important

change in tourism sustainability can be assessed.

indicator of overall visitation quality.

Usefulness

By measuring the cumulative percentage of tourism

enterprises with certification credentials, the Tourism

The Tourism Sustainability Index provides a simple

Sustainability Index provides a basic measure of

measure of the degree to which local tourism

the degree to which tourism in a given area meets

enterprises are abiding by standards designed to

basic environmental and social guidelines for

protect the environment and respect local populations.

sustainability.

The higher the index score, the greater the percentage

of tourism establishments that are operating

How Do We Measure It?

according to sustainable management practices and

The TSI takes into account three major tourism

with lesser impacts compared to conventional tourism

sectors:

operations.

· Percentage of rooms that are complying with

Tracking the TSI through time also provides information

sustainable tourism guidelines or eco-standards6,

on the growth or decline of environmentally and

socially responsible tourism.

· Percentage of marine recreation providers (e.g.,

tour operators or guides) that are complying with

It should be noted that the TSI scores do not represent

sustainable tourism guidelines or eco-standards7,

the overall environmental and social impact of tourism

operations. In highly developed tourism zones, for

· Percentage of passengers arriving on cruise

example, the cumulative impact of tourism activities

lines that are complying with sustainable tourism

adhering to good environmental business practices

guidelines or eco-standards8.