may still greatly outweigh the impact in less developed
areas where good environmental practices are not
being used. Sustainable tourism does not preclude,
but also should not be confused with, eco-tourism.
(In contrast to conventional tourism activities, eco-
tourism focuses on flora, fauna and cultural heritage
as the primary attractions.)
The TSI as an indicator should be evaluated in
conjunction with other data. Useful complementary
information would include the Tourism Development
Index and direct measures of environmental
impact (e.g., erosion, sedimentation, water quality).
Contextual information, such as the type of tourism
being developed (e.g., eco-boutique establishments
Mito Paz
marketed exclusively to high-end tourists versus mass
tourism operations) should also be included.
to guide the development of sustainable tourism for
the cruise industry8. See Appendix 3 for information
Status
Status
and links.
Tourism Sustainability Index values are currently not
Data Needs
available.
Other types of data to complement this indicator
Information regarding certified marine recreation
would include: type of tourism development, Tourism
providers is being gathered from the ICRAN-CORAL
Development Index values, and returns on investment
project7. Information on hotels participating in
on certification efforts in terms of occupancy and
voluntary performance improvement programs is being
revenues. Database of marine recreation service
obtained from Conservation International's Center for
providers would also be useful.
Environmental Leadership in Business and from the
Rainforest Alliance6. Conservation International and
the MBRS project have produced several resources
Unit of
Maximum
Means of Calculation
Index Component
Expression
Value
The total number of hotel rooms that
are in hotels participating in voluntary
No. of Participating Rooms X 100
environmental performance improvement
%
100%
Total No. of Rooms
programs and attaining certification as a
percentage of all rooms in a given area (TCR)
The number of tour operators and guides
No. Participating Operators X 100
(marine recreation providers) that are
Total No. of Operators
participating in voluntary performance
%
100%
improvement programs as a percentage of
* see note
total operators (TCO)
No. of Passenger Arrivals
The number of cruise ship arrivals per port
from Participating Cruise Ships X 100
(CCA) that are from cruise lines participating
%
100%
in voluntary performance improvement
Total No. of Cruise Ship
programs
Passenger Arrivals
Total Sum/3 (for areas that receive
Final Index Score
cruise ships)
* If data become available on the annual volume of tours handled by each
= TCR+TCO+CCA
operator, this metric could be weighted by volume (as in the other components)
3
for greater accuracy
Total Sum/2 (for areas that do not
receive cruise ships)
Note: Cruise sector % should not be included in the index for areas in which
= TCR+TCO
there are no cruise ship arrivals.
2
D3
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