1. 7th International Forum on Tourism Statistics
Stockholm, Sweden, 9-11 June 2004
INDICATORS TO MEASURE SUSTAINABILITY IN TOURISM
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. World Tourism Organization3
World Tourism Organization
Regional Representation Sections:
Africa
Europe
Americas
Middle East
Asia-Pacific
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
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
Initial task force on indicators
Case studies in destinations in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Netherlands, USA,
1996 Publication of initial Guide
Regional 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 experts worldwide
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 destination Indicators Development
Selection of priority issues and policy questions
Identification of Desired Indicators
Inventory of data sources
Indicators selection Implementation 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
Credibility of the information and reliability for users of the data
Clarity and understandability to users
Comparability over time and across jurisdictions or regions

15. Thank you