Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
7
and destination’s quality.23 Monitoring tourist satisfaction, through the use of exit surveys, is
valuable for establishing the quality performance of the destination and taking corrective
measures when needed.24
Ensuring Local Community Well-being: To help promote local community well-being,
governments must increase the economic benefits for local communities while also minimizing
negative social and environmental impacts from tourism. In Tunisia, the Lake Ichkeul Park
supports the local community through the provision of basic training and credit schemes in an effort
to increase local employment in tourism and increase the local economic benefits from tourism. 25 In
Costa Rica, a Social Progress Index, which uses environmental and social indicators, is being used
to better monitor the impact of tourism growth on local community well-being.26
Sustainable Tourism Stakeholders : To create a sustainable tourism development model,
destinations need to develop comprehensive long-term plans since environmental conservation
measures typically need time, cooperation and coordination among various public and private
entities as well as with local communities.27 There is a multitude of stakeholders that need to be
engaged in sustainable tourism development, including tourism/destination management
bodies, government bodies, non-governmental organizations, regional and international
organizations, domestic non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, the tourism
industry, tourist, and the local community.28
Sustainable Tourism Stakeholders
Source: DinarStandard
The internalization of sustainability values and practices and the creation of a tourism culture
mindful of sustainability issues need the continuous and active encouragement of stakeholder
engagement as well as support for capacity building. Providing pertinent information to create
awareness and being open to stakeholder ideas gathered through the various communication
channels, from formal or informal meetings to surveys and other means, are essential for
23 OECD. (2018). OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2018. Paris: OECD Publishing.
24 COMCEC. (2018). Destination development and institutionalization strategies in the OIC member countries. COMCEC.
25 UNWTO. (2012). Destination wetlands supporting sustainable tourism. Retrieved from
26 UNWTO. (2013). Sustainable tourism for development guidebook. UNWTO.
27 OECD. (2018). OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2018. Paris: OECD Publishing.
28 UNWTO. (2013). Sustainable tourism for development guidebook. UNWTO.