Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
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In New Zealand, several public bodies in collaboration with some private entities are involved
in destination sustainability. The Ministry for the Environment is responsible for environmental
protection, while the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is responsible for the protection of New
Zealand’s cultural heritage. Tourism New Zealand, a public entity, is responsible for increasing
destination competitiveness as well as being responsible for monitoring the environmental
performance of New Zealand’s tourism product and experience. The Tourism Industry
Association, a private entity representing tourismassociations, works on developing the tourism
sector in a sustainable way. The Sustainable Business Council, a private entity, supports the
business sector in adopting innovation and encourages responsible entrepreneurship. 74
Management of destination sustainability faces a number of challenges including the failure to
coordinate at the various levels of government, the constant changing of government officials,
and in some cases, their lack of tourism expertise. In many instances, even in the case of
countries leading in sustainable tourism practices, there is a failure to coordinate at the various
levels of government with successful regional initiatives not carried out in other regions of the
same country. In the United Kingdom, even with the existence of a national tourism law,
sustainability practices are not uniformly promoted and monitored across the four nations of
England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. While Scotland’s government has been very
supportive of sustainable tourism practices and has set very demanding waste regulations
which brought significant change to the tourism industry, government support for sustainability
initiatives in England has lagged behind. The constant human resources shuffle in ministries of
tourism and environment compounds the problem, as well as the fact that in some instances, the
parties assigned to work on the sustainability efforts do not have a tourism background.75
1.1.2. Regulatory Environment
Regulatory frameworks are used by governments to promote sustainable tourism practices by
imposing sanctions in cases of non-compliance. Governments have developed regulations in a
number of areas that seek to advance sustainable tourism development, including land use
planning and development, employee rights, tourists’ health and safety, environmental
protection, protection of local communities, use of non-renewable resources, and equal access.
76 Many countries are using environmental impact assessments to encourage tourism
businesses tomonitor their environmental footprint. In France, the UK and Japan, many tourism-
related businesses are required to carry out environmental impact assessments. In the United
States, the Environmental Protection Agency mandates that environmental impact assessments
are carried out for all tourism-related infrastructure projects. France has developed regulations
setting carrying capacity limits and sustainable ways of tourism transport. Germany has a
mandatory environmental impact assessment system aimed at reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and monitoring water and energy usage in the tourism industry. In Indonesia, the
74 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. (2013). Sustainable development of tourism destinations. Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation.
75 The Economist Intelligence Unit. (2017). The sustainable tourism index: Enhancing the global travel environment. Retrieved
from
76 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. (2013). Sustainable development of tourism destinations. Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation.