Sustainable Destination Management

Strategies in the OIC Member Countries

regulations specify the design, density and height of buildings, building materials, and waste

disposal systems for tourism developments in different areas. In Costa Rica, the National

Sustainable Tourism Plan identifies the 10 areas and specifies a General Land Use and Tourism

Development Plan for each of the 10 areas.

Tourist Satisfaction

Tourist satisfaction is important to the sustainability of tourism; strategies in this area include

the provision of innovative products, ensuring a quality experience and monitoring tourist

satisfaction to take corrective actions when needed. In the Philippines, setting limits on the

number of divers allowed helps to reduce stress on the reefs as well as help to ensure that

tourists have a high-quality experience. In Estonia, “bogshoe” walks at the Soomaa National Park

using snowshoes offer a special experience that allows tourists to fully explore remote areas of

the park and to walk over the delicate bog vegetation without causing damage.

In Italy, the Cammini d’Italia atlas and website was launched to offer travelers and tourists a real

intermodal infrastructure of green roads where they can choose to travel Italy on foot, by bike,

on horseback or with other forms of sustainable mobility.

In Sweden, a four-year initiative was

launched in 2012 to improve hospitality services quality and destination’s quality.

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.

100

Ensuring Local CommunityWell-being

To help promote local community well-being, governments must empower local communities

by encouraging their participation in tourism strategy development and implementation, as well

as increase the economic benefits while minimizing negative economic, social and

environmental impacts from tourism on local communities, including leakages, social clashes,

and environmental degradation. 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 tourismand increase the local economic benefits fromtourism.

101

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.

102

In New Zealand, Qualmark, the official tourism quality assurance system supported by the

government, includes elements to ensure local community well-being such as the provision of

support to local community by sponsoring community events or community groups and

charities.

103

In Denmark, the Green Key certification, endorsed by the DMO Wonderful

Copenhagen, criteria include elements to ensure local community well-being such as the

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. (2013).

Sustainable development of tourism destinations

. Asia-Pacific Economic

Cooperation.

UNWTO. (2012).

Destination wetlands supporting sustainable

tourism. Retrieved from

http://sdt.unwto.org/publication/destination-wetlands-supporting-sustainable-tourism.

Please refer to Italy’s case study for further information and sources.

OECD. (2018).

OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2018

. Paris: OECD Publishing.

COMCEC. (2018).

Destination development and institutionalization strategies in the OIC member countries.

COMCEC.

101