Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
39
An important aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure the well-being of local communities since
in many destinations the livelihood of the local community is dependent on revenues from
tourism. Interaction with the local community shapes the tourist experience to a large extent. In
some instances, local communities offer tourism services, such in the case of Ichkeul in Tunisia
and in the Danube Delta in Romania where local communities offer homestays to tourists. Thus,
engaging local communities in sustainable tourism efforts is crucial. Engagement of local
communities can take a number of forms from consultations on specific issues to having formal
forums for local community and other stakeholders to including local community members in
tourism management boards. 124 The local community needs to be engaged in sustainable
tourism efforts since tourism has a direct impact on their well-being. The local community
perception of the importance of tourism for their livelihoods may influence their interaction
with tourists, which in turn can affect sustainable tourism.125 In Vietnam, Lake-related tourism
around Ba Be provides employment opportunities to the local community who are involved in
offering tourism services such as boat rides, homestay facilities, and guide services. The
revenues and employment opportunities generated by tourism have helped in raising the local
community’s awareness of sustainable tourism encouraged participation in conservation
efforts.126
1.3.2. Engaging Sustainable Tourism Stakeholders
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
ensuring the support of stakeholders and their implementation of sustainable tourism strategies
and practices.127 In Denmark, the Danish National Tourism Forum receives continuous feedback
and advice from the Danish Tourism Advisory Board, which has members from a wide range of
tourism stakeholders representing different interests.128
The previous COMCEC report on “Destination Development and Institutionalization Strategies”
identified a hierarchy of stakeholder engagement according to the International Association for
Public Participation. This hierarchy begins by informing stakeholders then progresses to
consulting and involving stakeholders and evolves to the highest level of engagement in the form
of collaboration and empowerment of stakeholders. The choice of engagement level can
sometimes be based on stakeholder level of interest in the strategies and policies in question,
and their ability to affect the results. This suggests that stakeholders with low levels of interest
124 UNWTO. (2012). Destination wetlands supporting sustainable tourism. Retrieved from
125 UNWTO. (2013). Sustainable tourism for development guidebook. UNWTO.
126 UNWTO. (2012). Destination wetlands supporting sustainable tourism. Retrieved from
127 UNWTO. (2016). Innovative catalysts boosting sustainability in the tourism sector based on cases and initiatives from
Germany. Retrieved from
nche_bf.pdf.
128 Please refer to Denmark’s case study for more information and sources.