Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
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Additional funding is provided in the form of taxes. A tax is in place for overnight visitors that
brings around €30 million per year. A new tax may be introduced in Venice in 2019 which will
charge tourists on cruise ships between €2.50 and €5 per day and may increase to €10 during
the peak summer season. This was included in Italy’s 2019 budget.306
Monitoring and Evaluation of Sustainability
Impact analysis are carried out by universities, international organizations, and statistics
agencies. Universities and agencies carry out studies and integrate data which are then
presented to the relevant bodies to elaborate plans according to the trends observed and the
derived forecast. ENIT Monitoring is the national agency’s tool to survey and observe the
tourism sector nationwide, collecting information on sales done by tourism operators. It gathers
and processes data to provide indicators on domestic and international tourism, and trends. It
also carries out qualitative research through interviewing major foreign tour operators
regarding type and duration of trips, chosen products and most requested regions and
locations.307
Regions have their own agencies to monitor tourism in their areas. For example, the Liguria
region established a Tourism Observatory in 2006 which is responsible for measuring the
impact of tourism through statistical analyses, interviews, and special studies on specific market
segments.308 In the region of Sardinia, the municipality of Cagliari established a DMO which, in
2013, adopted the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria and indicators program.
A group of researchers from the universities of Milano-Bicocca and Cagliari carried out a study
that analyzed European Tourism Indicators System (ETIS) to assess the impact of sustainability
strategies implemented by DMO “Visit Southern Sardinia” in the period 2013-2016. These
indicators are a product of the European Union (EU) Sustainable Development Strategy, which
was formulated with the objectives of promoting economic prosperity, social equity, cohesion,
and environmental protection. However, the complexity of the toolkit, containing 27 core
indicators and 40 optional indicators, and the structure required to gather data and process it,
make it difficult to implement the system in many destinations. Stakeholder familiarity with the
toolkit is also an issue.309
Lessons Learned
The growth in the number of tourists is traditionally viewed as an indicator of success of a
certain policy. However, the increase of the number of visitors to a destination should not always
be assumed to be positive in itself, since many other factors have to be taken into consideration,
including the quality of the tourist experience and the visitor expenditure. Tourism can
definitely boost economic and social conditions of a destination and improve quality of life for
some of the residents. However, it can also cause environmental stresses. If tourism is not
managed and suitable policies not implemented, the negative effects can exceed the advantages,
and the environmental, economic, and social structure of historic centers and visited areas can
be worsened.
306 Artnet News (2019). In Response to Exploding Visitor Numbers, Venice Will Now Start Charging Tourists an Entrance Fee.
Retrieved from
307 ENIT. (2018). Estate. Retrieved from
308 From interview with Regione Liguria Tourism Project Manager.
309 Modica, P., Capocchi, A., Foroni, I., Zenga, M., (2018). An assessment of the implementation of the european tourism
indicator system for sustainable destinations in Italy. Sustainability, 10, 3160.