Promoting Ecosystems Conservation and Community-Based Economic Alternatives in a Changing Climate: Impacts of Tourism (Cananéia, São Paulo, Brazil)

Sustainable Tourism Development

Sustainable tourism development guidelines and management practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all types of destinations, including mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments (Butler, 1999). Sustainability principles refer to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability by: 1) making optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity; 2) respecting the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance; 3) ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation and most important of all 4) implement educational and awareness programmes that will warn people to the issues of sustainable tourism development (Butler, 1999). In the actuality, UNWTO guidelines are a best practices guide.