Sustainable Tourism: Theories, Challenges and Strategies

This essay delves into the concept of sustainable tourism, exploring its grounding in various models and theories. It examines how tourism activities can drive economic and cultural developments while acknowledging the threats to natural resources. The essay discusses sustainability strategies focusing on positive impacts on the environment, society, and economy, emphasizing the triple bottom line approach. It analyzes the economic, social, and environmental aspects supported by sustainable tourism practices, including the role of the TALC model and the theoretical views of David B. Weaver on ecotourism. Furthermore, the essay investigates the challenges of sustainable tourism management in the context of voluntourism, its impact on social sustainability, and the factors influencing its effectiveness, such as volunteer training and community understanding. The analysis highlights the importance of balancing tourism activities with economic, environmental, and social considerations for long-term sustainability.

Running head: SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
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Concept of sustainable tourism grounded on models and theories
Tourism activities empowers improvements in the different business operations through
various economic and cultural developments. However, increase trend of tourism activities pose
a serious threat to the natural resources. The increased pressure of tourism might be mitigated
through the positioning of specific sustainability strategies. The Sustainability strategies
developed a form of tourism activity that focused on creating a positive impact on the
environment, society, and economy.
According to Higgins-Desbiolles (2018), the concept of sustainable tourism specifically
aims towards attaining the triple bottom line approach while operating as per the common needs
of tourism development in the different regions. Moreover, Cetin et al. (2018) opined that the
sustainable tourism practices promotes tourism through improvements in the transportation
facilities, recreational aspects and different other needs of the tourists while minimizing the
dependence on the resource use. In this connection, the triple bottom line framework might be
considered for assessing the economic, social, and environmental concerns that are supported
through sustainable tourism practices.
According to Blancas et al. (2018), the economic aspect of the triple bottom line
encourages the assessment of the needs of the tourism activities in a region for the flow of
financial resources. In this connection, the tourists that visit a location provides adequate
remuneration for the sustenance of the local communities through their investment in different
leisure activities. The development of hospitality industry along with transportation and different
entertainment activities in the tourist spots have significant contribution to the economic growth
of a location (Wu et al. 2019). However, the uncontrolled tourism activities might result to
greater pressure on the availability of the resources in the location. In this connection, the

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application of the concepts of the triple bottom line enumerated the needs of controlling the
tourism activities with the purpose of adhering to the environmental sustenance related needs.
Fig 1: Triple Bottom line approach
(Source: Wise 2016)
According to Wise (2016), the assessment of the environmental concerns might be
considered as one of the major aspects of sustainable tourism practices. The increased use of
available non-renewable resources might affect the interests of the local communities through
maximized price of the propositions. Therefore, the application of the triple bottom line approach
towards sustainable tourism enumerates the role of regulatory activities while promoting tourism
in a location while adhering to the economic, social, and environmental concerns.

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Fig 2: TALC model by Butler
(Source: Kubickova and Martin 2020)
Moreover, the TALC (Tourist Area Life Cycle) model by Butler aimed at identifying the
specific concerns that are being encountered by a location in relation to environmental
degradation, lower rate of visitor and specific social issues that are restricting tourism in a
region. According to Kubickova and Li (2017), the TALC model aimed at identifying the
different stages through which a tourist spot passes and the different strategies that might be
employed by the tourism managers with the purpose of rejuvenating the sustenance related
concerns through different activities. The TALC model specifically aimed towards identifying
the specific issues that are being faced by a tourist spot while developing strategies towards
sustainability. For an instance, if the tourist spot is encountering an issue relating to the non-

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renewable resource use, the TALC model would assist the tourism managers in developing
renewable sources of resources with the purpose of improving the economic gains while not
compromising on the environmental or social concerns. According to Kubickova and Li 92017),
sustainable tourism is a method of balancing the different tourism activities with the purpose of
maintaining stability between economic, environmental and social causes. In this connection, the
model aims at assisting the tourism managers through recognition of the concern, empowering
their active involvement in mitigating the issue and forging development in the entire process.
On the other hand, the stages of decline are being divided into five critical elements that
emphasizes on the level of competency that the tourism manager of a region portrayed resulting
to the outcomes of rejuvenation or decline. Kubickova and Martin (2020) stated that the tourism
managers take the initiative of making the region or the spot more attractive for the tourists in
order to increase the tourism activities. However, the existence of different concerns and issues
in the setting of tourism might affect the capability of the managers in promoting sustainable
tourism. In this connection, the positioning of the TALC model is specifically grounded on
assisting the managers on the different measures that the same might consider while improving
the tourism activities in a region. Therefore, the TALC model provides an extensive support to
the tourism managers in identifying the different measures that might be considered by the same
while identifying the concerns related to sustainable tourism while eradicating the same for
improving the scope of success factors.
The theoretical views of David B. Weaver in the form of Comprehensive and Minimalist
ecotourism provides an essential insight on the different approaches towards ecotourism and the
manner in which the same are related to sustainability. It has been observed through the research
of Weaver (2005) that comprehensive approach towards ecotourism is a holistic outlook, which

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specifically aims at the environmental and cultural concerns that are connected with tourism
activities. Again, Weaver (2005) researched and stated that the minimalist approach towards
sustainable tourism is more superficial approach and is superficial which specifically aims
towards the attainment of environmental sustenance while disregarding the cultural or the
economic aspects. According to Wise (2016), the comprehensive approach towards ecotourism,
as devised by Weaver, is a concept for the totality while supporting the aspects of the triple
bottom line.
On the contrary, McMorran (2017) opined that the minimalist approach towards
ecotourism is restricted to the consideration of the environmental aspects and is narrower in
scope, in comparison with the comprehensive approach. The assessment of the approaches and
applying the same in the organizational or tourism development related setting would
specifically enable the organization in improving the sustainable practices towards tourism
activities. Therefore, from the above assessment it might be stated that the different
developments in the tourism activities are specifically reliant on the consideration of the
concerns related to the economic, environmental and the social contexts.
In-depth sustainable tourism management challenges in the light of voluntourism as a form
of socially-sustainable tourism
The volunteer tourism or voluntourism is specifically aimed towards improving the
lifestyle of the people around the world through different tourism activities. In this relation,
people from all around the world volunteers with the attempt of improving the promotional
aspects of a region or location with the purpose of improving the lifestyle of the people in the
particular region or a location (Hales and Jennings 2017). The factors relating to eco-tourism are
involved in the concept of voluntourism through the improvement in the lifestyle of the people.

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However, voluntourism is different from that of eco-tourism through the as it involves the active
engagement of the tourists towards improving the lives of the people through a particular project
under the control and regulation of a particular organization.
According to Hinch and Holt (2017) , the voluntourism activities are specifically aimed
towards the concerns towards bringing forth modifications in the lifestyle and health related
factors. It has been observed that various efforts of voluntourism was undertaken in South Africa
with the purpose of exposing the challenges and suffering that the people encountered in the
specific regions. The promotion of tourism through active volunteering activities are focused
towards improving the living conditions while adhering to the health care related needs of the
people in the regions. Dreifuss-Serrano and Herrera (2019) stated that the active participation of
the volunteers play a major role in improving the standard of living while increasing awareness
among the target group of other tourists.
Moreover, the volunteers also took the initiative of developing the different service base
activities for the deprived communities with the purpose of improving the lifestyle of the people
(Henry 2018). Social sustainability in tourism is reliant on the improvements in the lifestyle of
the people and the communities. In this connection, the active participation of the volunteers in
the tourism activities contributes to social sustenance while making the target audience aware of
the degrading situation of the people in a backward region and supporting the people in
improving their quality of living through educational camps, health checkups and the like (Cheer
and Lew 2017). According to Inversini, Rega and van Zyl (2020), voluntourism demonstrates
the growing need of the communities in overcoming the economic and social issues have greatly
affected the capability of the organizations in maintaining the effectiveness of the different
business operations in accordance with the common goals of the venture.

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The practices that are considered as a part of voluntourism might be correlated to the
improvements in the economic and social properties while improving the reach for the tourism
destinations. Germann Molz (2016) reflected in a research that wider promotion of the tourist
spots through efforts of the volunteers in voluntourism creates awareness among the tourist
groups. In this connection, it might be stated that blog entries on the different attractions of a
spot allows a volunteer, committed towards improving the worth of the destination, in
empowering awareness among the target audience for inciting foreign investments. The foreign
investments to a location preferably improves the economic state of a location while operating as
per the common goals of the venture. Moreover, voluntourism creates a cause for development in
adhering to the health and educational needs of the communities.
According to Banki and Schonell (2018), the volunteers take the initiative of educating
the backward and deprived communities through voluntourism while providing the same with
health checkups and other beneficiary actions. The activities are committed towards inducing a
holistic approach towards improving the sustenance related needs that are realized in the case of
eco- tourism activities (Erni and Shi-chi Leung 2019). However, the eco- tourism activities are
focused towards improving the environmental sustenance whereas the concept of voluntourism
aims towards introducing alterations in the lifestyle and the livelihood of the people in the
different deprived communities.
However, Proyrungroj (2018) opined that the voluntourism practices are specifically
affected through the inefficiency of the volunteers or the lack of specialized knowledge on
improving the quality of lifestyle or standard of living of the people. The lack of effective
knowledge among the volunteers on the different aspects of services and the manner in which the
same might be delivered has reduced the scope of voluntourism. According to Germann Molz

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(2017), the key activities that are initiated by the volunteers are based on the assessment of the
needs of the communities. In this connection, the absence of proficient training and development
of the volunteers by the different organizations have incapacitated the same in improving the rate
of operations while adhering to the ethics related to voluntourism. The improvements in the
voluntourism activities are reliant on the specific understanding of the beliefs and needs of the
communities.
The lack of knowledge among the volunteers on the communities challenged the different
activities that are planned by the same towards improving the social status and livelihood of the
people. Moreover, Chilufya, Hughes and Scheyvens (2019) opined that most of the organizations
in the field of voluntourism, being NGOs, have lower funding options which restricted the
capability of the same in conduction continuous learning and development activities. In this
connection, the different changes in the organizational operations are based on the effective
functioning of the different networks as per the common interests of the organizations.
Liston-Heyes and Daley (2017) stated that the insufficiency of funding in the
organizations resulted to lower rate of training and development operations for the volunteers,
which curtailed their capability of increasing the scope of their contribution towards the
wellbeing of the people. In an account Kushner (2016) stated that in a survey conducted in 2008
more than 300 organizations, promoting themselves to be voluntourists, sent around 1.6 million
people volunteers on vacations with an estimated spending of around $2 billion annually without
any significant result. Kushner (2016) elaborated in his account stating that an older group of
people worked in Haiti for the Christian missionaries to build a school while the muscular
Haitian masons stood their amused by the sight of the activities undertaken by the voluntourists
from US. The account specifically devised that the lack of effective allocation of the resources in

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their right places affected the capability of the voluntourist organizations in improving their
quality of services and adhering to the good intentions. According to Strohmeier and Heleta
(2020), the major problem with the concept of voluntourists is specifically based on the lack of
their skills in managing the different information and allocating their charitable intentions
towards the most desired communities. The social sustenance related activities are specifically
based on the assessment of the common needs of the people in the different communities before
allocating the voluntourists into different operations.
From the different literatures and case analysis it might be stated that most of the
voluntourist organizations fail to scan the specific needs and challenges that are being
encountered by the communities which might result to inappropriate allocation of their
resources. On the other hand, the lack of specialist knowledge among the voluntourists might be
considered as one of the major drawbacks that affected the rate of operations of an organization
aiming towards inducing sustainability tourism practices in the context of social developments.
Conclusion and recommendation
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above assessment it might be stated that sustainable tourism practices
are specifically reliant on the three different paradigms o economic growth, social sustenance
and the environmental concerns. The development of the tourism activities in this connection are
reliant on the assessment of the different factor conditions and the manner in which the same
contributes towards the sustenance and growth of the organizations. The research developed an
understanding on the tourism life cycle through the enumeration of TALC model and
emphasized on identifying the paradigms relying on the concepts of the triple bottom line. On the
other hand, the research delved deeper in identifying the different challenges that are faced by

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the voluntourists while adhering to heir noble intention of enforcing sustenance among the
deprived communities. The voluntourist activities are focused towards improving the standard of
living among the people in the deprived communities while providing the same wit education
and health checkup options. However, the inappropriate allocation of resources among the
communities and lack of specific needs of the different social structures incapacitated the
organizations in improving their quality of operations.
Recommendations
 Identifying the needs of the communities and allocating resources thereby: The
identification of the specific needs of the communities and allocating adequate resources
in the similar aspects would allow in improving the quality of the voluntourist activities.
The assessment of the different concerns that are being encountered by the communities
would provide an insight on the alterations that they require which would improve the
scope of operations for the voluntourists.
 Introducing different learning and development programs: The introduction of different
learning and development programs for the voluntourists by the organizations would
allow the same in improving their skills while supporting the concerns that are being
faced by the communities.

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