PM4SD as a Methodological Framework for Sustainable Tourism

Abstract

The paper begins with a review of key sustainable tourism policies at European and global level adopted over the last two decades. From a first analysis, it transpires that sustainable tourism can be interpreted in different ways depending on the stakeholder perspective, and these ways can generate conflicting definitions. In any case, it is widely accepted that sustainable tourism derives from the sustainable development concept which has started to spread in the 1980s, even before tourism policies had been seriously taken into consideration at European and international level. However, since 1995 the concept of sustainable tourism has inspired the adoption of a considerable number of recommendations, communications, set of indicators and criteria which have been developed at a European and International level. Despite the worldwide interest and awareness on sustainable tourism, concrete progress has been weak due to the inability to transform policies into action. Indeed, sustainable tourism remains a relatively niche sector of the market, and it is not yet been included in some destinations planning and management, especially in some developing countries. In order to maximize the benefits of applying sustainable principles and criteria in tourism, the study looks at the need for key tourism stakeholders to apply a solid framework such as PM4SD in the daily management of projects related to cultural sites, destinations, enterprises and locally centred initiatives. In order to highlight the benefits of PM4SD, the CoLeadTourism Project, where the methodology has been applied, is looked into.