Sustainable tourism development and monitoring in developing countries : the case of Armenia

Abstract

In the last two decades sustainability has become a central matter in tourism, giving rise to more proactive development strategies from destination management organizations, to more responsible attitudes from the tourism industry, and increased awareness and concerns from consumers. Particularly in developed countries a great emphasis has been placed on the identification of indicators that enable to understand sustainable tourism development processes and its implications. However, in developing countries, sustainability with regard to tourism is still an emerging issue. This research addresses the process of the sustainable tourism assessment in developing countries, with particular reference to Armenia, namely which indicators can be put into practice in order to help tourism organizations and tourism businesses to meet sustainability requirements and to gain the confidence of tourism markets. Secondary data analysis was conducted, both to identify the theoretical background and conceptual framework as well as to identify available data on the practical assessments carried out throughout the world with regards to tourism sustainability assessment. This research concludes by proposing the set of indicators that best fit the specific context of Armenia.