sustainable development of tourism

Tourism is a great contributor to the nation's wealth and well-being. Yet it needs to be developed and managed with care or it could damage the very assets that it depends upon.

Tourism is a key industry in England and for it to be sustainable we must ensure that the long-term needs of communities, their visitors, their tourism industry and the environment are taken into account.

By placing sustainable development at the core of industry sponsorship, we will help move tourism towards a more sustainable and accessible future, increasing understanding of the economic value of the industry and its environmental and social benefits.

We promote the sustainable development of tourism through working closely with the Department for Transport on transport, Department for Communities and Local Government on planning and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs with respect to wildlife and countryside and rural development policies.

Our key publications on sustainable tourism are:

Making Tourism in England Sustainable PDF (229 kb) - Supplementary Information for the Welcome > Legacy consultation
Tomorrow's Tourism - Government strategy for the development of tourism in England
Measuring Sustainable Tourism at the Local Level - An Introduction and Background
National Sustainable Tourism Indicators (protected Word document 530kb)
National Sustainable Tourism Indicators (PDF 352kb)

The indicators update those first published by the former English Tourism Council in 2001: "National Tourism Sustainable Indicators: monitoring progress towards sustainable tourism in England"(ISBN 0 86143 243 6).

Publication of these indicators meets commitments to publish data about sustainable tourism, but further work is required to ensure that current sustainable priorities and concerns are reflected in future indicators. A wide-ranging consultation exercise on the indicators and the sustainable tourism framework developed by the former English Tourism Council - and set out in Time for Action: A strategy for sustainable tourism in England (ISBN 0 86143 242 8) - will therefore take place in 2007.

In partnership with the New Forest District Council, South East Tourism, Tourism South West and VisitBritain, we helped organise a major conference in November 2006 to discuss sustainable tourism issues and the development of a three part model for business engagement. Details can be found at www.susdestinations.co.uk.

Related information: