Abstract

     Globally, tourism is currently one of the fastest-growing industries, with strong impacts on territories, from an environmental, economic and social point of view. The increase in the number of tourists who flock to destinations requires greater attention to sustainability through tools (indicators) such as strategic destination management support. This paper, through the review of 104 scientific papers, aims to analyze the structure and evolution of the evaluation and monitoring of sustainable tourism through the use of sets of indicators. In particular, the study favors the understanding of the most significant aspects of sustainable tourism that the literature suggests to analyze, evaluating how these vary in relation to the type of destination and the time period of the study. The results contribute to the understanding of the theoretical and operational aspects which, today, are considered representative of the concept of sustainable tourism, improving the sustainable management of territories.

Introduction

     Globally, tourism is currently one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. According to the recent UNWTO study for the year 2019 (UNWTO 2021), international tourism recorded the tenth consecutive year of growth. In 2019, the growth compared to 2018 was þ ۶% and, compared to 2017, it was þ ۷%. Europe represents almost 40% of international tourism receipts, followed by Asia and the Pacific with almost one third. It is recognized for its ability to generate an important part of gross domestic product for many economies around the world (in particular, tourism accounts for 48% of GDP in Macao—China). It employs numerous companies, about 80% of which are micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs). It generates millions of direct and indirect jobs, employing a high proportion of women and young people.

     In addition to the economic aspect, tourism has also proved to have strong impacts on the sociocultural and environmental aspects of territories (Lee and Jan 2019; Zhuang, Yao, and Li 2019; Su and Swanson 2017; Su, Hsu, and Swanson 2017; Buckley 2012; Miller et al. 2010; Boksberger and Laesser 2007; Hunter and Shaw 2007). Unfortunately, the continuous and constant growth of this sector, as studied by the UNWTO (2019), places destinations and the entire tourism sector in a situation where it excessively influences the use of local resources, causing a progressive deterioration of the destinations and compromising their competitiveness and appeal on the market (Torres-Delgado and Saarinen 2014; Torres-Delgado and Palomeque 2014).

Conclusions

     The study reports a critical analysis of the main results concerning sustainable tourism analyzed through the use of indicators. The extensive bibliography available on this topic has been analyzed in relation to specific aspects: (a) descriptive aspects of each 22 S. Marinello et al. paper, collection methods and type of work; (b) type of destination; (c) dimensions of sustainability; (d) indicators considered; (e) sustainability issues and their temporal evolution and with respect to the type of environment analyzed.