Sustainable Hospitality or Sustainable Tourism Development?
There are those who believe these are meaningless terms used by members of society who benefit from the continued growth of the world's largest industry. For instance, educators argue that it may be impossible to bring larger groups of visitors to any destination without impacting negatively on its physical, cultural or social environment.
Visitors demand such services as attractions, accommodations, food and beverage, entertainment, transportation and other public utilities, along with friendly locals and authentic heritage. Given the many examples of destinations that have suffered from the growth of mass tourism, or even unsuccessful eco-tourism, it is easy to understand the disbelief associated with the concept of sustainable tourism.
THISD is a not-for-profit Association located in Lausanne, Switzerland. Its purpose is to be a community of those who believe it is possible to support sustainable tourism and hospitality development through long-term destination based planning and management. This community will provide opportunities to build and distribute content that can meet the needs of those stakeholders who play a role in shaping the future of sustainable tourism.
Members of THISD also understand these difficulties and have no illusions that case studies demonstrating destinations with some success in merging growth in tourism with providing for a sustainable environment are just that, case studies. We believe that 'moving the agenda forward' will be hard, will have little support, and will take a long time, but it is a job worth doing.
THISD is seeking new individual members and organizational support from anyone who, having read about who we are, our Mission and our Vision, has agreed that there is a potential added value from such an organization and is willing to take a risk and join us. As a start-up, we have all the common problems to deal with. These include a lack of resources, an unknown brand image, the need to demonstrate capabilities to meet needs with few resources, etc. Yet we are confident that we have identified a need that is worth pursuing and we know we will need the help of others if we are to make any difference. Are you willing to take that risk to provide that support?
Dr. Jim Holleran
President, THISD