dossier sur le tourisme et le développement durable

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Political scope
It would be necessary to set directions and action plans down in a programme document during
the stages of joint discussion and reflection at local level. Local agendas (“Agendas 21”) and
charters for the sustainable development of tourism could be suitable for this. These documents
are generally only for consultation but they are a joint reference for the players who were
previously disseminated. In 1998 the municipality of Calvià adopted a local Agenda 21 for
tourism based on 10 strategic axes and proposed 40 action plans to be implemented. This
brought about a revision of the general urban development plan (more than 80% of the
municipality is protected), the demolition and renovation of decrepit hotels and the deployment
of a mediator who acts as an interface between tourists and the resident population.
An assessment of carrying capacity is another method of directing and programming tourism
development in a tourist spot. According to this method, a weight depending on the destination
is assigned to the three fundamental components (environmental, social and economic). These
different weights are due to the region features, to the type of tourism that can be found and to
its interaction with environment. This analysis phase enables to assess various possible tourism
development options, in relation with the populations, and to retain the most relevant scenario.
The latter is sharpened so as to determine the accommodation capacity and to write a
document that the whole concerned players would accept (action plan, implementation
process). This approach may be integrated to a wider project of coastal area integrated
management (ICAM).
The ministry of tourism in Malta published a study of the carrying capacity of Malta and Gozo in
2002, presenting the guidelines for tourist scheduling and policies. The main recommendations
contained in this document advocated the progressive stabilising of the total accommodation
capacity (between 38 000 and 41 000 beds), the limiting of tourists in the high season, the
directing of commercial policies to the low season and the increasing of local spin-off from
tourism by developing local purchases and cultural holidays.
3.3. Economic and financial instruments and public / private
joint-ventures
Economic and financial instruments can also contribute to making tourism a driving force for
sustainable development. Taxes, licences, tolls and entrance fees to visit natural and cultural
heritage can help to finance the upkeep of the national heritage and natural areas by the
tourists and by the private sector. These instruments should respect some principles: not to
introduce money-based selection, for example with different tariffs, and maintain free access to
natural spaces, while respecting any necessary regulations.
Besides this, subsidies and other incentive programmes can help the State to implement action
plans considered as desirable, such as the development of solar energy in tourist
accommodation, the implementing of selective waste sorting or the development of areas
untouched by tourism. The development of rural tourism in Greece, Spain, France and Croatia
has often emerged from this idea of regional planning. This direct aid can also be directed at
certain categories of the population: Italy has set up a business incentive programme for young
people and women in tourism.
Management concessions and conventions help to combine public and private initiatives. Local
administrative units and States often use concessions, for example for the using of the public
maritime space for leisure activity providers. However, this instrument remains less used for the
management of natural and cultural heritage despite great potential there. In Malta, the 2002
statute on cultural heritage allows for the transfer of the management and upkeep of
monuments and cultural sites to local bodies or to NGOs; in France the “Conservatoire du
Littoral” delegates the management of some of its estates to associations. This contributes
resources to the State via management licences and helps to highlight the heritage as the basis
of the tourist product. These operations can, however, contain risks for the conservation of the
heritage. They should be accompanied by specifications that stipulate the obligations of the
managers of such estates.