The Light Sustainability of Tourism: model for evaluating competitiveness and strategic sustainability of tourism destinations

Abstract

The close relationship between competitiveness and sustainability in tourism determines and establishes the way in which tourism destinations are planned and managed, both now and in the future. Interpreting the tourism system as a dynamic process, determined in a logical sequence of interrelated and independent decisions and actions, a model is proposed, for determining dimensions and factors for the competitive and sustainable management of tourism destinations. Through the creation of a model, objective/metric indicators are defined for these dimensions and critical factors, which determine the success of tourism destinations in a present and future context. This systematization, here denominated Competenible Model, consists of a methodology for monitoring the real tourism conditions of the destination, represented by the series of different functions inherent to the wide and permanent process involved in its management, in a context of global competitiveness, and the efforts to implement sustainable models for tourism development. The application of the methodology enables an evaluation of whether the tourism destinations are effectively implementing their actions, in compliance with the current criteria, which determine the competitive success of global tourism, and meet the criteria of local sustainable development. Key Words: Sustainable; Evaluation of competitiveness; Strategy for tourism destinations.