The Government of the Canary Islands and the public universities of the archipelago have just presented the study Fundamentals for measuring tourism sustainability, so that scientific knowledge is at the base of making "effective decisions".
The study delves into sixteen areas. Attractiveness of the destination and tourist satisfaction; seasonality of tourism; air connectivity and intermediation; economic impacts, benefits and innovation; training, entrepreneurship and employment; digitization, knowledge and intelligent tourism.
It also includes energy management; water and wastewater management; solid waste management; the natural capital supporting tourism; climate change and mitigation; local satisfaction with tourism and well-being; mass tourism and overtourism; destination maturity and renewal; universal accessibility and inclusiveness and tourism governance.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Government of the Canary Islands, José Manuel Sanabria, explained that “these works are being very useful in the revision of the regulatory framework that we are carrying out, with sustainability as a common thread, both in the Law on Sustainable Planning of the Tourist Use of Housing, as well as the regulation that will regulate campsites, camping and other unique accommodations or the reform of the Law on Tourism Planning of the Canary Islands of 1995”.
"Being accountable to society"
“Tourism now faces, more than ever, the challenge of sustainable management, which generates comprehensive and lasting well-being, taking into account all economic, social and environmental impacts, current and future, attending to the needs of the industry, tourists, the environment and citizens”, said the Deputy Minister.
This approach entails the need to measure all impacts, “as we already did with the Tourism Sustainability Report in the Canary Islands and will continue to do so under the umbrella of the Chair of Sustainable Tourism and Data Intelligence, which will provide information for effective decision-making”, he stressed.
For his part, the director of the CajaCanarias-ASHOTEL Tourism Chair of the ULL, and coordinator of the research team of the Tourism Observatory of the Canary Islands, Raúl Hernández, highlighted that “a mature society like the Canary Islands is called to be accountable to society, with publications such as this book, in which thirty authors from the two public universities of the Canary Islands have participated”.
Hernández added that “this study represents a transfer of knowledge to our society, but it also transmits to the world as a whole a vision of the path we are taking in favor of a tourism more focused on people and the environment”.
For his part, the director of the UNESCO Chair of Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development of the ULPGC, Carmelo León, stated that “this document is the result of a collective effort by members of the research teams of the Tourism Observatory of the Canary Islands belonging to the Universities of La Laguna and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria” and added that “each of the topics addressed includes the most novel advances and research needs to improve available knowledge and deepen the objective of tourism sustainability”.
“In this way”, he continued, “it contributes to the objective of responding to social needs and fulfilling the public service commitment of universities, participating in this process providing rigor, independence and knowledge”.
