A FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC INDICATORS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN COMMUNITIES

Abstract

This article presents a framework for the development of social indicators to measure the impact of tourism on communities. It is a research project funded by Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC) and emanates from the Green Globe 21 Standard that incorporates indicators for the environmental impact of tourism and seeks to develop other indicators. The article provides the theoretical background to the concept of sustainable tourism and examines the preliminary findings of the key themes from some exploratory research. It also examines the main literature in the field, extracts the key impacts such as overdevelopment, the relationship between tourists and residents, the management of tourist flows, and the facilities that are created as a result of increased tourism. These impacts are then examined against the exploratory research undertaken. The article concludes with a potential list of indicators to be used for measuring the social and socioeconomic impacts of tourism on communities.