RESOURCES
RESOURCES: PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS
Author : | Gordon Sillence & Herbert Hamele |
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School/Work Place : | ECOTRANS, Germany |
Contact : | herbert.hamele@ecotrans.de |
Year : | 2010 |
This paper discusses the contemporary meeting of three large-scale systems or processes - Agenda 21, the Internet and globalization - and what this historical conjunction means for networking sustainable tourism development. It is important to understand this issue as there is now an unparalleled opportunity for local actors to do global business, and these three interacting forces shape the way that business will be done. For tourism stakeholders, a wide range of competitive advantages and constraints are becoming evident across the supply chain as they engage in each one of these processes. Those stakeholders who actively participate in the mosaic creation of a global green knowledge-based economy will ultimately benefit from their sustainable development-driven actions. But the learning curve to get on board this high-speed development engine is steep. Stakeholders require improved guidance and governance that emphasizes a change to Agenda 21 value systems and the development of environmentally and socially responsible administrative control systems of supply chain activity and destination management. This paper argues that there is a need for an overall (global to local) networked sustainable tourism guidance and governance system if stakeholders are to benefit from current opportunities, and if the sector is to play a positive role in socio-economic transformation towards a global green economy.