It is apparent that many relevant aspects of tourism that impact on nature, society and the economy are not systematically observed or measured by official statistical bodies, and that a reliable assessment of the benefits and costs associated with tourism involve not only standard estimation methods but also direct structured surveys, possibly based on relatively new methodologies, like stated preference techniques and their associated quantitative tools.
Good management of the monitoring systems implies familiarity with various issues about sustainable development, and to deal with appropriate instruments to measure and control potential vulnerabilities.
This year programme addresses the monitoring of sustainable tourism considering the impact climate change has on tourism management. UNEP (United Nation Environment Programme) considers climate change as one of the fundamental threat to sustainable develompent.
The school enriches its programme taking into account these issues and suggesting methods to:
1. provide linkages between sustainability and advantaged business competitiveness, resources efficiency, disaster risk reduction, and integrated coastal zone management.
2. address the sustainability challenges for coastal tourism destinations in a global perspective, presenting global consumption and production patterns, and shifts in water consumption in tourism, highlighting when possible the key vulnerabilities for the Mediterranean tourism destinations.
3. integrate sustainability into business practices, providing tools that are currently available to support tourism professionals in evaluating the impacts of operations and how best to integrate the concepts of sustainability into their business.
4. provide the links between sustainable tourism and integrated coastal zone management.
Moreover, in addition to classes, the programme includes also some invited seminars and group discussions on best practices that will help the framing of the proposed issues within the more general context of sustainability of economic processes. This year the discussion will be centered on one important aspect referring to the design of the policy requested to strenghten national institutional capacities to adapt to climate change, and the need for adequate monitoring systems.
The School is held during the week from 30th August to 4th September 2009 at Porto Conte, Alghero (in Sardinia, Italy).
The participants will be selected by a commitee appointed by the Organizing panel; communications regarding admissions will be sent by e-mail before August 1st, 2009.
For more info www.ecopol.uniss.it/ss
