Sustainable tourism indicators in the region

An existing indicator framework for the area of Sumava national park includes results of surveys with tourists and the local population (Görner, Čihař, 2012) and indicators criteria of sustainable tourism exists for the area (Ecological Tourism in Europe and UNESCO MaB, 2007). These efforts may be used as a basis for developing sustainable tourism in the area but have not yet been successful in engaging the local community in tourism development. In contrast to these, qualitative indicators were developed through participatory processess. A systemic indicator methodology developed by Schianetz & Kavanagh (2008); Chan & Huang (2004) and; Kristjánsdóttir, Ólafsdóttir & Ragnarsdóttir (2016) specifically concentrates on the needs and specifics of local communities. In Prasily, in-depth semi-structured interviews were carried out with individuals from different stakeholder groups. These interviews were transcribed and coded in order to identify key sustainability themes for tourism development in the area. This resulted in a list of 23 themes that were reduced to 13 sustainability indicators (see table). An expert panel was then used to analyze to what extent the indicators describe the tourism system in Prasily, how the indicators are interconnected, how they impact each other and which indicators are most crucial to the system. The indicators were selected to show transformative potential of sustainable tourism introduction in the concerned region, and allow comparison in space and time. In this respect, the indicators can be considered as opportunities (e.g. to increase attractiveness, build infrastructure etc.) or with regards to the potential threats (e.g. for the biodiversity, cultural heritage etc.). The results furthermore map out the specific sustainability challenges and opportunities in the community of Prášily as participants were given the opportunity to mark specific concerns in a map.

Table: Sustainability indicators – participatory research methodology applied (data from interviewing tourism stakeholders in Šumava national park, 2016; adapted by Kristjánsdóttir).