Sustainability of Tourism Development in the Mediterranean—Interregional Similarities and Differences

Abstract

This study adjusts the Driving forces–Pressures–State–Impact–Response framework (DPSIR) to analyze the interregional similarities and differences with regard to sustainable tourism development in selected Mediterranean (MED) regions. The study involved three steps. The first step was a critical reflection on sustainable tourism indicators and DPSIR as a grouping approach. The analysis yielded 29 sustainability indicators distributed within four components of the DPSR framework. The data were collected for 54 NUTS 2 level MED regions. In the second step, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) followed by a cluster analysis (CA) were performed to group homogenous regions and generate the Med Regions Cluster Matrix (MRCM). The investigation revealed that although countries in the Mediterranean share many characteristics in terms of tourism development and impacts, universal policies in mitigating the pressures are not appropriate. The main contributions of the study are (1) the application of the DPSIR model in the sustainable tourism context (2) and the analysis of the similarities and differences regarding the sustainability of tourism development in the selected MED regions. The conclusions of the analysis may stimulate the debate on mutual responses and sustainable tourism policy responses in the MED region.

Community Empowerment In Tourism Development : Concepts And Implications

“…In practice, the application of the concept of community-based tourism to develop tourism still encounters various obstacles and challenges.The obstacles that often arise are related to the low community participation in the tourism development process [39], [40], the lack of community participation in tourism development due to the low level of human resource participation [41]. The low level of community participation is caused by low public perceptions of tourism [28], lack of public understanding of the benefits of the tourism industry and limited access to decisionmaking are factors that cause slow community participation in tourism development thereby hindering tourism progress [17], [38].…”

Conceptual Framework and Prospective Analysis of EU Tourism Data Spaces

“…The Drivers, Pressures, State, Impacts, Responses (DPSIR) model is a widely used conceptual structure in environmental management [61,93,94], but we believe it adapts satisfactorily to the conceptualisation of tourism data spaces. To establish a tourism data space using the DPSIR model, it is essential to first identify the levers that drive the need for such a space, acknowledge the direct pressures that stem from those drivers, assess the current state of tourism data and systems, consider the potential positive and negative impacts of these pressures, and ultimately propose appropriate responses to optimise benefits and mitigate challenges.…”

Destination competitiveness and sustainability indicators: Implementation of the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) in Serbia

“…In recent years, an increasing number of researchers and institutions emphasize the need for the development of more comprehensive indicators of sustainable tourism, as well as the need to combine available and create a system of indicators that links tourism with ecological, social, and economic issues in the destination (Pivčević et al, 2020). So far, organizations such as UNWTO, OECD, European Commission (EC) have contributed to the development of substitute sets of sustainability indicators.…”