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1. Definition
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Name
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TOURISM INTENSITY
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Brief
definition
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Number
of overnights stays by tourists per square kilometre
per annum and in peak season.
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Unit of measure
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Number per km²
in an annual or peak period
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2.
Position within the logical framework DPSIR
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Type
of Indicator
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Pressure/driving
force
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3.
Target and political pertinence
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Objective
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This
indicator shows the average distribution of tourists
and gives a general indication of pressures on land
use due to tourism, with regard to a reference period
(year) or during a peak season.
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Importance
with respect to desertification
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Tourist
activities can create a wide variety of stresses,
damage and pollution in the host area. With respect
to desertification the main impacts are: possible
loss of soil productivity, soil erosion and compaction
at accommodation/shelter sites, soil erosion and compaction
from transport links (roads, airstrips, tracks, boats,
boat moorings) plus service provision (electricity,
telephone, pipelines, fire trails, sewerage systems)
and contamination of soil from waste generation at
tourist sites.
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International
Conventions and agreements
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In
1996, three international organizations - the World
Travel & Tourism Council, the World Tourism Organization
and the Earth Council - joined together to launch
an action plan: "Agenda 21 for the Travel &
Tourism Industry: Towards Environmentally Sustainable
Development", a sectoral sustainable development
programme based on the results of the 1992 Earth Summit.
The UN Commission for Sustainable Development, at
its Seventh Session in 1999, considered tourism as
an economic sector, held a multi-stakeholder dialogue
on the topic and adopted an international work programme
on sustainable tourism development. Implementation
of the programme was reviewed in 2002 as part of the
10- year review of progress achieved since the 1992
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED).
With
respect to the European Commission, Article 3u in
the Amsterdam Treaty included, for the first time,
'measures in the sphere of tourism' in the list of
Community activities foreseen in support of the Community's
overall objectives. The Treaty gives no particular
guidance for a Community tourism policy and there
is no specific legal basis for Community measures
on tourism. In 1999, while discussing the Commission's
communication "Enhancing Tourism's Potential
for Employment" the Council of (Internal Market)
Ministers recalled the importance of better integration
of the needs of the tourism sector into other Community
policies and invited the Commission and the Member
States to work together on a number of priority issues
including promoting environmental protection and sustainable
development in tourism. EU Working groups (Member
States and European Commission) addressed these issues
and were due to recommend a set of policies to the
Council by mid-2001.
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Secondary
objectives of the indicator
|
The
indicator provides suggestions for a programme of
actions and policies to improve the sustainability
of tourism.
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4.
Methodological description and basic definitions
|
Definitions
and basic concepts
|
A
tourist is a visitor who stays at least one night
in collective or private accommodation in the country
visited.
A
night spent (or overnight stay) is each night that
a guest actually spends (sleep or stay) or is registered
(physical presence being unnecessary) in a collective
accommodation establishment or in private tourism
accommodation.
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Benchmarks
Indication of the values/ranges of value
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I°
range: < Local Mean -St. Dev.
II° range: >Local Mean - St. Dev. < Local Mean
III° range: > Local Mean < Local Mean + St.
Dev.
IV° range: > Local Mean + St. Dev
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Methods
of measurement
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To
calculate tourism intensity the number of overnight
stays (including second homes) with regard to a reference
period (year) or within a peak season is divided by
the area measured in square kilometres.
|
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Limits
of the indicator
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The
indicator does not take into account visitor activity.
Also, at many sites it is often day trip activity
that causes the damage. Focus on tourists who overnight
in the area may overlooks a major pressure, but data
availability for day trips is difficult to collect.
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Linkages
with other indicators
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The
indicator is closely linked to other tourism indicators such
as Penetration of tourist eco-labels.
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5.
Evaluation of data needs and availability
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Data
required to calculate the indicator
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Data
on the number of nights spent by residents and non-residents
in tourist accommodation (hotel, campsites, second
home and with friends). Where data on second home
and friends are not available, these may be omitted
and a specification of this exclusion included.
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Data
sources
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The
primary data sources are national statistical offices
and country publications.
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Availability of data
from national and international sources
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Apart from national
statistical agencies, the data are also available
from Eurostat, World Tourism Organization and OECD.
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6.
Institutions that have participated in developing the indicator
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Main
institutions responsible
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Other
contributing organizations
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Universities
of Basilicata, Lisbon, Murcia, Athens.
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7.
Additional information
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Bibliography
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Eurostat-OECD-WTO,
Tourism Satellite Account (TSA): Methodological References,
2000
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Other
references
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World
Tourism Organisation, 1996. What tourism managers
need to know. A practical guide to the development
and use of indicators of sustainable tourism, WTO
Spain
Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1994. Environmental
Indicators - OECD Core Set, OECD Paris.
http://themes.eea.eu.int/Sectors_and_activities
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Contacts Name and address
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University of Basilicata
Prof Giovanni Quaranta
email: quaranta@unibas.it
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