Sustainable tourism planning by local authorities : an investigation of the London Boroughs
type: CreativeWork
description: Sustainable development has become the main objective of the policy agenda for many governments and a key principle that underpins the planning process in the UK. Likewise, the concept of sustainable tourism has been widely embraced by managers and planners of tourist destinations, as it provides a platform for different stakeholders in the tourism industry to interact and discuss the impacts of their activities. Yet, despite the attention this concept has received, there still seem to be many gaps in the understanding of sustainable tourism development, especially when it comes to its implementation. This process is considered particularly difficult due to the conflicting interests that exist between the main stakeholders involved in tourism. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that local authorities can bring together and facilitate the cooperation between all these stakeholders, and therefore can play an essential role in the sustainable development of tourism in a destination. However, when it comes to large cities, even though they are important tourist destinations and attract many visitors, the concept of sustainable tourism in urban environments has received little attention from researchers and policy makers. Therefore, this thesis aims to address in part the current gaps in tourism research by offering an insight into sustainable tourism planning in urban areas. Using a case study approach, it seeks to develop the current knowledge and understanding of whether local authorities in London have embraced and implemented strategies and measures to promote sustainable development of tourism. To achieve this, the research uses a comparative framework to examine how the London boroughs have integrated policies for sustainable tourism development into their main planning documents. This analysis is developed further through a discussion of the findings of an online survey conducted with representatives of the local authorities in London, and the results of semistr…
abstract: Sustainable development has become the main objective of the policy agenda for many governments and a key principle that underpins the planning process in the UK. Likewise, the concept of sustainable tourism has been widely embraced by managers and planners of tourist destinations, as it provides a platform for different stakeholders in the tourism industry to interact and discuss the impacts of their activities. Yet, despite the attention this concept has received, there still seem to be many gaps in the understanding of sustainable tourism development, especially when it comes to its implementation. This process is considered particularly difficult due to the conflicting interests that exist between the main stakeholders involved in tourism. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that local authorities can bring together and facilitate the cooperation between all these stakeholders, and therefore can play an essential role in the sustainable development of tourism in a destination. However, when it comes to large cities, even though they are important tourist destinations and attract many visitors, the concept of sustainable tourism in urban environments has received little attention from researchers and policy makers. Therefore, this thesis aims to address in part the current gaps in tourism research by offering an insight into sustainable tourism planning in urban areas. Using a case study approach, it seeks to develop the current knowledge and understanding of whether local authorities in London have embraced and implemented strategies and measures to promote sustainable development of tourism. To achieve this, the research uses a comparative framework to examine how the London boroughs have integrated policies for sustainable tourism development into their main planning documents. This analysis is developed further through a discussion of the findings of an online survey conducted with representatives of the local authorities in London, and the results of semistr…
author: Maxim, Cristina
keywords: 330 Economics
date published: 2013-07
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:54:20Z
provider: London Metropolitan University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: London Metropolitan University