The United Nations (UN’s division of sustainable development provides a very simple definition of what sustainable development is. It is simply the “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.) The application of sustainable development in tourism tends to make optimal use of environmental resources, to respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities and finally to provide socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders (WTO, 2004).
On the island of Rhodes, we are under the impression that the principles, values and objectives of sustainable development of tourism, as defined above, are well embedded and researched. However, there is an overwhelming lack of commitment and action. This can only be attributed to the apathy of the political leadership.
To raise public awareness of sustainable development in tourism, the presence of a strong political will is a prerequisite. It will ensure a wide involvement of the public, which in turn will gather consensus. But, sustainable development of tourism does not stop there. It is a continuous process and thus, it requires a close monitoring of the impacts. This can be achieved by “introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary” (WTO, 2004).
Sustainable development of tourism is also about maintaining a high level of tourism satisfaction, ensuring that tourists are aware about sustainability issues as well as understanding the benefits to the local community of Rhodes by promoting it amongst them.
The implementation of sustainable development in tourism on the island of Rhodes could provide solutions to a number of problems such as putting an end to the degradation of archaeological and historical sites, reducing problems of noise and aesthetic pollution, policing unsolicited buildings in areas with high levels of tourism activity, taking into consideration the local environment when carrying out infrastructure projects, preserving water resources and reducing the impact to the ecosystem due to the residential tourism development and maintaining.
Therefore, the implementation of sustainability in tourism on the island of Rhodes requires strong political commitment in order to raise public and tourists awareness, which in turn, will meet the needs of the present without destroying the future needs of the generation to come on the island of Rhodes
Authors description: A hotel manager on the beautiful Greek island of Rhodes, educated at postgraduate level in hospitality management and tourism. Sustainability in tourism is a main area of interest to the author.
Authors name: Nikolaos Stamoulos (MSc)
Contact e-mail address: n.stamoulos@esls.co.uk
Organisation name: Atlantica Aegean Blue in Rhodes