Sustainable Tourism Law

A LEGAL APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS 761 The selection of indicators rather than being a technical process must include normative as well as legal value judgments. Under this context and taking into consideration the sustainable challenges that most tourist destinations face, we can conclude that it is imperative to create a decision support system based on specific selected indicators that may assist decision makers (private or public) and stakeholders to better assess the impact of tourism in a sustainable point of view. In relation to the indicators, some aspects must be considered. It is important to limit the number of available indicators so that they may be properly managed and analysed. Indicators must be manageable and recordable through time as well as accessible at a reasonable time. They also must be adapted and pertinent to a specific geographical region. In terms of communication, sustainable indicators must be easy to be communicated and reported taking into account the following sustainable pillars: (i) Economy; (ii) Society; (iii) Environment and also (iv) Technology and (v) (Geo)politics. This paper highlights that there is still a long way to run in order to create the best indicators for measuring tourism sustainability. In fact, we live in a global and changing world and therefore the presentation of new indicators is vital. However, there is no unique solution, only different pathways that can be followed (Holden et al., 2018). We also found the need for measurement and high-quality data that allow for analysis and an understanding of the different narratives that might be followed. Any indicator must answer to the former three imperatives that include population and urbanization, resources (including energy, material resources, and technology), health (including planetary and human health), and governance (including involvement and participation). So, it is not only the overall quality of the indicators or the general model applied that matters, but rather how these data and assessments may be deliberated in a political process and reach agreements for political action. The former composite indicators discussed in this article are good examples of recent proposals that may achieve the multidimensionality inherent in a development path. However, most of them only cover a limited number of the most important aspects, and thus they exclude some crucial dimensions of development and more important of tourism. So, the development of new indicators that, in addition to their comprehensiveness, can achieve a more universal application and reflect tourism challenges is still to come.