1、外文文献RURAL TOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTINTRODUCTIONRural tourism is a segment of the total tourist industry which is particularly important in Hungary, in a country with no spectacular natural attractions, without seaside, high mountains, rainforest or herds of exotic animals. However, its att
2、ractive cultural landscapes with small villages, thermal springs, rivers and lakes, combined with the traditional hospitality, are able to offer pleasant experiences to the kind of tourist who is looking for relaxation and recreation in a calm setting.On one hand, rural tourism development can play
3、an important role in the diversification of the Hungarian tourist supply and in the creation of a more complex and colourful country image. On the other hand, rural tourism is not only the end, but the means to stimulate economic growth, to increase the viability of underdeveloped regions, and to im
4、prove the living standards of local populations.If rural tourism is to fulfil all these roles, it has to be developed in a way that ensures the long-term sustainability of the resources and that of the development progress itself. But what is a sustainable way of development in rural tourism ? How c
5、an sustainability be monitored and promoted in rural destinations ? This paper attempts to answer these questions by presenting the current situation of Hungarian rural tourism through indicators that are considered to be relevant for this type of tourism.SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENTThe concept o
6、f sustainable development was introduced by the World Commission on Environment and Development in the Brundtland Report in 1987, defining sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.Tourism
7、 is one of the foremost economic activities around the world, having transported more than 617 million people internationally and generated 448 billion USD in receipts in 1997 (WTO, 1998). It is a major economic force, having generated in 1996 an estimated 3,153.3 billion USD in gross output, creati
8、ng employment for app. 255 million people, producing app. 10.7 per cent of world gross domestic product, investing app. 766 billion USD in new facilities and equipment annually, and contributing more than app. 653.3 billion USD to global tax revenue (WTTC, 1996).The volume and significance of touris
9、m clearly shows that it is not enough to develop new forms of alternative tourism in order to minimise the negative and maximise the positive impacts of tourism development. The whole sector must be developed and managed in a way that it does not damage the natural and socio-cultural environment and
10、 this is the responsibility of the world-wide tourism industry.Though the Brundtland report made no special reference to tourism, since its publication, the role of tourism in the process of continuously misusing the Earths resources has been analysed and the concept of sustainable tourism appeared.
11、Sustainable tourism has several - often seriously debated - definitions. According to the definition of the Federation of Nature and National Parks, sustainable tourism is all forms of tourism development, management and activity that maintain the environmental, social and economic integrity and wel
12、l-being of natural, built and cultural resources in perpetuity (FNNP, 1993). A publication by the Tourism Concern and the World Wide Fund for Nature defines sustainable tourism as tourism which operates within natural capacities for the regeneration and future productivity of natural resources; reco
13、gnises the contribution that people and communities, customs and lifestyles, make to the tourism experience; accepts that these people must have an equitable share in the economic benefits of tourism; and is guided by the wishes of local people and communities in the host areas (Tourism Concern & WW
14、F, 1992).Though the existing definitions usually differ in their focus or level of elaborateness, the main message of the Brundtland Report seems to be more and more accepted by the tourism industry all over the world. However, the notion of sustainability is a very complex one and it has many ramif
15、ications (Mowforth & Munt, 1998).Ecological sustainability, which means that tourism development does not cause irreversible changes in a given destinations ecosystem, is the most commonly accepted dimension, since there is an obvious need all over the world to protect natural resources from the neg
16、ative impacts of tourism activities. The general growth of environment-awareness has significantly contributed to this trend. Social sustainability refers to the ability of a community to absorb tourism (both the industry and the tourists themselves) without the creation of social disharmony. Cultur
17、al sustainability in the context of tourism assumes that a given community is able to retain or adapt their own distinctive cultural traits against the pressure of both the so-called tourist culture and the residual culture of the visitors (Jafari, 1987). Economic sustainability refers to a level of
18、 economic gain from tourism that is sufficient to provide an appropriate income for the local community (compared to the inconvenience caused by the activities of the tourism sector) and to cover all the costs of any special measure taken to satisfy the tourists (thus a precondition of economic sust
19、ainability is the attractiveness of an area and the perceived high quality of its tourist supply: without being in a competitive position in the world market, no destination can be economically sustainable).The different aspects of sustainability do not compete, but must be seen as equally important
20、. High level of economic profitability must not be considered as a tool to cover over the damage done to social or natural resources, but the relative fragile nature of these latter must not create a planning environment where economic considerations are not being taken (properly). Sustainable touri
21、sm development has to be economically viable and naturally and culturally sensitive at the same time.As we could see, inappropriate tourism development results in increasing stress on destinations and consequently in negative changes in the destinations physical, economic and social-cultural charact
22、eristics. In order to avoid or minimise unfavourable impacts, decision-makers must be aware of all the factors that play a role in the development process. In the measurement of the progress that an individual destination is making towards sustainable tourism development, sustainability indicators a
23、re commonly accepted as one set of useful tools.INDICATORS OF SUSTAINABILITYIndicators measure information with which decision-makers may reduce the chances of unknowingly taking poor decisions (WTO, 1996). In other words, indicators are a set of useful measures of those factors that are important t
24、o the decision-makers (the relative significance of these factors depend on their relevance to the development objectives of a given destination, and on their importance to tourists).Indicators are both a tool for management today and an investment in the future, since they reduce the risk of inadve
25、rtent damage to the resource base on which the tourist industry depends (WTO, 1996).Based on different guidelines and recommendations (Tourism Concern & WWF, 1992; McCool & Watson, 1994; Murphy, 1994; Howie, 1996; Swarbrooke, 1996; WTO, 1996; Mowforth & Munt, 1998), the indicators suggested for the
26、purpose of this study are the following (Table 1):Table 1 - Indicators of Sustainability in Rural TourismIndicatorMeasure1. Stress- Number of visitors/tourists (per annum/season)2. Social stress- Ratio of visitor/tourist numbers to local population (perannum/season)3. Attractiveness- List of natural
27、 and cultural resources - Rate of attractiveness of natural and cultural resources4.Planning process- Existence of local/regional plan for development5.Tourism planning process- Existence of local/regional plan for tourism development6. Area protection- Category of protection - Percentage of protect
28、ed area compared to the whole territory of the destination7.Local involvement- Ratio of the number of locally owned tourist businesses to the total number of tourist businesses8. Local control- Existence of formal measures (public hearing, community meeting, local referendum) to ensure local control
29、 over evelopment planning and implementation9. Employment- Number of jobs created in tourism (full-time equivalent) - Ratio of local employee number to the number of guest workers10.Tourism contribution to the local economy- Proportion of total tax income generated by tourism only11.Economic diversi
30、ty- Share of different economic activities in the total tax income12.Energy consumption- Ratio of renewable energy sources to non-renewable energy sources (consumption)13.Waste management- Percentage of households with proper sewage system - Percentage of waste receiving treatment14. Education and t
31、raining- Percentage of local people involved in tourism with professional training and education - Distribution of tourism employees by education - Percentage of tourism employees (and local people) participating in on-the-job training in a given time period15.Local satisfaction- Overall perception
32、of tourisms impacts in local community16.Touristsatisfaction- Overall satisfaction of tourists concerning the quality and the value/price ratio of the complex tourist product - Percentage/change of repeat visits compared to first-time visitsTHE CONCEPT OF RURAL TOURISMRural tourism is an old and a n
33、ew phenomenon at the same time. Interest in countryside recreation started to grew already in the 19. century as a reaction to the stress of the increasing urbanization and industrialisation. The rural scene was admired by poets and artists. The new railway companies transported more and more touris
34、ts to the countryside. However, the rural tourism of our era is different: the number of tourists involved has increased significantly and tourism has developed in all types of countryside instead of being limited to areas of exceptional scenic beauty.Though it seems to be simple to define rural tou
35、rism as tourism that takes place in the countryside, this definition does not include the complexity of the activity and the different forms and meanings developed in different countries. According to a broader definition, rural tourism includes a range of activities, services and amenities provided
36、 by farmers and rural people to attract tourists to their area in order to generate extra income for their businesses (Gannon, 1988, in te Kloeze, 1994). If this broader concept is accepted, rural tourism covers not only farm tourism or agritourism (which is generally what rural tourism means for mo
37、st people), but also special interest nature holidays, touring in rural areas and residential tourism, and the services include - besides accommodation - events, festivities, outdoor recreation, production and sale of handicrafts and agricultural products, etc.The term rural tourism has different me
38、anings in different countries. In Finland, for example, it usually means renting out cottages to visitors or providing catering services in the countryside. In Hungary, a special term of village tourism exists, indicating that only activities and services provided in villages are included in this ki
39、nd of tourism (as we will see later, village tourism typically covers low-priced accommodation, involvement in agricultural or other local activities is not common). In Slovenia, the most important form of rural tourism is tourism on family farms, where guests stay either with the farmer family or i
40、n a guest house, but visiting farms to have a meal and explore the farmyard is also popular (Verbole, 1995). In the Netherlands, the rural tourist product means especially camping on the farm, with most farm services being linked to route-bound activities as cycling, walking or horse-riding (Peters
41、et al, 1994). In Greece, the main provision of rural tourism product is bed and breakfast with accommodation in traditionally furnished rooms and with traditional breakfasts often based on home-made products. Complementary activities - currently still on a limited scale - include restaurants and ref
42、reshment facilities or the organisation of cultural and recreational activities (Turner, 1993).Rural tourism is one of the main priorities of tourism development in many European countries, including Hungary. The market for rural holidays is growing at the same time as the future of many rural regio
43、ns is uncertain, due to changes in agricultural practice (including the effects of the Common Agricultural Policy in the EU) or the increasing attractiveness of urban living standards. Rural tourism seems to be an appropriate tool to revitalise the declining rural areas and to ensure their sustainab
44、le future by job retention or even job creation, increased job diversity, service retention, farm support, broadened cultural provision, landscape and nature conservation or the maintenance of rural arts and crafts as tourist attractions. Rural tourism often provides an incentive (and part of the ne
45、cessary funding) for infrastructural development, which then contributes to the growth of other economic activities in rural areas. A specific benefit of rural tourism development can be the increasing number of opportunities for social interaction for local people who often live relatively isolated
46、 lives in agricultural communities (Swarbrooke, 1996).RURAL TOURISM AND SUSTAINABILITYRural tourism is often considered to be intrinsically sustainable, for it attracts small number of visitors, there is no need for extensive infrastructural development, tourists are usually genuinely interested in
47、the local culture and traditions. One of the main attraction of rural holidays is the personal interaction with local residents, so hosts and guests are able to share ideas and knowledge, and consequently tourism can fulfil its role as the industry of peace, as a tool of mutual understanding.Neverth
48、eless, if rural tourism development is analysed on a deeper level, certain doubts arise concerning intrinsic sustainability. The most significant issue to be investigated is the economic profitability of rural tourist services, since the demand is often seasonal, the occupancy rates are low and the
49、investment required for creating or improving facilities for tourists is often high. In most rural tourist destinations it is quite unlikely that tourism can be viable as a sole source of income. Rural tourism can usually be only one of the income-generating alternatives in a region, so its role in sustainable development is highly influenced by the performances of other economic sectors (especially
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