Operationalising Tourism Sustainability at the Destination Level: A Systems Thinking Approach Along the SDGs

Figures & data

Figure 1. The tourism sustainability assessment conceptual framework (TSAF).

Figure 2. Tourism activation at destination level SFD.

Figure 3. Tourism economic effect SFD.

Figure 4. Tourism economic and social effect SFDs.

Figure 5. Sustainable tourism SFDs.

Figure 6. Tourism contribution to the destination’s economy SFD.

Figure 7. Tourism contribution to the destination’s economy and employment SFDs.

Figure 8. Tourism contribution to the destination’s sustainability SFDs.

Table A1. Tourism activation at the destination level is relevant to SDG indicators.

TSAF variable	Goals and targets (from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development)	SDG indicator	UNSD indicator codes
Tourist flows	9.1. Develop quality, reliable, sustainable, and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all	9.1.2. Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport	C090102
	11.2. By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons	11.2.1. Proportion of population that has convenient access to public transport, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities	C110201

Table A2. Tourism sustainability performance relevance to SDG indicators.

TSAF variable	Goals and targets (from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development)	SDG indicator	UNSD indicator codes
Tourism economic performance
Tourism investment/reinvestment	2.a. Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research and extension services, technology development, and plant and livestock gene banks to enhance agricultural productive capacity in developing countries, in particular, least developed countries
	8.10. Strengthen the capacity of domestic financial institutions to encourage and expand access to banking, insurance, and financial services for all
	8.a. Increase aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular, least developed countries, including through the enhanced integrated framework for trade-related technical assistance to least developed countries	8.a.1. Aid for trade commitments and disbursements	C080a01
	9.3. Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets	9.3.1. Proportion of small-scale industries in total industry value added	C090301
		9.3.2. Proportion of small-scale industries with a loan or line of credit	C090302
	10.b. Encourage official development assistance and financial flows, including foreign direct investment, to States where the need is greatest, in particular, least developed countries, African countries, small island developing States, and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their national plans and programmes	10.b.1. Total resource flows for development, by recipient and donor countries and type of flow (e.g. official development assistance, foreign direct investment, and other flows)	C100b01
	17.3. Mobilise additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources	17.3. Foreign direct investment, official development assistance, and South–South cooperation as a proportion of gross national income	C170303
Tourism social performance
Tourism employment	4.4. By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship	4.4.1. Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill	C040401
	8.b. By 2020, develop and operationalise a global strategy for youth employment and implement the Global Jobs Pact of the International Labour Organisation	8.b.1. Existence of a developed and operationalised national strategy for youth employment, as a distinct strategy or as part of a national employment strategy	C080b01
Gender	8.3. Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation, and encourage the formalisation and growth of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services	8.3.1. Proportion of informal employment in total employment, by sector and sex	C080302
Age	8.5. By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value	8.5.1. Average hourly earnings of employees, by sex, age, occupation, and persons with disabilities	C080501
		8.5.2. Unemployment rate, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities	C080502
Specialisation	8.9. By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products	8.9.1. Tourism direct GDP as a proportion of total GDP and in growth rate	C080901
	4.3. By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational, and tertiary education, including university	4.3.1. Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex	C040301
	4.b. By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular, least developed countries, small island developing States, and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes, in developed countries and other developing countries	4.b.1. Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships by sector and type of study	C040b01
Type of contract	8.7. Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms
	8.8. Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular, women migrants, and those in precarious employment	8.8.2. Level of national compliance with labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining) based on International Labour Organisation (ILO) textual sources and national legislation, by sex and migrant status	C080802
Tourism ecological footprint
Consumption of resources	12.2. By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources	12.2.1. Material footprint, material footprint per capita, and material footprint per GDP	C200202
		12.2.2. Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP	C200203
Energy consumption	13.2. Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning	13.2.2. Total greenhouse gas emissions per year	C130202
Type of fuel	12.a. Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production	12.a.1. Installed renewable energy-generating capacity in developing countries (in watts per capita)	C200208
	12.c. Rationalise inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimising the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities	12.c.1. Amount of fossil-fuel subsidies per unit of GDP (production and consumption)	C120c01
Water consumption
Available technology	6.4. By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity	6.4.1. Change in water-use efficiency over time	C060401
Production of waste
Liquid waste	6.3. By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimising release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally	6.3.1. Proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated	C060303
Solid waste	11.6. By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management	11.6.1. Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities	C110603
Waste management	12.3. By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses	12.3.1. (a) Food loss index and (b) food waste index	C120301
	12.4. By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil in order to minimise their adverse impacts on human health and the environment	12.4.1. Number of parties to international multilateral environmental agreements on hazardous waste, and other chemicals that meet their commitments and obligations in transmitting information as required by each relevant agreement	C120401

Table A3. Tourism destination performance relevance to SDG indicators.

TSAF variable	Goals and targets (from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development)	SDG indicator	UNSD indicator codes
Destination GDP
Tourism GDP	9.2. Promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and, by 2030, significantly raise the industry’s share of employment and gross domestic product, in line with national circumstances, and double its share in least developed countries	9.2.1. Manufacturing value added as a proportion of GDP and per capita	C090201
IO tables	12.b. Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products	12.b.1. Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability	C120b02
Destination employment
Income distribution	10.1. By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40% of the population at a rate higher than the national average	10.1.1. Growth rates of household expenditure or income per capita among the bottom 40% of the population and the total population	C100101
	10.4. Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage, and social protection policies, and progressively achieve greater equality	10.4.1. Labour share of GDP	C100401
		10.4.2. Redistributive impact of fiscal policy	C100402
Capital generation	2.3. By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists, and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets, and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment	2.3.2. Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status	C020302
	8.2. Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading, and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors	8.2.1. Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person	C080201
Destination human capital
Skills development	1.a. Ensure significant mobilisation of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular, least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensions	1.a.2. Proportion of total government spending on essential services (education, health, and social protection)	C010a02
Immigration	3.c. Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training, and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States	3.c.1. Health worker density and distribution	C030c01
Quality of life	3.8. Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential healthcare services, and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all	3.8.1. Coverage of essential health services	C030801
		3.8.2. Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or income	C030802
Destination environment
Tourism pressure	8.4. Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavour to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead	8.4.2. Domestic material consumption, domestic material consumption per capita, and domestic material consumption per GDP	C080402
Landscape & biodiversity	14.4. By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics	14.4.1. Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels	C140401
	15.4. By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development	15.4.1. Coverage by protected areas of important sites for mountain biodiversity	C150401
		15.4.2. Mountain green cover index	C150402
	15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species	15.5.1 Red list index	C150501
Quality of the urban environment	11.4. Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage	11.4.1. Total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection, and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by the source of funding (public and private), type of heritage (cultural and natural), and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)	C110401
Land-use change	11.3. By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanisation and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries	11.3.1. Ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate	C110301
Urbanisation	11.7. By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive, accessible, green, and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons, and persons with disabilities	11.7.1. Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities	C110701
Available technology	6.a. By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling, and reuse technologies	6.a.1. Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan	C060a01
	7.2. By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix	7.2.1. Renewable energy share in the total final energy consumption	C070201
	9.b. Support domestic technology development, research, and innovation in developing countries, including by ensuring a conducive policy environment for, inter alia, industrial diversification and value addition to commodities	9.b.1. Proportion of medium and high-tech industry value added in total value added	C090b01
	9.c. Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in the least developed countries by 2020	9.c.1. Proportion of population covered by a mobile network, by technology	C090c01
Natural resources availability & quality	11.4. Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage	11.4.1. Total per capita expenditure on the preservation, protection, and conservation of all cultural and natural heritage, by the source of funding (public and private), type of heritage (cultural and natural), and level of government (national, regional, and local/municipal)	C110401
Air	9.4. By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities	9.4.1. CO2 emission per unit of value added	C090401
Water	6.1. By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all	6.1.1. Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services	C060101
	6.3. By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping, and minimising release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally	6.3.2. Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality	C060302
	6.4. By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity	6.4.2. Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources	C060402
	14.1. By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution	14.1.1. (a) Index of coastal eutrophication and (b) plastic debris density	C140101
	14.3. Minimise and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels	14.3.1. Average marine acidity (pH) measured at the agreed suite of representative sampling stations	C140301
Soil	12.5. By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse	12.5.1. National recycling rate and tons of material recycled	C120501
Land-use changes	15.1. By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements	15.1.1. Forest area as a proportion of total land area	C150101
		15.1.2. Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered by protected areas and by ecosystem type	C150102
	15.3. By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world	15.3.1. Proportion of land that is degraded over a total land area	C150301