ABSTRACT
Sound tourism planning is generally viewed as a way of mitigating the negative effects of tourism while at the same time enhancing the benefits. There has recently been a shift in traditional tourism planning paradigms and research from narrow concerns with physical planning and blind promotion aimed at the masses towards a more balanced approach that supports the development and promotion of more sustainable forms of tourism (Getz 1987; Inskeep 1991; Murphy 1985). In the context of tourism, sustainability can be viewed from two perspectives. First, the local physical, socio-cultural, and economic environments are treated in such a way that they will be maintained as viable resources and functioning systems in the long term. Second, the industry itself must be maintained at a healthy level into the future as well with minimal negative impacts.
