ABSTRACT
Tourism in the twenty-first century must anticipate a future marked by changing global relationships and societal structures, technological innovations, and growing spatial awareness and environmental concern. Major shifts in the nature and scale of tourism are already in evidence as the industry struggles to respond to a range of forces at work. Change and the change agents involved are powerful and positive forces if harnessed constructively. Rather than opposing change, or merely accepting and accommodating change, the tourism industry must manage change to its advantage and that of the environment which nurtures it. Endorsement and application of the concept of sustainability and of best-practice environmental management offer compelling evidence of how change can be harnessed to contribute towards the achievement of environmental excellence. Although tourism flourishes best in conditions of peace, prosperity, freedom and security, disturbance to these conditions is to be expected. The industry response must be sufficiently resilient to generate opportunities for the growth of tourism in keeping with the dynamics of a changing world and increasing concern for ecologically sustainable development.
