ABSTRACT
Environmental policy now ranks with economic and social policies as a component of an integrated political agenda in marginal regions (cf. Prentice 1993a): not just as an ideology of “green” awareness but more tangibly both as a quality of life issue for residents and as an “export” product for tourists to enjoy. For its inherent and immediate qualities, but also frequently for its earnings potential, environmental sustainability enters political debate. For such debate to be informed, scientific and interpretative attention needs to supplement sensory awareness and ideological passion. Sustainable development is here defined in the practical sense as being development which does not have unacceptable opportunity costs in terms of physical and social environments, policy objectives and tourists’ demands. Intentionally, this definition encompasses both weak sustainability and strong sustainability as criteria (Glasson et al. 1994). Weak sustainability is the criterion that the physical environment may be irrevocably exploited if there is substitutability between the environment in question and others. Strong sustainability is the criterion that any irrevocable exploitation is unacceptable. In practice, however, issues of sustainability often focus on remote, “rural” landscapes and communities in need of export industries competitive in the modern economy. Increasingly, some forms of tourism have been regarded as one form of development potentially acceptable in these areas (Murphy 1985, Prentice 1993a and 1993b, Commonwealth Department of Tourism 1994, STB 1994, WTB 1994, Wight 1994). Tourism development of this kind requires not just accommodation provision, but also attraction development; in other words, it requires the design, development and promotion of tourism 218products where they did not exist before. The interpretation of place, or environment, is seen as potentially one such form of sustainable tourism development. For example,
Ecotourism is nature-based tourism that involves education and interpretation of the natural environment and is managed to be ecologically sustainable. This definition recognises that “natural environment” includes cultural components and that “ecologically-sustainable” involves an appropriate return to the local community and long-term conservation of the resource (Commonwealth Department of Tourism 1994: 17).
