ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates the long-term negative impacts of over development, why the threats are accelerating, what types of accountability must be introduced, and the solutions available. It suggests that local authorities hold the key to the future of tourism destinations and planning. Local authorities need guidance to ensure that they are managing budgets in ways that account for tourism's costs, and they need legal authority to undertake long-term planning of tourism destinations that protects natural, cultural, and social capital. The chapter stresses that scholars and destination managers must develop a new method for placing value on the earth's most valued human and biological heritage, which can leverage its sustainable development potential through tourism. It shows that all local authorities undertake a strategic plan that defines a mission, strategic objectives, and desired results for the community, region, and nation, as well as a master plan that is regulated to manage the use of land under the authority of their government.
