ABSTRACT
Coastal tourism is immensely popular, and it often includes the most intensive forms of tourism. As a consequence, many coastal areas have been spoilt, or their inhabitants have to deal with serious problems of natural and environmental conservation (Conlin and Baum 1995; Doody 1997; Gómez and Rebollo 1995; Opperman and McKinley 1997; Priestley et al. 1996). Islands constitute a particular variation on the theme of coastal tourism, being bounded by coastal areas and separated from the larger spatial context of the mainland (Briguglio et al. 1996). Their attraction is not just their coasts, however, as they often have other important natural and cultural heritage qualities. Islands also tend to be socially and culturally inwardly directed, often creating a specific political context for solving problems of sustainability related to coastal tourism. Tourism is all pervasive on islands, as Cornelia Zarkia (1996) once suggested in her report on tourism development on the Greek island of Skyros.
