James Austin
Harvard Business School, USA
Book Recommendations:
Recommended by James Austin
“Sustainable Tourism on a Finite Planet will give you a comprehensive and deep understanding of all of the multiple actors in the international tourism industry and their environmental impacts and challenges, along with economic, political, and cultural dimensions. The comprehensive analyses of each segment of the industry – tour operators, cruise liners, airlines, hotels, and the emerging online tourism entrants – lay out quantitatively and qualitatively the business models, competitive dynamics, policy, and environmental aspects. The analyses are evidence-based, drawing on a wide range of research and studies. The author’s decades of experience in multiple sectors of the industry, including nonprofit, for profit, and governmental organizations, illuminate the book with practical case examples, insightful first-hand experiences, and valuable expert judgments. The presentation is very well organized and exceptionally clearly written. The book is illuminating reading and enriching learning.” (from Amazon)
This book helps all those involved in international tourism develop the new skills, tools and investments required to protect irreplaceable global resources from the impacts of escalating tourism demand over the next 50 years. It documents how technology and the growing global middle class are driving a travel revolution which requires a new paradigm in managing tourism destinations. Travel and tourism supply chains and business models for hotels, tour operators, cruise lines, airlines and airports are analysed and environmental management techniques are proposed for each sector. A pragmatic set of solutions are offered to support the transition to lower impact tourism development worldwide. It recommends that decision makers assess the current and future value of natural, social, and cultural capital to guide investment in destinations and protect vital resources. Case studies illustrate why budgets to protect local destinations are consistently underestimated and offer guidance on new metrics. Innovative approaches are proposed to support the transition to green infrastructure, protect incomparable landscapes, and engage local people in the monitoring of vital indicators to protect local resources. It provides students, professionals, and policy makers with far-reaching recommendations for new educational programs, professional expertise, financing, and legal frameworks to lower tourism’s rapidly escalating carbon impacts and protect the health and well-being of local populations, ecosystems, cultures, and monuments worldwide.