Selecting policy instruments for sustainable tourism

There is growing recognition that the market economy on its own will not produce sustainable tourism and that some government interventions are necessary. Government interventions are guided by policies and are implemented using policy instruments, which are the specific mechanisms or tools employed to put policy into practice. Public authorities are faced with an extensive array of policy instruments to put sustainable tourism policies into practice. These instruments include zoning to control tourism development or to limit tourist access to sensitive areas, dissemination of tourism codes of conduct to encourage more sustainable behaviour, taxing of energy use and waste treatment services to prompt tourism enterprises to save scarce resources and reduce pollution, and public provision of traffic management infrastructure to reduce congestion and pollution in tourist areas. All such instruments for sustainable tourism are interventions by government that alter what would otherwise happen. When instruments are being selected it is important to consider the complete range of instruments and to select a mix of them which, in the particular circumstances, translate policy into action and meet the overall policy objectives. Deciding which instruments are appropriate depends on the specific goals, and deciding what goals are sought is influenced by social, economic and political processes that are affected by competing beliefs, values and ideology.