Education and Training for Sustainable Tourism: problems, possibilities and cautious first steps

Global tourism is the world’s biggest and fastest growing industry (Filion et al., 1994). To many governments the expansion of tourism appears to be a very attractive method of achieving economic growth. Potential hard currency earnings for successful host countries are large. The expectation of such earnings is central to the development plans of a number of small states (Cater, 1995) and an important component in the strategies of many larger ones. Other advantageous aspects of tourism growth may include the creation of (often usefully decentralized) employment, enhanced tax revenues, a stimulus to conservation efforts, the attraction of inward foreign investment, and the creation of economic and recreational infrastructure for local use (Alderman, 1994; Pleumarom, 1994).