En torno al concepto de sostenibilidad y su compleja aplicación al turismo. El caso del turismo urbano cultural

Abstract

The concept of sustainability applies to very different areas. One of the most significant ones appears due to its transversal nature and its very diverse implications in the tourist activity, as recognized in the principles of the Charter for Sustainable Tourism by Lanzarote (1995). From there, there is a widespread acceptance of the convenience of using indicators for the measurement and assessment of tourism sustainability, which has resulted in proposals of very different nature. Such proposals, however, usually suffer from an excessively generic character, which results in a complex and scarce practical applicability; hence the need to make methodological approaches that enable the selection and use of particular indicators in specific spatial contexts and with specific tourism typologies that, being realistic and operative, are really useful for decision making. This is the objective of this work that, after observing the most outstanding proposals made up to this point and making its own contributions, establishes a selection criteria that facilitate its applicability in urban areas of cultural interest. Another communication presented in this same scientific forum, entitled Towards the Realization of Tourism Sustainability: Application of Indicators to the Jewish Quarter of Cordoba, is the practical embodiment of what we explain here in a unique urban-patrimonial environment.