Sustainable Tourism on a Finite Planet

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. James E. Austin, Harvard Business School, USA Sustainable Tourism on a Finite Planet is both comprehensive and provocative. A must-read for anyone interested in the present and future state of travel and tourism in the face of global climate change, poverty, and ecosystem degradation. Grounded in decades of leadership and experience, Epler Wood methodically presents the comprehensive social, environmental, and financial impacts of what has become one of the most important economic engines of the global economy and introduces new business models and approaches to move us beyond overconsumption of limited tourism assets. Mark B. Milstein, Cornell University, USA Epler Wood's book carefully documents why travel and tourism plays a critical role in preserving natural and social capital and its seminal importance to human health, well-being, and compassion in this multicultural world. With equal emphasis, it outlines the importance of replicable measurements of the industry's cumulative impacts, with in-depth analysis of each of the sector's major industrial sectors - hotels, tour operators, cruise lines, airlines, and airports. Read this book to learn how to approach this global industry. John D. Spengler, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, USA How will we protect destinations with projected global population growth and an increase in the demand for travel? Epler Wood lays out an integrated vision for sustainable tourism that effectively addresses the relationship between traveler consumption patterns and their impact on natural resources. For corporate social responsibility and tourism destination managers alike, this book offers indispensable real-world case studies and provides a vision for a pragmatic way forward. Seleni Matus, George Washington University, USA Epler Wood argues throughout the book that quantitative analysis at a much larger scale is required to navigate successfully the growing complexity of our world and tourism as one of its biggest industries. Misinformation and feeling must be replaced with hard data and fact, a tall order in our present ever changing and confusing information world. This book deserves a place on the shelves of academics, government and business leaders, and all those that wish to ensure future generations can meet their needs on spaceship earth. Keith Dewar, Univeristy of New Brunswick, Saint John, Canada