Tourism has become a major international industry, with many countries all over the world relying on the income it produces.  Its economic advantages as a major source of finance and employment leads to its active promotion by governments and other institutions, independent of the consequences on the environment, ecology and social structure of affected regions.

This book contains papers presented at the fifth International Conference on Sustainable Tourism. It takes a broad view of this sophisticated and complex industry, and examines the practice of sustainable tourism from global travel trends through to destination and site management. Innovative solutions, including those involving ecological tourism, as well as cultural initiatives that will lead to better approaches to tourism with the objective of preserving the diversity of our planet are presented. The biennial conference, first held in 2004, takes a multi-disciplinary approach that fosters greater understanding and collaboration between scientists and social science experts, practitioners and policy makers.

The topics include the following:  Emergent strategies for tourism development, Tourism strategies, Environmental issues; Tourism as a tool of development; Climate change and the effects of natural hazards in tourism; Community issues; Art, architecture and culture; Heritage tourism.