It is widely accepted that sustainable tourism is the best way to develop tourism activities and regional and/or local economies by balancing the economic, social, and environmental objectives of sustainable development. However, in many tourist destinations, there has been a significant and necessary focus, effort, and commitment towards environmental, cultural, and social sustainability and local community participation, but not to the same extent towards economic sustainability, which is essential for true sustainable development of tourist destinations.
The objectives in the economic field are to foster development in local communities of tourist destinations, primarily by creating productive jobs and receiving a share of the benefits from tourism activities, to raise the income and living standards of those communities, which are fundamental aspects for achieving economic sustainability.
One of the main effects of tourism aligns with Goal 8 of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which refers to the creation of productive employment, both in tourism service companies and in the broader local economy, reflecting the productive linkage generated by tourism activities.
It is important to note that achieving the economic objectives of sustainable development in tourist destinations and local economies will not occur spontaneously merely through the existence and/or promotion of tourism activities. Therefore, it is necessary to induce or create conditions for tourism to generate sustainable development and achieve economic goals in tourist destinations.
For sustainable tourism to genuinely foster development in tourist destinations and local communities, job creation must occur not only within the tourism industry but fundamentally in the broader local economy of the tourist destination and its surrounding area. This depends on the diversification of the local economy and its ability to produce the inputs and services needed by tourism service companies, rather than importing them from other regions of the country and/or abroad. This is essential to achieve the desired development that benefits the local community primarily.
In many tourist destinations where significant development efforts are made through environmental protection, enhancement of natural and cultural attractions and resources, land use planning, creation, diversification, and marketing of tourism products and services, investments in tourism infrastructure and equipment, etc., there has undoubtedly been a development of tourism activities, creating tourism jobs. However, this does not necessarily translate into the development of the tourist destination itself. Additional productive job creation in the broader local economy is necessary, which often does not happen to the expected extent due to economic leakages. These leakages occur when local tourism businesses purchase inputs and services from outside the destination and its area of influence, necessary for their operation.
The generation of jobs and better income levels in regions and local communities driven by sustainable tourism should therefore be achieved by promoting and applying strategies and policies that realize the defined economic objectives. This involves implementing comprehensive sustainable projects in tourist destinations that effectively combine and complement tourism activities with the production of inputs and services needed by tourism service companies. This generates direct and indirect effects and employment in regional and local economies, known as the multiplier effect of tourism spending.
The analysis of tourism spending through the multiplier concept is based on the premise that all sectors of an economy are interdependent. This concept means that the demand for production in a given sector will affect the demand in other sectors that supply goods or services to the first sector.
From the above considerations, it follows that the sustainable development of tourist destinations requires a balance of environmental, social, cultural, and economic objectives. To achieve this last objective, tourism and economic policies must be developed, and simultaneously, initiatives and projects must be promoted that jointly and/or complementarily generate direct employment in tourism activities and productive employment in the local economy of the tourist destination.
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