Management exercises and trainer's note in sustainable tourism and dynamics

Purpose – To provide training exercises that will help tourism planners and analysts better understand the fundamentals of tourism sustainability and dynamics. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is organized as a presentation of tools and conceptual models, followed by associated training exercises and answers. The first exercise addresses basic concepts of sustainability as applied to tourism development. The second addresses the use of phase diagrams to illustrate the dynamic behavior and change of tourism‐related economic and environmental conditions over time. Findings – Operational definitions of sustainable tourism generally are consistent with a wide variety of outcomes for a tourist destination. Exercises demonstrate that operational definitions of tourism sustainability require numerous choices and tradeoffs, and are more complex than is suggested by common discourse. Practical implications – Given that the most desirable sustainable outcomes for tourism differ across groups, the search for sustainable tourism outcomes must combine environmentally sustainable outcomes (which are often many) with socially acceptable compromise solutions that lie somewhere between the optima for each distinct group. No amount of searching, bargaining, or stakeholder education will reveal a universal sustainable solution that maximizes benefits to all affected groups. In the vast majority of cases no optimal solution exists. Originality/value – The paper provides tools and conceptual frameworks that characterize potential conflicts, hazards, and tradeoffs implicit in the choice among different sustainable or non‐sustainable outcomes for tourism.