Simão João Miguel

Project Evaluation for the Accommodation Industry in a Sustainable Development Context

Simão João Miguel
Universidade Aberta, Portugal
E-Mail: joaosimao@univ-ab.pt

Abstract

Environmental, social and cultural preservation of the host region makes the sustainable development for tourism a pressing necessity. This aspect is unanimously pointed out as crucial for the prosperity of the industry itself. In Portugal, the role of public institutions concerning the investment in lodging units is exerted at two levels: (i) licensing by the local government and (ii) investment incentives given by governmental agencies. However, in none of the situations the component of sustainable development is evaluated. This leads to the implantation of units with a weak compliance in environmental and social terms. On the other hand, investors need fast decision processes not compatible with an EIA, at least in small/medium size investments located in non-restricted areas.

The research deals with two main questions:
In an ex-ante situation, which criteria must be applied to the evaluation of the investment in accommodation units, regarding the achievement of sustainable tourism?
What type of decision model is better fitted to the evaluation process?

Sustainable tourism indicators and tourism ecolabels are reviewed, and single-criteria (with special emphasis on CBA) vs. multicriteria approaches are compared. Finally, it is proposed a multicriteria evaluation model based on a checklist of environmental, social and economic criteria, in accordance with eco-efficiency and Corporate Social Responsibility.

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