Sustainable Tourism Indicators in Scotland: What Should We Be Considering? Commentary: Association of American Geographers – Recreation, Tourism and Sport Specialty Group – Student Paper Award

This paper explores the interconnections and relative importance of seven determinants implicit in the development of sustainable tourism indicators. These determinants provide a framework for understanding the process of indicator selection for sustainable tourism. This research has suggested that some of the implicit determinants may be interconnected and some may be more important than others. The paper reports findings from twelve stakeholder groups in two Scottish National Parks which are engaged in developing sustainable tourism indicators. It is important for park authorities to be aware of the different views of stakeholder groups on the issues surrounding indicator selection and development and this research provided an opportunity for such groups to be consulted. The paper will examine the relative importance each group placed on the implicit determinants and consider possible reasons for between-group differences. Analysis will also focus on the existence of linkages between individual implicit determinants. The paper concludes that different typologies of stakeholder groups exist, affecting both the interpretation of, and importance attributed to, the determinants and that the framework as a whole serves to be more than the sum of its parts.