Environmentally sustainable tourism as a strategic determinant of economic and social development

Tourism as an activity can make a positive contribution to social and economic development, but, at the same time, with its fast and uncontrolled growth it may cause substantial damage to ecological values and loss of local identity and traditional cultural values. The protection of biological, spatial and cultural values is imperative for sustainable tourist destinations to attract consumers. In a tourism analysis, natural attractions and the environment of a tourist destination are vital components of development. When choosing a travel destination, the consumer’s perspective affects the comparative advantage of the destination on the global tourism market, its reputation, its potential to attract and retain tourists, the quality of life and the standard of living of local residents, as well as potential investments. The paper aims to examine the environmental component as a strategic determinant of the development of a tourist destination. The paper investigates the many factors affecting the decisions of the management of a destination and looks in more detail at the pressures put by tourism activities on the eco-systems of travel destinations, which accelerate and intensify the consumption of destination values.