Sustainable Innovations at Tourist Destinatons

This article discusses how and why tourist destination can generate income without risking environmental degradation. It is based on a small island in the Netherlands that attracted mass tourism, generated high income, and satisfied tourists' and experts' opinions about environmental quality of the island over the past century. General lessons are drawn. The key in the development has been the community's strategy that presented the environment as a destination of high value. The strategy enabled regulations and sustainable innovations to maintain environmental quality as a common good of the island. Stakeholders opt for use of environment in marketing, better facilities, cleaner and safer mobility, and agrotourism. Tests in water saving and marketing indicate benefits of the options. A model on innovators' decision making shows how community determines sustainability of the destination.