Attitudes towards 'sustainable tourism' in the UK: A view from local government

Based on a survey of local government tourism officers in the UK, this article examines the attitudes of public sector 'tourism managers' towards the principles of 'sustainable tourism'. It has been argued that the attitudes of local officers will affect their approach to implementation, and intel alia to the success of this concept in practice. In particular, the article looks at the possibility of the greater integration of tourism in strategic land-use planning and community involvement, as it is these areas of activity which tend to diverge from the more traditional forms of 'tourism planning' in destinations as practised in the past. The results suggest broad support for the greater co-ordination and integration of tourism planning at the local level, however, not all were as keen to embrace the community beyond the rather 'passive' role of public relations and participation in the local development plan system. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.