Application of the European tourism indicator system (ETIS) for sustainable destination management. Lessons from County Clare, Ireland
International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
ISSN: 1750-6182
Article publication date: 16 March 2020
Issue publication date: 17 April 2020
Abstract
Purpose
Despite indicators being regarded as ideal tools to help achieve sustainability in tourism, their application within Ireland remains under researched. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to advance the knowledge base in the hospitality and tourism field by presenting baseline research from the first application of all 43 of the indicators that make up the European tourism indicator system (ETIS) in county Clare, Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used the pre-existing visitor, enterprise and resident surveys that accompany the ETIS indicator system in a number of honey pot destinations within county Clare. This approach was complemented further through desk research to gather the necessary data on all 43 core indicators of the ETIS.
Findings
While the application of the ETIS in county Clare constitutes a significant advancement towards evidence informed planning for tourism. There does exist a number of information gaps relating to specific core indicators of the ETIS. Which, if not monitored and benchmarked over time, could have serious ramifications for the future sustainability of tourism in Ireland.
Originality/value
This paper not only discuss the findings from the application of all 43 core indicators of the ETIS in one specific destination but also develops new knowledge on the use of tourism indicators and the move towards evidence informed planning for tourism. Furthermore, this study contributes significantly to the theoretical development of our field, as the ETIS has not been applied in its entirety throughout Europe.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the visitors, local residents and tourism enterprises for giving up their time to participate in this research.This research has been funded through the Western Development Commission (WDC) and the Tourism Motilities Group IT Sligo Ireland.
Citation
McLoughlin, E., Hanrahan, J. and Duddy, A.M. (2020), "Application of the European tourism indicator system (ETIS) for sustainable destination management. Lessons from County Clare, Ireland", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 273-294. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-12-2019-0230
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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