Sustainable tourism occurs when visitor and host interaction is authentic and meaningful, natural/cultural resources are preserved or enhanced, and local economies benefit.

Goals

• Achieve regional tourism that provides strong economic benefits while creating positive social, cultural, scenic, and environmental impacts
• Encourage communities to restore and preserve their natural and cultural treasures and appreciate the economic benefits of those actions
• Establish a regional, collaborative approach to venue development
• Create a tourism “product” and regional “brand” consisting of sustainable living activities and achievements
• Develop a greater sense of place in communities throughout Northern Arizona

Strategy

• Engage in a regional, collaborative approach to sustainable tourism that enhances local economies while preserving the natural environment and strengthening local cultures.

Tactics

• Work with and leverage the resources of existing organizations, agencies and businesses pursuing sustainable tourism
• Identify and champion existing sustainable activities and businesses
• Assist in the development of an inventory existing ecotourism, civic tourism, cultural and historic tourism, and adventure travel businesses for use in the creation of lists of activities and attractions that could enhance current offerings
• Provide tools for tourism businesses to use to improve their sustainable development performance and certify that performance to potential customers
• Identify and support an entity that would act as a regional nexus and portal for sustainable tourism resources and products
• Help develop marketing tools that attract eco-travelers
• Establish tourism business alliances to develop multi-destination programming
• Encourage ongoing education and publicity about the characteristics and benefits of more sustainable tourism – sharing best practices
• Assist in the creation of the SEDI Business Network Web site.

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