A New Framework for Selecting Composite Indicators to Assess Sustainability of a Destination

The indicators currently used for assessing the sustainability of tourist destinations are either too complex or too site-specific for managers to benefit from them. Τhere is definitely a need for a balanced approach in the development of indicators that are easy to understand and cover both contextual specificity and global issues. The aim of this paper is to develop such a framework, extending from site-specific attributes to a global scale. It is argued that common challenges in the construction of composite indicators, being related to their narrow focus, complexity and inefficient weighting, could be addressed by a comprehensive literature search to extract indicators that are holistic in nature. It is suggested that a systematic review of the literature aiming to identify potential holistic indicators around four types of destination should be the basis of this new framework. Destination-specific criteria will be used for extracting relevant indicators while frequency of use in leading publications will serve as a filter. Finally, the outcome of this process is expected to be a composite indicator which balances destination specificity and global sustainability issues.