The Triple Bottom Line: A Framework for Sustainable Tourism Development

Abstract

This conceptual article proposes that tourism development organizations adopt a triple bottom line (TBL) framework to enhance their sustainability. The TBL is a philosophical orientation whereby organizations develop and implement not just a traditional economically sustainable strategy, but also explicitly include environmental and social sustainability strategies. The history of TBL and its application to sustainable tourism development are offered and the development of a much-needed measurement instrument is described and the instrument is presented for discussion. The article concludes by presenting the benefits that can accrue to a sustainable tourism development organization through the adoption of a TBL philosophy and the use of a reliable instrument to measure TBL performance.