A flawed implementation of sustainable tourism: The experience of Akamas, Cyprus

Alternative tourism is increasingly regarded as a key to sustainable development. The rationale is that contrary to mass tourism with its commonplace negative effects on receiving areas, alternative tourism promotes a balanced growth form more in tune with local environmental and sociocultural concerns. Yet, academics are becoming increasingly skeptical as to whether alternative tourism can be truly sustainable. This paper examines a case study of the Cypriot government's recent efforts to introduce alternative tourism as a rural development strategy in the Akamas peninsula. Evidence reveals that failure to involve the local rural communities in the decision-making process plus the inability of policy makers to form an integrated vision for the entire region form major obstacles towards realizing the goal of sustainable development.