Mona Erfanian Salim
Kish Island is one of the most important sea and beach recreational holiday and tourism destination in Iran. As a Small Island, Kish Island‘s current development and tourism practices may not be sustainable in the longer term. Small Islands are supposed to follow sustainable tourism principles through balancing between environmental and economic concerns for the improvement of Small Island Development State (SIDS). Nevertheless, in the contemporary development guidelines of Kish, the crucial issue of sustainable tourism principles has been neglected. This study intends to develop principles of tourism sustainability for SIDS in Kish Island as one of the most favorite tourism zones in Iran. A literature review is carried out to understand sustainable principles of SIDS at the tourism global scenario. Subsequently, the paper compares the existing tourism guidelines against the international SIDS guidelines. Then, it identifies the gaps between the principles of sustainable tourism for Kish Island. The findings indicate that the weakness of sustainable tourism development in the island lacks the environmental and economic aspects. Finally, the paper concludes with some recommendations towards developing social and environmental tourism guidelines for Kish Island.
Keywords: Sustainable Tourism, Small Island Developing State (SIDS), Kish Island
2019, the 5th International Conference of Euro-Asia Studies Association (EATSA), Necmettin Erbakan University and Akdeniz University, Turkey