Exploring sustainable tourism indicators (STIs) for the U.S. with secondary data

Tourism is a potentially important source of economic growth, but its sustainability has become a widespread concern. In the U.S., a lack of consistent indicators has precluded the measurement of sustainability over time and across locations. Here we propose using secondary data to develop a novel composite indicator while also addressing advantages and limitations of the survey-based approaches used in Europe to measure sustainability. We apply this indicator to recreation-dependent U.S. counties and find that while some counties improve across multiple sustainability dimensions, others experience inconsistent trends, highlighting the complex relationships between tourism development and local community well-being. We also use a subset of indicators to predict how these counties were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results using a nationally valid and consistent indicator suggest that tourism sustainability requires tailored local approaches to balance economic benefits with social and environmental dimensions, rather than one-size-fits-all strategies.