Coastal and Marine Tourism: Addressing Some Wicked Problems

Coastal and marine tourism holds particular promise for many developed and emerging destinations with potential for growth and employment in tourism and hospitality as well as related industry sectors.As this type of tourism grows however, some 'wicked problems' must be overcome if destinations are to develop in a sustainable way.Successfully resolving these problems involves reassessment of the traditional 'business as usual' approach adopted by tourism stakeholders.The paper highlights the importance of marine environments both along coastlines and into the deep oceans and identifi es barriers to sustainable growth of coastal and marine tourism.It argues that management systems and institutions that create incentives for minimising the negative impacts of coastal and marine tourism, while effectively sharing benefi ts between local and central stakeholders, promote the sustainability effort.The paper concludes with an exploration of some elements of effective governance structures enabling coastal and marine tourism to develop in more sustainable ways.