GIS applications in tourism planning : a tool for sustainable development involving local communities

Abstract

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are now recognised widely as a

valuable tool for managing, decision-making, analysing, and displaying large volumes of

diverse data pertinent to many local and regional planning activities. However, the

number of GIS applications for regional tourism planning has not mushroomed as in

other fields. This is also reflected in the field of sustainable tourism, where the adoption of

new technologies has been rather slow. Nonetheless, sustainable tourism decision-

making and carrying capacity estimation has a lot to benefit from using such technologies.

GIS can be used for managing the various information needs, estimating indicators,

and generally assisting decision-making in the planning phase, as well as in the

monitoring and evaluation phases. The paradigm of Municipality of Chalkidki - Greece

proves the necessity and the value of such technologies.