Sustainable Analysis from Life-Cycle Assessment. Situation and Prospects. Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico

Abstract

Trying to understand the evolution of a tourist destination, the life-cycle assessment is one of the most commonly used management and planning tools. However, the variables used to measure are generally based on the number of tourists and the time the activity has taken to be developed, leaving in second term sustainability. In this paper, an alternative analysis scheme is formulated and sustainability variables are integrated to establish economic, environmental and social impacts of current and future tourists. Also, for those places that do not have enough information, a methodology that estimates the evolution curve of the destinations is presented. Finally the conclusion can be that today Ixtapan de la Sal, is not sustainable and more tourists only jeopardize their competitiveness.