The Case of Sustainable Tourism Development in Alpine Destinations: Importance, Implementation, and the Role of the Local DMO

Sustainable tourism development asks for coordinated and collective action where destination management organisations (DMOs) are considered a crucial steering stakeholder. The aim of this study is to explore the current state of implementation of the internationally renowned destination sustainability standards from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) in Alpine destinations (Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Italy). Drawing from a survey (n = 80) with destination managers, it explores (1) the attributed importance, (2) the self-assessed level of implementation, as well as (3) the expected future importance of the GSTC criteria. Despite the indicated importance, the degree of implementation lags significantly behind. This lack of implementation is critical, especially since the DMOs attach even greater importance to these issues in the future. Further research needs to address how to close the identified gap between the perceived importance and actual implementation to advance in this urgent challenge of sustainable transformation.