Abstract
Tourism is an important source of revenue for the Philippines particularly remote and rural coastal and island areas such as those islands in Palawan Province. However, drastic increase of inbound tourists that surpasses the development of required infrastructure degrade the environment and undermine sustainability. While the national government, the local authority and tourism business associations strive to promote sustainable tourism through the compliance with the code of conducts in tour operations to safeguard the safety of the tourists and the environment, the risks associated with sustainable tourism are at the multifaceted and multiple-levels that can go beyond what the local stakeholders are able to squarely address to hedge such risks. The Coron’s Charter for Sustainable Tourism provides a useful policy and institutional framework. Yet, the challenges lie with its compliance and enforcement by the tour agents and business entities. The continuous monitoring, compliance and enforcement mechanisms need to evolve in a participatory manner and be operationalized with the more proactive involvement of local business associations and stakeholder groups.
