It may be suggested that sustainable tourism theory as a development tool in LDCs has
conceptual issues. There is an assumption that success in tourism (sustainable or not)
requires a level of development. On a basic level, this is designed to create a product and
attendant tourism industry that will attract visitors and facilitate the consumption of their
experience. It is designed to improve the amenity of a tourism product to international
tourists, but also challenges notions of conservation of environment and culture (Cottrell &
Cutumisu, 2006; Johnston & Tyrrell, 2007).