ENVIRONMENTAL DIVERSITY IN ASIR REGION AND ITS IMPACT ON TOURISM DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLITY

Since the world Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) issued “Our Common Future” in 1987, the concept of sustainable development has been increasingly prominent in discussions and debates on development. Reinvigorated by Rio Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992, the concept supports a vision in which economic growth complements the environment as opposed to the conviction that more of one means less of the other. Sustainable development refers to sustainable human development because, to state the obvious and oft-repeated wisdom, development is about people. The persistence of human societies is ultimately dependent upon natural environment. To achieve the desired economic growth using tourism as a developmental tool, developing countries need a fast and efficient implementation of proper environmental management principles. Land and other biophysical resources are finite. Therefore, economic growth can only be promoted through better innovations and efficient management of resources. This paper primarily tackles the ecological diversity in Asir, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its effect on the sustainable development of tourism in the region. The study is based on a comprehensive review of the literature on sustainable tourism studies and environmental diversity in Asir reign in the Kingdom. The findings of the study provided valuable insights into the role of ecological diversity in achieving sustainable tourism. The study examined the interrelationship between sustainable tourism and ecological diversity