Tourism and Sustainable Urban Development

In general, the sustainable development of the city is due to the stable, constructive and systematic interaction of man with man (in various dimensions) and man with the environment (in the natural-ecological aspect).Interactions that, over time, make the city environmentally sustainable, economically durable, socially united and physically beautiful. Therefore, the present article aims to demonstrate the fact that the tourist (1) as a smart and human element and as an input of an urban system can have positive effects on the various spatial dimensions and can be a factor contributing to the sustainable development of the city. Furthermore, city and city managers, in mutual connection and in order to provide proper bases for the purpose of maximum enjoyment of the aforementioned advantages, inevitably provide the structures and infrastructures and define appropriate and proportionate functions in the city and its hinterland (2). - Creating an appropriate mentality among people, planners and managers about the role and importance of tourism (3) in sustainable urban development. - Formulating regulations and preparing conductive - comprehensive or structural - strategic plans for cities in accordance with leisure needs of citizens and the spirit of diverse experiences common among tourists. - Finally, ethical and practical commitment of urban managers to provision of financial resources and implementation of tourist projects proposed in approved urban plans and the formation of urban tourism units in municipalities. The triple levels suggested in this paper are proposed with the aim of transforming a perceptual environment (a belief) into a functional environment (objective truth), and with the goal of achieving sustainable development of the city from the perspective of tourism industry.