日本竹富島，位於宜蘭東北方、沖繩列島南方一個面積僅5.42平方公里、人口僅300多人的小島，每年卻可吸引40萬人次觀光客前來。然而，竹富島的文化及自然景觀並沒有因此而破壞或改變，居民數十年來如一，堅信「做自己、護家鄉」才是此處最大的競爭力及吸引力。
"Can tourism ever be truly sustainable? I don't think so because of the way it is carried out," said Chris Thompson, head of responsible tourism at the Federation of Tourism Operators and a member of the partnership. "All we can do is mitigate it to make it as sustainable as possible.
