Introduction The Chamonix Mont Blanc Geneva conference cycle The Chamonix Mont Blanc Geneva conference cyle is a perfect opportunity for reconsidering the concept of sustainable development as applied to the tourism sector in an open-minded way. Few other human and economic activities are as suitable as tourism for understanding the complexity of development processes and their impact on the spatial dimension. The true complexity of things, that in the urban environment of agglomerations can seem overly simple, becomes more apparent when seen through the reflecting glass of a tourism region. This may seem odd, but there is a simple explanation : visitors to tourism regions expect to find a relatively unspoiled environment, and are therefore quick to notice when something is wrong, whether it be the entire concept or the details. The first Sommets du tourisme conference was held between 1-3 December 1999 in Chamonix Mont Blanc, and concerned itself mainly with the ecological dimension of sustainable development in tourism. It was widely reported in the media as a new approach offering an opportunity for more in-depth contacts and an invitation to all interested parties to engage in open dialogue on the important subject of sustainable development in tourism. The conference cycle will extend through 2000, 2001 and 2002, and will analyse the economic, social and cultural dimensions involved in the concept of sustainable development in the field of tourism. The second conference in the cycle is to be held between 4-6 December 2000. We have arranged a very attractive venue in Geneva for the opening and the initial part of this conference, which will again look into the subject of sustainable tourism development. However as last year the main part of the conference will take place at the Congress Centre of the Hotel Majestic in Chamonix Mont Blanc, a venue that is rich in tradition. This collaboration between Chamonix, the largest tourism centre in the Alps, and the international city of Geneva, symbolises the fusion of local and global viewpoints, which is one of the objectives of this conference cycle. The results of the first summit The first Chamonix Mont Blanc tourism summit produced some interesting results. These are contained in a CD-Rom produced by the Association des Sommets du tourisme Chamonix Mont-Blanc Genève under the title "Les actes du Premier Sommet du tourisme" BP 89 F-74402 Chamonix Mont Blanc CEDEX. The participants in the "Premier Sommet" came to the following conclusions: Tourism and the environment are closely interconnected. The enjoyment of being in natural surroundings, in the countryside, in an environment which is still intact, is an important part of tourism's attraction. As we all know from experience the kind of location that is good for tourism tends to be ecologically fragile. The higher we go above sea level the more limited the species diversity, the less rich the soil, and the greater the danger of erosion. One cannot yet speak of a real political consensus on the subject of sustainable development. Everyone is familiar with the ethical principle which states that the requirements of the present generation must not be satisfied at the expense of the legitimate rights and needs of generations to come. It is no easy matter however to achieve a harmony of purpose between the need to protect the environment, the requirements of economic efficiency and the international community's desire for solidarity. Efforts to apply the principles of ecological sustainability inevitably have consequences in terms of economic growth, its extent and distribution. There are strict limits to the management of ecological processes. The demands made on materials and energy by the industrialised nations of the world are inequitably high by a factor of between five and ten according to the latest estimates. The law of entropy allows no exceptions. Those who look into the matter do find however that taking the greatest possible care with the environment can not only help to avoid natural catastrophes and keep our landscapes clean and beautiful, but in the final analysis is a policy that pays dividends. Technical "stage management" of natural scenery is essential to make it more attractive from the tourism point of view. In today's tourism with its emphasis on events and experiences, "pure nature" is no longer enough. The customer wants to enjoy his activities in surroundings which are as spectacular as possible and with a clear conscience, a peculira combination of requirements that is possible only with the help of clever stage management. Putting restrictions on "hypermobility" and making a special effort to protect the last remaining close-to-natural landscapes - two priority areas for local action. Size and sustainability are not necessarily antithetical. It is perfectly possible to control the flow of local traffic so as to safeguard or create the correct balance between an urban environment and close-to-natural conditions. A question that needs to be asked is whether or not the tourism life style of the industrialised nations will spread to the rest of the world. One has only to look at the statistics for existing and estimated oil reserves to realise that these are going to be used up much faster if the travel habits of the West are globalised. Clearly then it is of the greatest importance to make efforts in the area of technological research and development, and efforts at the social level to prevent the squandering of these resources, to ensure their maximum conservation and in this way to bring pollution under control. The objectives of the second summit The quality of tourism growth is a matter of the greatest importance from both the global and local points of view. It is an issue which we shall be putting under the microscope during the Second Summit, and not just in the context of ecological sustainability at the level of the environment. Much more important for our purposes is the sustainability of the tourism industry itself. We need to take a close look at the fundamental question of the conditions and prerequisites for the long-term economic survival of a tourism location or region. The question of the sustainability of tourism growth is one that has yet to be explored. In conditions of globalisation, it is a question that is of increasing importance. As competition gets tougher on a worldwide scale, the only tourism centres that can expect to survive will be those that manage to reconcile the economic imperatives with ecological requirements. The Second Tourism Summit will analyse the determinants of tourism growth and the success factor for long-term economic survival. For each variable favourable to growth we need to ask the question of its appropriateness in terms of sustainable development. This topic will be discussed at one of our round tables, at which an expert will be present to take the part of the "devil's advocate" in looking at the current trends on both the supply side and the demand side.