Developing a system of indicators for assessing the sustainability of tourist destinations

<jats:p>The article substantiates the theoretical and methodological foundations for developing a system of indicators for assessing the sustainability of tourist destinations. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing need to move from fragmentary measurement of tourism activity to a comprehensive diagnosis of destination sustainability, especially under conditions of uncertainty, security risks and post-war recovery. It is argued that traditional indicators, such as tourist arrivals, overnight stays, revenues, and accommodation occupancy, are insufficient for evaluating the long-term viability of destinations because they do not fully capture environmental pressures, sociocultural balance, governance capacity, stakeholder participation, safety, and recovery potential. Based on the analysis of existing approaches to sustainable tourism assessment, the article proposes an integrated system that combines quantitative and qualitative indicators. The quantitative component includes indicators of economic viability, sociocultural balance, environmental pressure, safety and accessibility, resilience and recovery, and management performance. The qualitative component focuses on the quality of destination governance, stakeholder involvement, trust and social acceptance of tourism, crisis communication, recovery capacity, and environmental responsibility of tourism businesses. A specific feature of the proposed system is the combination of a universal core of indicators with variable modules tailored to different destination types, including urban, nature-oriented, resort, cultural, border, and post-war recovery destinations. The article also emphasizes the need to combine static assessment with a dynamic progress index, enabling evaluation not only of the current level of sustainability but also of the speed and quality of positive changes. The proposed approach is designed to support evidence-based decision-making, identify priorities for recovery, compare similar destinations, and strengthen sustainable destination management in Ukraine. Keywords: sustainable tourism; tourist destination; destination sustainability; assessment indicators; quantitative indicators; qualitative indicators; post-war recovery; destination management.</jats:p>