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Tourism: A Fecund Frontier for Cross and Multidisciplinary Enquiries in Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 57678

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Center for Tourism Research, Wakayama University, Wakayama 640-8510, Japan
Interests: tourism geographies; social-ecological resilience; asia pacific; economic geography; cultural anthropology

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Guest Editor
Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
Interests: capacity development; collaboration and partnerships; corporate social responsibility; leadership; resilience and entrepreneurship
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Business, IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria
Interests: tourism and social inequalities; tourism for development; community-based tourism; the anthropology of tourism

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

The central purpose of this special issue is to solidify and reaffirm the links between sustainability and tourism as a focus of scholarly research. In principal, the special issue is an entreaty to scholars actively working in sustainability thinking and praxis, and is aimed at fostering the potentially fecund frontier of tourism themed research. More broadly, this initiative appeals to scholars working at the vanguard of multidisciplinary perspectives, pointing out that scholarly enquiries leveraging tourism can provide a solid platform for their work. Moreover, this acknowledges the reality that while tourism focused scholars have tended to draw widely across multi and cross-disciplinary domains, the same cannot be said in reverse.

Consequently, and in light of the tourism industry’s burgeoning profile across the global landscape, the ushering in of sustainability concerns is pressing. The extent of carbon emissions attributable to tourism and its related contributions to climate change loom large as trade offs to growth of the sector. Unsurprisingly, the rapid ascension of tourism has raised questions about its sustainability credentials, especially as it enforces incursions into natural areas, and voraciously seeks out cultural heritage and places that make up the spectrum of tourism experiences. Consequently, the urgency to price in the costs (economic and non-economic) of tourism expansion, especially in relation to the imposts on social and ecological inheritances resonates.

The shift from tourism overcrowding to overtourism is emblematic of the concerns that now accompany tourism growth in some of the globe’s most popular destinations. In response, activists and scholars have come to appeal for tourism degrowth, suggesting that what is needed is less and not more tourism, while the tourism industry argues that the question is not one of de-growing tourism, but more about the management of it. The status quo of tourism and the myriad scholarly and praxis-based assemblages attached to it, positions it well for more intense multi and cross disciplinary endeavours. Therefore, critical contributions to this special issue will be sought from foremost scholars at the leading edge of tourism studies, necessarily senior in their status and with citations that reflect their enormous and unparalleled contributions to the scientific examination of tourism.

The sustainable tourism discourse associates very closely with wider discussions of sustainability sciences, crossing the threshold of social, economic and ecological concerns – the overarching mandate of the journal. The entanglements between sustainable development, the sustainable development goals, community development and tourism are well established and with sustainable tourism development underlining many national, regional, and city strategic development plans, this special issue aligns nicely with the journal’s specific remit.

Prof. Joseph M. Cheer
Dr. Sonya Graci
Dr. Claudia Dolezal
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Sustainability
  • Sustainable Tourism
  • Human Geography
  • Environmental Science
  • International Development
  • Political Ecology

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 2839 KiB  
Article
Tourism, Empowerment and Sustainable Development: A New Framework for Analysis
by Regina Scheyvens and Heidi van der Watt
Sustainability 2021, 13(22), 12606; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132212606 - 15 Nov 2021
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 13072
Abstract
For over twenty years, tourism researchers have examined how to determine whether destination communities are being empowered through tourism: there is much we can learn through analysis of that work. We outline and critique the most commonly used empowerment framework in this field [...] Read more.
For over twenty years, tourism researchers have examined how to determine whether destination communities are being empowered through tourism: there is much we can learn through analysis of that work. We outline and critique the most commonly used empowerment framework in this field as was first published by Scheyvens in 1999, which has four dimensions (psychological, social, economic and political) but which has been adapted and extended in a variety of ways. We also consider two other frameworks, and the application of a revised model in the South African context, before proposing that the Scheyvens framework would be strengthened through the addition of environmental and cultural dimensions. We draw theoretical inspiration from nested circle approaches to sustainable development to embed the dimensions of community empowerment within a series of ‘enabling factors’ that might support possibilities for community empowerment to occur, and, in turn, the empowerment dimensions and enabling factors are situated within a wider circle of the natural environment. We have structured this all into a new Empowerment and Sustainable Development Framework. Full article
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14 pages, 305 KiB  
Article
Is Being Responsible Sustainable in Tourism? Connections and Critical Differences
by Jarkko Saarinen
Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6599; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13126599 - 09 Jun 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5630
Abstract
Since the early 1990s, sustainability has formed a development paradigm for tourism. Recently, however, researchers and policymakers have shown considerable interest in the notion of responsibility in tourism. While responsible and sustainable tourism share many common elements, their ideological context and societal background [...] Read more.
Since the early 1990s, sustainability has formed a development paradigm for tourism. Recently, however, researchers and policymakers have shown considerable interest in the notion of responsibility in tourism. While responsible and sustainable tourism share many common elements, their ideological context and societal background may involve critical differences. The purpose of this review paper is to discuss the ideas of responsibility and sustainability in tourism and especially how they have emerged in tourism studies and activities, and what implications their differences may have for tourism development and its future practices and policies. Here, sustainable tourism is understood as being based on regulative structures involving multiple scales of policies and decision-making, while responsible tourism derives some of its core focus and practices from neoliberal governance with its emphasis on individualized and personalized behavior and decision-making. These different contextual backgrounds indicate why we should not automatically equate these two ideas in research, especially when thinking about how the growth-driven tourism industry could and should respond to global challenges in future. Furthermore, building on the structuration theory, the paper discusses how these two different approaches are often interconnected and can lead a way towards sustainable development in tourism. Full article
17 pages, 1664 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Tourism and the Grand Challenge of Climate Change
by Daniel Scott
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1966; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13041966 - 11 Feb 2021
Cited by 76 | Viewed by 13335
Abstract
Global climate change represents a grand challenge for society, one that is increasingly influencing tourism sector investment, planning, operations, and demand. The paper provides an overview of the core challenges climate change poses to sustainable tourism, key knowledge gaps, and the state of [...] Read more.
Global climate change represents a grand challenge for society, one that is increasingly influencing tourism sector investment, planning, operations, and demand. The paper provides an overview of the core challenges climate change poses to sustainable tourism, key knowledge gaps, and the state of preparedness in the tourism sector. As we begin what is widely considered a decisive climate decade, low sectoral preparedness should be highly disconcerting for the tourism community. Put bluntly, what we have done for the past 30 years has not prepared the sector for the next 30 years of accelerating climate change impacts and the transformation to a decarbonized global economy. The transition from two decades of awareness raising and ambition setting to a decade of determined collective response has massive knowledge requirements and necessitates broad sectoral commitments to: (1) improved communications and knowledge mobilization, (2) increased research capacity and interdisciplinary collaboration, and (3) strategic policy and planning engagement. We in the tourism and sustainability communities must answer this clarion call to shape the future of tourism in a decarbonized and post +3 °C world, for there can be no sustainable tourism if we fail on climate change. Full article
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15 pages, 314 KiB  
Article
Demarketing Tourism for Sustainability: Degrowing Tourism or Moving the Deckchairs on the Titanic?
by C. Michael Hall and Kimberley J. Wood
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1585; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13031585 - 02 Feb 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 8771
Abstract
Demarketing is generally recognized as that aspect of marketing that aims at discouraging customers in general or a certain class of customers in particular on either a temporary or permanent basis and has been increasingly posited as a potential tool to degrow tourism [...] Read more.
Demarketing is generally recognized as that aspect of marketing that aims at discouraging customers in general or a certain class of customers in particular on either a temporary or permanent basis and has been increasingly posited as a potential tool to degrow tourism and improve its overall sustainability, particularly as a result of so-called overtourism. The paper provides an overview of the various ways in which demarketing has been applied in a tourism context and assesses the relative value of demarketing as a means of contributing to sustainability and degrowing tourism. It is argued that demarketing can make a substantial contribution to degrowing tourism at a local or even regional scale, but that the capacity to shift visitation in space and time also highlights a core weakness with respect to its contribution at other scales. The paper concludes by noting that the concept of degrowth also needs to be best understood as a continuum of which demarketing is only one aspect. Full article
25 pages, 4561 KiB  
Article
Re-Visiting Design Thinking for Learning and Practice: Critical Pedagogy, Conative Empathy
by Tazim Jamal, Julie Kircher and Jonan Phillip Donaldson
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 964; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13020964 - 19 Jan 2021
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6531
Abstract
This paper argues for the importance of design thinking as a creative, collaborative activity to equip students, instructors, and practitioners with important skills to address “wicked problems” that are transforming tourism and hospitality in a (post-)COVID-19 Anthropocene. Design Thinking (DT) and Design Thinking [...] Read more.
This paper argues for the importance of design thinking as a creative, collaborative activity to equip students, instructors, and practitioners with important skills to address “wicked problems” that are transforming tourism and hospitality in a (post-)COVID-19 Anthropocene. Design Thinking (DT) and Design Thinking for Engaged Learning (DTEL) are becoming increasingly popular to incorporate in practice and in courses offered across various fields of study, including tourism and hospitality. The paper reviews some of their applications and uses, drawing on a range of cross-disciplinary literature. A small case study conducted over the Summer of 2020 in an undergraduate tourism course helps to reflect on existing weaknesses in DT and the original DTEL model, which the revisions reported here seek to address. Although the model engaged learners in developing innovative solutions to real problems, the incorporation of a critical, decolonizing pedagogy is needed to help learners break free of deeply entrenched assumptions, and intentionally develop pluralistic, relational solutions to address injustices and suffering. The previous emphasis on perspective taking through a dominantly cognitive (mind) empathy approach (in traditional DT models) is balanced with affective (heart) and conative (action) empathy, as aspects of care ethics that facilitate epistemic justice and praxis. Full article
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15 pages, 305 KiB  
Article
From Liminal Labor to Decent Work: A Human-Centered Perspective on Sustainable Tourism Employment
by Dimitri Ioannides, Szilvia Gyimóthy and Laura James
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 851; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13020851 - 16 Jan 2021
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4214
Abstract
In its sustainable tourism agenda for 2030, the UN World Tourism Organization has embraced three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. One of these, specifically SDG 8, highlights the need to pursue decent work and growth. Nevertheless, despite the growing recognition of this target [...] Read more.
In its sustainable tourism agenda for 2030, the UN World Tourism Organization has embraced three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. One of these, specifically SDG 8, highlights the need to pursue decent work and growth. Nevertheless, despite the growing recognition of this target and although there is a growing number of writings lamenting the precarity characterizing many tourism-related jobs, the topic of tourism-related work continues to receive sparse attention in the considerable volume of academic literature on tourism and sustainability. This paper attempts to redress this neglect. First, by providing a review of extant studies on tourism labor, we seek to explain why this research lacuna continues to exist. We then examine organizational and technological aspects of tourism governance, which hinder attempts to establish decent work and improve dignity in the tourism industry worldwide. By acknowledging the volatile and liminal status of tourism work and future labor market prospects, we arrive at the following question: what should sustainable tourism work look like? This leads us to suggest that the development of a human-centered research agenda, which focuses on workers’ agency and resources, offers a promising research avenue for expanding on the tourism and sustainability research agenda. Full article
23 pages, 774 KiB  
Article
Indigenous Heritage Tourism Development in a (Post-)COVID World: Towards Social Justice at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, USA
by Jeff Wahl, Seunghoon Lee and Tazim Jamal
Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9484; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12229484 - 14 Nov 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4037
Abstract
While a growing body of literature explores tourism impacts in search of sustainable outcomes, research on justice in diverse tourism settings is nascent. Theoretically informed studies drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives are just beginning to emerge to help examine contestations and injustices such as [...] Read more.
While a growing body of literature explores tourism impacts in search of sustainable outcomes, research on justice in diverse tourism settings is nascent. Theoretically informed studies drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives are just beginning to emerge to help examine contestations and injustices such as addressed in the case study presented here. The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (or “Custer’s Last Stand” as some know it; LBH) is a protected heritage tourism site that commemorates a battle between Native American tribes and the U.S. military in 1876. Indigenous stakeholders have struggled for decades with the National Park Service to overturn a long legacy of misrepresentation and exclusion from the commemoration and development of the site for heritage tourism. Site closures and other effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic present additional challenges for Native American stakeholders like the Crow Tribe. Guided by Nancy Fraser’s principles of trivalent justice (redistribution, recognition, and representation), this qualitative study traces the conflict over heritage commemoration, and explores the potential for praxis through ethical tourism development and marketing. Fraser’s trivalent approach to justice demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary research to examine historically entrenched discrimination, redress injustices, and facilitate healing and well-being of diverse groups at sites like LBH. Full article
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