Editorial: Tourism 2030 and the contribution to the sustainable development goals: the tourism review viewpoint
- Publisher:
- Emerald
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Citation:
- Tourism Review, 2023, 78, (2), pp. 293-313
- Issue Date:
- 2023-04-07
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| Filename | Description | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-1108_TR-04-2023-620.pdf | Published version | 1.01 MB |
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The tourism industry is one of the world’s largest industries, representing 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and accounting for 25% of new jobs pre-pandemic (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2022). As a driving force of the global economy, tourism has a long history of contributing to global sustainable development (Scheyvens and Cheer, 2021). Global tourism management and marketing is in transformation and therefore:
Smart sustainable tourism strategies should be applied, using evidence-based tourism management and marketing knowledge, to facilitate the propagation of best practices in tourism management and marketing. The implementation of such practices should facilitate the co-creation of value for all stakeholders, by adhering to ethical principles and ensuring the welfare of all involved – from academia to industry players, destination residents and consumers. Smart strategies should lead to the transformation of tourism, supporting sustainable development and inclusive societies (Buhalis, 2022).
About four decades ago, sustainable development was coined by the United Nations (UN) as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), 1987, p. 43]. Since then, sustainable development has been embedded in UN development agendas such as Agenda 21 (United Nations, 1992) and Millennium Declaration (United Nations, 2000) as a principle of international development thinking. In 2015, the UN introduced the newest development agenda – the 2030 agenda for sustainable development – as a shared blueprint for a globally sustainable future (United Nations, 2015). Agenda 2030 comprised 17 interlinked sustainable development goals (SDGs), urging all countries and all industries to engage in global partnerships to achieve social equality, economic growth and environmental protection (Scheyvens and Cheer, 2021). In 2017, UNWTO declared tourism as a “catalyst” in achieving all SDGs and advancing sustainable development (UNWTO, 2017). The declaration identifies five central pillars where tourism plays a significant role, namely, sustainable economic growth, social inclusiveness and equality, environmental protection and climate change, cultural diversity and heritage, mutual understanding and peace (UNWTO, 2017). The declaration serves as a general principle for implementing the SDGs as a global code of ethics in tourism. Since then, researchers also conducted studies on integrating tourism into national SDG planning processes (Boluk et al., 2019).
The world is midway through the Agenda 2030 (2015–2030) implementation. The COVID global crisis and the subsequent economic, human resources and energy crises, in combination with wars and political unrests around the world, introduce unprecedented challenges for global societies. A reflection on the achievements of the tourism industry in the sustainability context is needed to foster the next stage of sustainable tourism development strategies. This viewpoint paper presents a systematic analysis and critique of interconnections between SDGs and tourism. It aims to advance thinking in the interconnections of different elements of sustainability in the tourism industry, as illustrated in Figure 1. The paper encourages future research directions for tourism researchers and identifies opportunities for tourism policymakers to respond to the global challenges and contribute to a more sustainable world.
SDG 1 – No poverty aims to “end poverty in all its forms everywhere” (United Nations, 2015, p. 15). Even though some progress has been noted to reduce global poverty levels, poverty remains one of the most enduring concerns of nations affecting both developing and developed countries (World Bank, 2020). Poverty may be experienced at the national level, in countries where a large majority of the population lives in poverty. Poverty is also encountered in specific areas within a country or a region that may even be considered an affluent country (Farmaki and Pappas, 2021). Tourism has been widely recognised for contributing to poverty alleviation (Mitchell and Ashley, 2009). Tourism is an important source of economic growth and a key contributor to the GDP for many countries, especially developing ones as well as in peripheral and insular regions where tourism is often the only economic activity that can achieve competitiveness (Buhalis, 2022). Pro-poor tourism is often regarded as a quick and low-cost way for poverty alleviation in poor areas (Gao and Wu, 2017). In developing nations, pro-poor tourism initiatives have been promoted as a way in which tourists’ needs of altruism needs can be met through volunteering, while improving the local community’s standard of living. Likewise, tourism has been recognised as a potential generator of regional development (Calero and Turner, 2020). This is particularly conducive to minority or marginalized groups in the host community, as for example women, people with disability and youth, as it offers microenterprise, entrepreneurial and/or employment opportunities (Darcy et al., 2022). Plate 1 illustrates the importance of micro-enterprise in empowering women in countries without any social security to break the poverty cycle. Certain forms of tourism such as cultural tourism can be beneficial for the economic empowerment of societal groups, as they may improve overall poverty levels (Moswete and Lacey, 2015). Yet, tourism’s pro-poor potential has been questioned, given the lack of commitment to addressing structural inequities that exacerbate poverty and limit pro-poor attempts (Chok et al., 2007). Tourism stakeholders need, therefore, to ensure that tourism development policies have embedded as a key goal poverty alleviation for all members of the host community. International companies, for example, may include poverty as a key goal of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies by considering the recruitment of underprivileged locals and the development of community-based tourism among others. Poverty is expected to rise further following the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that follows, with most countries being estimated to continue to experience the effects of the pandemic until 2030 (World Bank, 2020). Poverty should be placed high on the priority agenda of policymakers and industry practitioners.
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