Sustainable Tourism Management under Challenge from Climate Change and Economic Transition

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid climate change is challenging contemporary understandings of sustainability and how sustainability principles may be used to manage natural and built ecosystems. Successfully confronting the challenge posed by climate change will require rethinking of many of the approaches currently employed. One area in particular that will require significant change is the use of resources. Our current linear system of economic production is no longer sustainable and will require transitioning to a new carbon-neutral production system based on reuse.

While the ultimate objective is transition to a carbon neutrality, the pathway to achieving this goal is uncertain. Transformation can be described as fundamental change within a relatively short period of time, often within the space of a generation or 25 years (Rotmans et al. 2001). Hall (2016) describes four types of transitions: evolutionary, endogenous (incremental), emergent (unplanned), and purposive (planned). Whatever form transition takes, it will create numerous changes in the tourism system, offering rewards for innovators but posing extensional threats to tourism businesses and destinations that fail to adapt. The mechanisms that will enable transition are not clear, but theorists have suggested a number of approaches, including degrowth, steady-state, green growth, and adoption of the circular economy approach.

Against this background, there is the need to investigate how the tourism sector can further enhance sustainable management practices; identify and manage risks; and the role of policymakers in supporting the design and adoption of carbon-neutral business models at industry, company, and societal levels.

The aim of this Special Issue is to explore issues related to how transition to carbon neutrality will affect the sustainable management of the global tourism system.

We are open to all methods, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, and also seek conceptual, theoretical, and literature review papers if they advance the field in significant ways.

Topics of interest in this Special Issue include but are not limited to the following:

• Sustainable tourism management ideas which contribute to the transition away from the take-make-waste linear economy to one that designs out waste and pollution, keeps products and materials in use, and regenerates natural systems;
• Business models for addressing different sustainable, low-carbon, and circular strategies (maintenance, repair, remanufacturing, recycling);
• The role of experience‐oriented (e.g., rental, leasing) and performance‐oriented (e.g., pay‐per‐use) product–service systems in tourism;
• Case studies of initiatives that incorporate large-scale conservation with strong management plans and/or support at a government level;
• Sustainable management plans aimed at social and ecological resilience;
• Energy-efficiency and renewable energy initiatives;
• Circular business models for industrial ecosystems and supply chains;
• The role of public sector in supporting the transition to carbon neutrality;
• Consumer demand and acceptance;
• Methods, metrics, and performance measures for assessing sustainable tourism management;
• Offsets, carbon credits, and other instruments;
• The effect of transition on traditional tourism products and supply chains;
• The role of ecotourism in the transition to carbon neutrality;
• Sustainable tourism management in emerging economies;
• Environmental and social contributions of sustainable tourism management.

Prof. Dr. Bruce Prideaux
Dr. Anna Phelan
Dr. Anja Pabel
Guest Editors

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• sustainable tourism management
• social and ecological resilience
• circular economy
• transition
• climate change