Innovation in Sustainable Tourism: Strategies for Resilience and Adaptation

Dear Colleagues,

The global tourism industry is highly vulnerable to various disruptive factors such as climate change, environmental degradation, natural disasters, health crises, pandemics, economic instability, economic policies, technological disruptions, and geopolitical tensions. These factors are often interconnected and affect different destinations, organizations, local communities, and types of tourism. The disruptions caused necessitate a shift towards resilience and adaptation strategies to maintain stability, promote further development of the tourism sector, and ensure a more equitable and peaceful world and the sustainability of the planet. While the negative impacts of various disruptive factors and external shocks have been widely studied, strategies for resilience and adaptation in tourism are less well understood. Embracing cutting-edge technologies, expanding the variety of tourism experiences, and building robust community collaborations are crucial elements to adapt and recover from disturbances and shocks. Moreover, policy frameworks must be flexible, adaptive, and responsive to the evolving challenges, ensuring the tourism industry can prosper in an environment of uncertainty and change. This Special Issue aims to gather innovative research that explores how destinations, businesses, and communities can navigate these challenges, ensuring sustainable tourism development and improved resilience.

We welcome original research articles, review papers, case studies, and theoretical contributions. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Conceptual frameworks, theories, and models that contribute to understanding resilience and adaptation in the tourism sector;
• Strategies for reducing and adapting to climate impacts on tourism destinations;

• In-depth case studies and lessons learned from tourism recovery efforts following disasters, health crises, pandemics, or economic downturns;
• The role of technology and digital transformation, smart tourism, green technologies, and technological solutions in increasing tourism organizations’ resilience and adaptability;

• Strategies for enhancing community engagement, protecting cultural heritage, and encouraging local empowerment within the tourism industry;
• Analysis of policies, regulations, and governance structures that support resilient and long-term sustainability in the tourism sector;
• Strategies for economic diversification, effective financial planning, and investment in tourism to endure economic disruptions;
• Economic benefits of sustainable tourism, sustainable business models, and entrepreneurship;
• Integration of sustainability principles to promote the resilience of tourism businesses and destinations.
• Sustainable marketing strategies and consumer behavior;
• Assessing the influence of political tensions and civil disturbances on the tourism industry and developing plans to reduce these risks and enhance security.

Prof. Dr. Vasiliki Vrana
Dr. Subhankar Das
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.

• resilience in tourism
• climate change
• environmental adaptation
• crisis management
• tourism recovery
• tourism and pandemics
• technological innovations
• community resilience
• cultural resilience
• local empowerment
• economic resilience
• investment in tourism
• geopolitical stability
• social resilience
• sustainable tourism practices
• responsible tourism behaviors