Sustainable Development in Urban and Rural Tourism

Dear Colleagues,

Since the appearance of mass tourism in the 1950s and 1960s, concern about the impacts of this activity on host regions and societies has been permanent and has increased over time. This led to the appearance of a very important area of tourism research, such as residents’ attitudes. Measurements of tourism impacts, including economic, socio-cultural and environmental, were also very important. Normally, tourism development is encouraged for its economic benefits, but there is great concern about the costs to society and the environment.

In recent decades, concern for avoiding the negative impacts of human activity and ensuring economic, social, cultural and environmental sustainability has grown rapidly, all to avoid irreversible deterioration and so that future generations do not face a worse situation than the current one. This concern has translated into legislative measures, social awareness, business initiatives and academic research. The measures taken by companies have been grouped under the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and are important in multiple sectors, including tourism.

All academic research on tourism can be considered to seek to improve sustainability in specific cases, situations and aspects. However, research on the sustainable development of tourism tends to focus on the impacts of various types of tourism and how to make it a sustainable activity in the long term by minimizing costs and maximizing benefits. Within these approaches, studies on impacts on local societies and cultures stand out, highlighting how they change due to tourism development. Studies on environmental impacts and resource management (e.g., water, electricity, territory, etc.) are also important, as are the studies on the residents’ attitudes and on the CSR in tourism companies.

This Special Issue seeks to expand the flow of academic research related to a sector of great global importance (tourism) and representing a great concern (sustainable development). Potential topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Alterations in the natural environment of tourist companies and activities;
• Analysis of the economic, social and environmental evolution of tourist regions;
• Application of corporate social responsibility in tourism companies;
• Cultural landscape and rural tourism development;
• Crisis and resilience in tourism companies and destinations;
• Difficulties for the management of mature destinations;
• Management of cultural and natural resources in tourist destinations;
• Residents’ attitudes, their causes and consequences;
• Social and cultural changes in societies receiving tourists;
• Sustainability actions by tourism companies.

Dr. José Ramón-Cardona
Dr. María Dolores Sánchez-Fernández
Prof. Dr. José Álvarez-García
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• cultural landscape
• economic impacts
• environmental impacts
• gastronomy
• hospitality management
• local, rural and urban tourism
• mature destinations
• overtourism
• regional development
• residents’ attitudes
• social impacts
• sustainable development
• tangible and intangible heritage
• tourism development
• tourism planning

Title: Weaving sustainability: the tourist experience of Guano carpets as a contribution to territorial development
Authors: Claudia Patricia Maldonado Erazo; Catalina Margarita Verdugo Bernal; Silvia Patricia Montúfar Guevara; Amador Durán Sánchez
Affiliation: 1 Claudia Patricia Maldonado Erazo, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador, [email protected] 2 Catalina Margarita Verdugo Bernal, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador, [email protected] 3 Silvia Patricia Montúfar Guevara, Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Riobamba, Ecuador, [email protected] 4 Amador Durán Sánchez, Departamento de Dirección de Empresas y Sociología, Área de Organización de Empresas, Universidad de Extremadura (UEX). Campus de Plasencia, Cáceres (España). [email protected]
Abstract: Sustainable tourism has become a management model that can be easily articulated to the territories declared as Magical Towns, by promoting economic strengthening, as well as opportunities for environmental and cultural conservation, through tourism using the historical-cultural characteristics of the territories. One of the main challenges is to find a balance between the promotion of tourism and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. In July 2024, Guano, located in the province of Chimborazo, Ecuador, is reaccredited within the Magical Towns of Ecuador Program. Within this process, one of the main elements to achieve this milestone was the generation of a significant tourist experience based on one of the cultural manifestations certified as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ecuador, which is the Guano Carpet Weaving Technique. This article will examine how this technique was integrated into tourism by focusing on the transmission of knowledge and symbolic and historical value, avoiding tourist overexploitation that can lead to the erosion of traditions and the loss of their cultural meaning, through the application of Participatory Action Research, as well as analyzing its articulation to a sustainable tourism model that benefits the local population and promotes sustainability. This experience not only offers an opportunity for tourists to connect with the local culture, but can also be a driver of sustainable development. By integrating this tradition into a responsible tourism model, economic, social and environmental benefits can be generated that strengthen communities and preserve their cultural heritage.

Title: Relationship Marketing and Sustainable Development of Tourism in Travel Agencies
Authors: María Miranda-Guerra; Liliana Carrillo-Carranza; Adeilth Iglesias; Jeancarlo De la Torre; Rosse Marie Esparza-Huamanchumo
Affiliation: 1 María Miranda-Guerra, Universidad Privada del Norte; Perú. [email protected] 2 Liliana Carrillo-Carranza, Universidad Privada del Norte, Per. [email protected] 3 Adeilth Iglesias, Universidad Privada del Norte, Perú. 4 Jeancarlo De la Torre, Universidad Privada del Norte, Perú. [email protected] 5 Rosse Marie Esparza-Huamanchumo, Grupo de Investigación en Gastronomía y Arte Culinario. Facultad de Administración Hotelera, Turismo y Gastronomía. Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Perú; [email protected] and 3 Doctoral Program in Sustainable Territorial Development (R015), International Doctoral School, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain. [email protected]
Abstract: The tourism sector is an industry that promotes economic and social development. It is a sector that stimulates the markets in Peru and Latin America, and is the driving force behind the services sector. In this sense, the need for the sector to seek new and innovative marketing strategies to improve its level of competitiveness is evident, especially in the field of sustainable tourism, considered as an opportunity for the growth of the associated communities. This research aims to answer the question: How is relational marketing and sustainable development in the tourism sector? In addition to incorporating a correlational analysis between both variables. The research has a quantitative approach that frames the development of the research, corresponding to a basic, exploratory and descriptive study; with a non-experimental cross-sectional design. The population belongs to a finite group of companies, constituting the total tourist offer of the sector, 47 tourism agencies. This research concludes that the tourism sector analysed has important advantages such as the relationship with external clients and potentially with internal clients to develop relational marketing as a driver for its own sustainable development.