Management of Trends in Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Post-2023

Abstract

A key lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic was the extent to which the collapse of tourism activity underlined the sensitivity of the industry with regard to mass and over-tourism. In previous decades, we were aware of the effects of such events as terrorist attacks and environmental disasters; the pandemic provided a display of the fragility of tourism. It represented a wake-up call for us to pause and reflect on whether the type of industry tourism had become, was entirely fit for purpose and to imagine what the ‘new normal’ tourism would be. The problem apparent since the middle of 2022, as pandemic restrictions lessened and tourism destinations re-opened, was that there would be no ‘new normal’ as in many cases there would be a return to the ‘old normal’, as mass tourism destinations refilled with visitors and environmental degradation resumed. The sense of fragility continued, no longer impelled by the pandemic, but by new critical events in the post-pandemic world – war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, the consumer inflation crisis and rising interest rates in advanced economies, and the slowing of real economic growth. In addition, in 2023, we became even more aware of dangers from an over-heating planet – such as floods and extreme weather conditions. The longer-term prospect of many popular tourism resorts being effectively wiped out is no longer an obscure threat but a potentially concrete reality. This chapter will look at how we manage trends towards a more sustainable and responsible form of tourism.

Citation

Koščak, M. and O’Rourke, T. (2024), "Management of Trends in Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Post-2023", Islam, N.U., Chaudhary, M. and Vukadin, I.M. (Ed.) Tourism in a VUCA World: Managing the Future of Tourism, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 11-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-674-020241002