Sustainable tourism: a possible paradox?

Tourism today is a dual global phenomenon, capable of generating enormous economic and social benefits — contributing 10% of global GDP — while also leaving serious externalities. As a major consumer of resources, it ends up homogenising landscapes, undermining cultural diversity and authenticity, and ultimately compromising the resilience of societies and ecosystems in many already-fragile host countries.

Against this backdrop, sustainable tourism seeks to overcome the dichotomy between human well-being and environmental degradation through a genuine alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This new approach, with a strong environmental, social and ethical component, seeks a balance between the needs of visitors and hosts grounded in absolute respect for local values, idiosyncrasies and natural and cultural heritage.

Being sustainable has become a draw when choosing a destination, and many countries — even those already combining cultural, sports, religious or gastronomic tourism — are now reorienting their strategy towards a more responsible kind of travel.

A gradual shift in mindset is taking place: from the concept of tourist to that of traveller, driven by a search for "porosity" and authenticity, away from artificial settings and overexposure.

The fundamental difference lies in the way one sees: whereas the tourist consumes a destination from the outside, the traveller inhabits it, focusing on broadening their understanding of the place through respectful interaction with both human dynamics and the natural cycles of the territory.

On this premise, the traveller seeks to capture the 'genius loci', the human and landscape essence — admittedly in constant mutation — and the experience adapts to the codes of the territory (climatic, environmental, customary and others).

In response to this social demand, tourism and hospitality are reinventing themselves by adopting solutions and offering alternatives that bring closer the idea of journeying, of "inhabiting". These include a catalogue of strategies grounded in the destination, in supply and demand, and in ethics and governance:

Protected and unaltered destination: 

• Careful selection of the hotel site.

• Decentralisation of visitors, flow regulation and seasonal spreading.

• Decarbonisation of access and internal mobility.

• Rewilding and protection of the natural ecosystem and landscape.

• Preservation of the biological rhythm, good air quality, natural light and silence.

• Safeguarding the integrity and the material and intangible heritage.

• Public and private commitment to the SDGs.

• Destination certification.

Responsible supply and demand: 

• Traditional architecture, vernacular in origin and low in environmental, visual and acoustic impact.

• Savings, efficiency and self-sufficiency in energy and water.

• Regeneration of the surroundings.

• Endemic vegetation and respect for native biodiversity.

• Local, seasonal and organic food.

• Digitalisation, low-carbon and recyclable products.

• Conscious consumption, waste minimisation and circularity.

• Environmental sensitivity and awareness.

• Tourism with values and a genuine interest in the destination.

• Adapting to the rhythm and codes of the place and respecting its singularity.

• Interest in interpreting the surroundings and engaging ethically and kindly.

• Impact assessment and certification of establishments, services and products.

Ethics and governance: 

• Support for the local economy.

• Training and employment of the community.

• Empowerment and self-management.

• Transparency and fair distribution of the wealth generated.

• Balanced development, well-being and local progress.
  
  
  

  

The hospitality and tourism sectors, together with civil society, are promoting a range of inspiring, replicable initiatives that reduce the environmental footprint and harmonise with the host environment:

• Mobility decarbonisation: on Schiermonnikoog (Netherlands) the air is free of smoke and noise, as only bicycles and electric vehicles are allowed.

• Rewilding: the association Rewilding Europe restores natural processes that also revitalise the territory. It additionally organises tourism experiences that bring income to local communities and reconnect visitors with nature.
  
  

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• Circularity: the hotel industry in Mallorca developed the blockchain-based platform FINHAVA to trace organic waste and turn it into agricultural compost.

• Transparency: the index Ripple Score assesses the share of money from tourism services that stays in the visited region, giving travellers reliable insight into the services they hire.

• Support for the local economy: the alliance between the agricultural and crafts sectors in Lika (Croatia) made it possible to create a regional quality seal to give prestige to and market authentic food, drink and souvenirs.

The tourism industry today faces the urgent challenge of evolving from an extractive model towards a restorative paradigm of positive impact. In this process of transformation, green bonds and loans linked to environmental, social and governance objectives (ESG) are consolidating as key financial incentives to drive change.

Beyond financing, this transition requires shifting the focus from the tourist to the logic of the destination itself. Good management is respectful and adjusts to the carrying capacity of the territory, prioritising systemic balance, planetary care, social equity and regeneration as the guiding pillars.

As a result of this new vision, sustainability is no longer an extra but an essential attribute of quality and competitiveness. However, for this proactive approach to be effective, it must be comprehensive and multi-stakeholder, strictly aligned with the SDGs and with the global urgency to cut emissions in the face of the climate crisis.

Text by Sònia Roura Valls