Critical Omissions and New Directions for Sustainable Tourism: A Situated Macro–Micro Approach

Tazim Jamal, Blanca Camargo and Erica Wilson
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Tazim Jamal: Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism, Texas A&M University, 600 John Kimbrough Blvd 409M AGLS, 2261 TAMU, College Station, TX 7706, USA
Erica Wilson: School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157 Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia

Sustainability, 2013, vol. 5, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: This paper traces the history and evolution of sustainable tourism and identifies some critical issues and omissions in this and related approaches such as responsible tourism, ecotourism and pro-poor tourism. The academic, institutional and practical intersections of sustainable tourism and responsible tourism are examined. It reveals that important theoretical and practical considerations around well-being, inclusion, and sustainability have been omitted. A critical look at ecotourism reveals additional concerns, such as a cornucopia of guidelines and principles, without clear ethical justifications to support them. At the same time, academics in this domain have been slow to consider the modernist and neoliberal influences shaping ecotourism and sustainable tourism development, such as through the discourse of ecological modernization. We identify some key omissions, such as the missing ‘body’ in sustainable tourism discourse, lack of critical analysis of postcolonial and dependency issues, and propose re-situating ‘sustainable tourism’ within a micro–macro, local-global systems approach informed by a clear framework of justice and ethics.

Keywords: sustainable tourism; responsible tourism; critical research; justice and ethics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:11:p:4594-4613:d:29997

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