Sustainability Innovation in Tourism: A Systematic Literature Review

Daniela Meneses (), Carlos Costa, Fernanda A. Ferreira and Celeste Eusébio
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Daniela Meneses: UNIAG, ESHT – Polytechnic Institute of Porto
Carlos Costa: Management Industrial Engineering and Tourism of the University of Aveiro
Fernanda A. Ferreira: UNIAG, CiTUR, ESHT – Polytechnic Institute of Porto
Celeste Eusébio: Management Industrial Engineering and Tourism of the University of Aveiro

Chapter Chapter 3 in Sustainable Approaches and Business Challenges in Times of Crisis, 2024, pp 45-66 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Sustainability innovation has been discussed as an approach to tourism. The concept of innovation is still regarded as abstract or with little application, and the same is true of the concept of sustainable tourism. This systematic literature review intends to investigate the state of sustainability innovation in tourism addressing the question: “What are the potential ways to implement sustainable innovation within the tourism sector?” The article is a systematic literature review (SLR) on sustainable innovation in tourism, in the databases Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct, which resulted in 492 papers. By applying the PRISMA model and VOSviewer software, the study sample is narrowed to 50 papers collected from 25 journals, published between 2000 and 2022. The articles that make up the SLR comprise qualitative, quantitative and mixed studies, with the research aiming to summarise theories, ideologies, methods and practices at different levels and stages applied in different tourism contexts. This study categorises the main topics: business model, sustainable innovative strategies, innovative leadership and stakeholders’ relationship. The outcomes demonstrate diverse strategies for implementing sustainable innovation in the field of tourism, along with recommendations for future implementation across various tourism sub-sectors. These findings underline the importance of introducing sustainable innovations that foster sustainable development through collaborative efforts among all stakeholders. By creating added value to products and services, sustainable innovation enables companies within each tourism sector and the destination as a whole to differentiate themselves. The results also highlight that perceptions of sustainable innovation differ based on the level of knowledge, acceptance and understanding of individuals involved. Furthermore, the implementation of sustainable innovation can be customised to suit different objectives and applied at various levels within different tourism sub-sectors over an extended period of time.

Keywords: Sustainable innovation; Tourism sustainability; Tourism; Systematic literature review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:prbchp:978-3-031-48288-5_3

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-48288-5_3

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