Sustainability as a building block for tourism – future research: Tourism Agenda 2030

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the state-of-the-art about sustainable tourism. Despite the significant growth of publications exploring sustainable tourism, the debate on the relationship between tourism and sustainability remains open. In addition, the sector faces the challenge of the 2030 Agenda, as the authors have not yet managed to curb environmental degradation and social disparities. This research needs to be comprehensively addressed to inform future steps and to identify sustainable tourism practices that will advance the goals of this action plan.

Design/methodology/approach This study applies a mixed methodology, using a bibliometric analysis performed by VOSviewer and SciMat software of 311 articles from the Web of Science. In addition, it includes an in-depth analysis of trending research topics in the field during 2019 and 2020.

Findings After 20 years of research on sustainable tourism, there is still significant dispersion of studied topics, frameworks and applications. The results show the evolution of research towards the study and measurement of sustainable change, social and cultural aspects and the development of responsible governance models.

Research limitations/implications New stakeholder relationships models require a methodological and technological framework. Further progress in sustainable tourism guided by the 2030 Agenda demands the establishment of worldwide recognised measurement indicators and policy frameworks.

Originality/value With a mixed methodological approach and a special focus on the sustainable development goals (SDGs), this paper provides a “state-of-the-art” update to sustainability research in tourism. The results obtained have been associated with their contribution to achieving SDGs.