Commentary: transitions research and sustainable tourism

Abstract

This commentary discusses the growing connections between sustainable tourism research and the sustainability transitions literature. The common ground between sustainability transitions and sustainable tourism starts from the problem definition of unsustainability in tourism and the consequent need for system change. Research into sustainable tourism engages with several areas discussed in the recent sustainability transitions research agenda. These include: understanding radical innovation for sustainability that involves (socio-technical) system level change; the politics and power struggles in transitions processes; organisational and industrial aspects of sustainability transitions; the geography of transitions; and ethical/just transitions. The papers in this special issue also show that evolutionary economic geography (EEG) views on sustainability transitions in tourism are in line with the concepts of innovation and change in the multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions (MLP). This should enable a fruitful interaction between the two fields of sustinability transitions and sustainable touism.