Tourism and degrowth

Abstract

The necessity and consequences of the exponential growth in tourism activity experienced throughout the world over the past half-century have been increasingly questioned by an expanding body of activists and critical researchers. One of the emerging responses within this debate concerns calls for reversing the trend in pursuit of touristic ‘degrowth’. This discussion has been inspired by a longstanding body of research problematizing the imperative and consequences of economic growth more generally, initiated by natural and social scientists. This article offers a state-of-the-art overview of the application of degrowth perspectives to discussions of (sustainable) tourism development and outlines a future agenda for research and praxis continuing this important line of inquiry.