SUSTAINABILITY TRANSITIONS AND TOURISM
Guest editors
Piotr Niewiadomski
Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
p.niewiadomski@abdn.ac.uk
Patrick Brouder
Regional Innovation Chair - Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development, Vancouver Island University, Canada
patrick.brouder@viu.ca
Guest editors
Piotr Niewiadomski
Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
p.niewiadomski@abdn.ac.uk
Patrick Brouder
Regional Innovation Chair - Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development, Vancouver Island University, Canada
patrick.brouder@viu.ca
Aim and scope, theoretical context and anticipated contribution to the field
‘Sustainability transitions’ are broadly defined as complex shifts between distinctive socio-technical configurations which societies and economies need to undergo to mitigate climate change and address contemporary environmental problems – from current, unsustainable and carbon-intensive systems to new, more sustainable and less environmentally destructive modes of production and consumption (Coenen et al., 2012; Geels, 2010, 2011). Although the development of innovative sustainable technologies (mainly those based on renewable sources of energy that can facilitate and accelerate the de-carbonisation of current systems) is a core element here, such transitions, to be effective, need to be aligned with corresponding, often more serious changes in governance systems, institutional frameworks, markets, legal regulations, policy-making procedures, consumer practices, consumption patterns, and cultural discourses (Coenen et al., 2012; Geels, 2010, 2011; Smith et al., 2010). As such, the ‘sustainability transitions’ agenda is moving the focus from sustainable development as a goalpost to the mechanisms and processes that need to take place for societies, economies, countries, communities and sectors of the economy to achieve sustainable development.
The ‘sustainability transitions’ agenda has significantly developed over the last 10-15 years to become a well-established inter-disciplinary research field (see Kohler et al., 2019), with both theoretical and empirical literature on the topic mushrooming proportionally to the growing importance of pro-sustainability policy agendas of many national governments and supra-national organisations. Despite this, there is still very little dialogue between research on sustainability and energy transitions and the work on sustainable tourism. Although it has been ten years since UNEP (2011) listed tourism as one of the ten crucial sectors through which a transition to sustainable development should be pursued, and three years since it was identified by UNWTO as a key engine for realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UNWTO & UNDP, 2017), neither has the sustainability and energy transitions agenda encompassed the tourism production system, nor have tourism scholars sufficiently utilised the theoretical advancements made in research on wider sustainability and energy transitions. The aim of this special issue is to help bridge this gap and encourage a more enhanced and nuanced exchange of ideas between these two distinct bodies of work. Given that both tourism and sustainability transitions are inherently geographical phenomena and that geographers play an important role in pushing both agendas forward, there is a critical need to look at sustainability and energy transitions in tourism from a spatial perspective and account for their geographical complexity.
While the COVID-19 pandemic brought the global tourism industry to a standstill and, as a result, the tourism economy is going through a crisis of unprecedented magnitude (with a 60-80% decline in international tourist arrivals and up to 100-120 million jobs at risk; www.unwto.org 2020), important questions are being asked about the tourism industry’s post-COVID-19 ‘return from zero’ (Becken, 2021; Benjamin, Dilette, and Alderman, 2020; Brouder, 2020; Ioannides and Gyimothy, 2020; Niewiadomski 2020). Despite the urgent necessity to save jobs, businesses and livelihoods (which is often used to justify a prompt return to business-as-usual), academics, policy-makers and media see the crisis as an opportunity (and a very strong need!) to re-develop tourism in line with the principles of sustainability (Becken, 2021; Brouder, 2020; Ioannides and Gyimothy, 2020; Monbiot, 2020; Niewiadomski, 2020; www.unwto.org, 2020). Therefore, the need to bridge the ‘sustainability transitions’ and ‘sustainable tourism’ agendas is more urgent than ever before, in order to better inform the post-COVID-19 re-development of tourism and to ensure that the role of tourism in wider sustainability and energy transitions is understood. The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2021), which shows that there is no time to spare and decisive action should be taken if human-induced climate change is to be mitigated, emphasises this urgency even further.
In this respect, this special issue will extend the debate on sustainable tourism which Tourism Geographies has facilitated and encouraged over years. It will build upon some of the previous special issues of TG such as ‘Tourism and the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ (edited by Saarinen, 2018), and importantly ‘Reset: Visions of Travel & Tourism after the Global COVID-19 Transformation of 2020’ (edited by Lew et al., 2020). Not only will it complement the debate with various ‘new’ theoretical approaches and frameworks, but it will also highlight new topics and foci of analysis and draw attention to important processes and mechanisms that have been so far under-researched in (geographical) studies on tourism. Thus, this special issue will propose a new – important and timely – research agenda.
We welcome contributions that draw from the sustainability transitions agenda to address the pursuit of sustainable tourism and/or explore the various ways in which complex transitions to more sustainable forms of tourism production and consumption can contribute to wider sustainability transitions. We invite examples and case studies from all parts of the world and all geographical, cultural, political and social contexts, as well as studies addressing any sub-sector of tourism and any dimension of sustainability – environmental, economic, or socio-cultural. Both conceptual and empirical papers are welcome. More specific topics suitable for this special issue include (but are not limited to):
In relation to the above, we expect all contributors to draw from related studies published in Tourism Geographies and demonstrate their grasp of relevant academic discourses in the journal. As such, we expect all submissions to make adequate advances in and a valuable contribution to the general theoretical understanding of tourism from a geographical perspective.
Papers are invited from authors representing various parts of the world and various geographical and academic contexts (particularly those outside the Western knowledge development nexus), various stages of academic (or professional) career, various disciplinary backgrounds, and various EDI criteria (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, etc.).
Submission instructions
We invite expressions of interest in the form of an extended abstract (1000 words excluding references) to be sent to the guest editors Piotr Niewiadomski (p.niewiadomski@abdn.ac.uk) and Patrick Brouder (patrick.brouder@viu.ca) by 22 February 2022. Abstracts should include the title, author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), contact information (including email addresses) and keywords (maximum six). The authors who submit abstracts will be informed on the outcome of abstract review no later than 31 March 2022. Those authors who are invited to prepare full manuscripts will be asked to submit their papers to Guest Editors by 31 August 2022 and then, after addressing Guest Editors’ comments, to Scholar One by 30 November 2022.
An invitation from the guest editors to submit a full paper does not guarantee publication. All full paper submissions will be subject to the normal peer review processes of Tourism Geographies. All contributors should follow the journal’s ‘Notes for Contributors’. Papers should be no longer than 7,500 words (including references).
Timeline
Expression of interest (submission of an extended abstract): 22 February 2022
Notification of acceptance or rejection of abstracts: 31 March 2022
Submission of full manuscripts to Guest Editors: 31 August 2022
Guest editor review comments to authors: 31 September 2022
Submission of full manuscript in Scholar One: 30 November 2022
Anticipated publication date: published online as soon as papers are accepted. Papers will be allocated to a 2024 issue in Tourism Geographies.
References
Becken, S. (2021). Tourism desperately wants a return to the ‘old normal’ but that would be a disaster. The Conversation. www.theconversation.com
Benjamin, S. Dillette, A., Alderman, D.H. (2020). “We can’t return to normal”: committing to tourism equity in the post-pandemic age. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 476-483. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1759130
Brouder, P. (2020). Reset redux: possible evolutionary pathways towards the transformation of tourism in a COVID-19 world. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 484-490. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1760928
Coenen, L., Benneworth, P., Truffer, B. (2012). Toward a spatial perspective on sustainability transitions. Research Policy, 41(6), 968-979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2012.02.014
Geels, F.W. (2010). Ontologies, socio-technical transitions (to sustainability), and the multi-level perspective. Research Policy, 39(4), 495-510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.022
Geels, F.W. (2011). The multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions: responses to seven criticisms. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 1, 24-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2011.02.002
IPCC (International Panel for Climate Change) (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. IPCC 2021. www.ipcc.ch
Ioannides, D., Gyimothy, S. (2020). The COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity for escaping the unsustainable global tourism path. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 624-632. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1763445
Köhler, J., Geels, F.W., Kern, F., Markard, J., Onsongod, E., Wieczorek, A., Alkemade, F., Avelino, F., Bergek, A., Boons, F., Fünfschillingh, L. Hess, D., Holtz, G., Hyysalo, S., Jenkins, K., Kivimaa, P., Martiskainen, M., McMeekin, A., Mühlemeier, M.S., Nykvist, B.,Pel, B., Raven, B., Rohracher, H., Sandén, B., Schot, J., Sovacool, B., Turnheim, B., Welch, D. Wells, P. (2019). An agenda for sustainability transitions research: state of the art and future directions. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 31, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2019.01.004
Monbiot, G. (2020). Airlines and oil giants are on the brink. No government should offer them a lifeline. The Guardian, 29 April 2020. www.theguardian.com
Niewiadomski, P. (2020). COVID-19: From temporary de-globalisation to a rediscovery of tourism? Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 651-656. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1757749
Smith, A., Voß, J.-P., Grin, J. (2010). Innovation studies and sustainability transitions: the allure of the multi-level perspective and its challenges. Research Policy, 39(4). 435-448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.023
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) (2011). Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. A Synthesis for Policy Makers. United Nations Environment Programme.
UNWTO & UNDP (World Tourism Organization & United Nations Development Programme) (2017). Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals – Journey to 2030. World Tourism Organization. www.unwto.org
www.unwto.org, World Tourism Organization, accessed in June 2020
‘Sustainability transitions’ are broadly defined as complex shifts between distinctive socio-technical configurations which societies and economies need to undergo to mitigate climate change and address contemporary environmental problems – from current, unsustainable and carbon-intensive systems to new, more sustainable and less environmentally destructive modes of production and consumption (Coenen et al., 2012; Geels, 2010, 2011). Although the development of innovative sustainable technologies (mainly those based on renewable sources of energy that can facilitate and accelerate the de-carbonisation of current systems) is a core element here, such transitions, to be effective, need to be aligned with corresponding, often more serious changes in governance systems, institutional frameworks, markets, legal regulations, policy-making procedures, consumer practices, consumption patterns, and cultural discourses (Coenen et al., 2012; Geels, 2010, 2011; Smith et al., 2010). As such, the ‘sustainability transitions’ agenda is moving the focus from sustainable development as a goalpost to the mechanisms and processes that need to take place for societies, economies, countries, communities and sectors of the economy to achieve sustainable development.
The ‘sustainability transitions’ agenda has significantly developed over the last 10-15 years to become a well-established inter-disciplinary research field (see Kohler et al., 2019), with both theoretical and empirical literature on the topic mushrooming proportionally to the growing importance of pro-sustainability policy agendas of many national governments and supra-national organisations. Despite this, there is still very little dialogue between research on sustainability and energy transitions and the work on sustainable tourism. Although it has been ten years since UNEP (2011) listed tourism as one of the ten crucial sectors through which a transition to sustainable development should be pursued, and three years since it was identified by UNWTO as a key engine for realising the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UNWTO & UNDP, 2017), neither has the sustainability and energy transitions agenda encompassed the tourism production system, nor have tourism scholars sufficiently utilised the theoretical advancements made in research on wider sustainability and energy transitions. The aim of this special issue is to help bridge this gap and encourage a more enhanced and nuanced exchange of ideas between these two distinct bodies of work. Given that both tourism and sustainability transitions are inherently geographical phenomena and that geographers play an important role in pushing both agendas forward, there is a critical need to look at sustainability and energy transitions in tourism from a spatial perspective and account for their geographical complexity.
While the COVID-19 pandemic brought the global tourism industry to a standstill and, as a result, the tourism economy is going through a crisis of unprecedented magnitude (with a 60-80% decline in international tourist arrivals and up to 100-120 million jobs at risk; www.unwto.org 2020), important questions are being asked about the tourism industry’s post-COVID-19 ‘return from zero’ (Becken, 2021; Benjamin, Dilette, and Alderman, 2020; Brouder, 2020; Ioannides and Gyimothy, 2020; Niewiadomski 2020). Despite the urgent necessity to save jobs, businesses and livelihoods (which is often used to justify a prompt return to business-as-usual), academics, policy-makers and media see the crisis as an opportunity (and a very strong need!) to re-develop tourism in line with the principles of sustainability (Becken, 2021; Brouder, 2020; Ioannides and Gyimothy, 2020; Monbiot, 2020; Niewiadomski, 2020; www.unwto.org, 2020). Therefore, the need to bridge the ‘sustainability transitions’ and ‘sustainable tourism’ agendas is more urgent than ever before, in order to better inform the post-COVID-19 re-development of tourism and to ensure that the role of tourism in wider sustainability and energy transitions is understood. The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2021), which shows that there is no time to spare and decisive action should be taken if human-induced climate change is to be mitigated, emphasises this urgency even further.
In this respect, this special issue will extend the debate on sustainable tourism which Tourism Geographies has facilitated and encouraged over years. It will build upon some of the previous special issues of TG such as ‘Tourism and the UN Sustainable Development Goals’ (edited by Saarinen, 2018), and importantly ‘Reset: Visions of Travel & Tourism after the Global COVID-19 Transformation of 2020’ (edited by Lew et al., 2020). Not only will it complement the debate with various ‘new’ theoretical approaches and frameworks, but it will also highlight new topics and foci of analysis and draw attention to important processes and mechanisms that have been so far under-researched in (geographical) studies on tourism. Thus, this special issue will propose a new – important and timely – research agenda.
We welcome contributions that draw from the sustainability transitions agenda to address the pursuit of sustainable tourism and/or explore the various ways in which complex transitions to more sustainable forms of tourism production and consumption can contribute to wider sustainability transitions. We invite examples and case studies from all parts of the world and all geographical, cultural, political and social contexts, as well as studies addressing any sub-sector of tourism and any dimension of sustainability – environmental, economic, or socio-cultural. Both conceptual and empirical papers are welcome. More specific topics suitable for this special issue include (but are not limited to):
- Theoretical approaches to sustainability transitions in tourism,
- Sustainability transitions in tourism as evolutionary processes (e.g. de-carbonisation as a mindful deviation, strong levels of reliance on fossil fuels as an example of path-dependence, etc.),
- The usefulness of the multi-level perspective (MLP) as a framework for researching sustainability transitions in tourism,
- Tourism and energy / Energy transitions in the tourism industry,
- The role of technological and organisational innovations in sustainability transitions in tourism,
- Tourism and climate change,
- Tourism and the UN Sustainable Development Goals,
- De-carbonisation of tourism production and consumption,
- Indigenous perspectives on change towards sustainability in tourism,
- Social, cultural and political factors shaping sustainability transitions in tourism (e.g. the role of politics and power, the importance of social justice and just transitions),
- Tourism as a driver of wider (regional) sustainability transitions,
- Sustainability transitions in different forms and categories of tourism (e.g. urban vs. rural, package vs. niche, etc.)
In relation to the above, we expect all contributors to draw from related studies published in Tourism Geographies and demonstrate their grasp of relevant academic discourses in the journal. As such, we expect all submissions to make adequate advances in and a valuable contribution to the general theoretical understanding of tourism from a geographical perspective.
Papers are invited from authors representing various parts of the world and various geographical and academic contexts (particularly those outside the Western knowledge development nexus), various stages of academic (or professional) career, various disciplinary backgrounds, and various EDI criteria (e.g. gender, race, ethnicity, etc.).
Submission instructions
We invite expressions of interest in the form of an extended abstract (1000 words excluding references) to be sent to the guest editors Piotr Niewiadomski (p.niewiadomski@abdn.ac.uk) and Patrick Brouder (patrick.brouder@viu.ca) by 22 February 2022. Abstracts should include the title, author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), contact information (including email addresses) and keywords (maximum six). The authors who submit abstracts will be informed on the outcome of abstract review no later than 31 March 2022. Those authors who are invited to prepare full manuscripts will be asked to submit their papers to Guest Editors by 31 August 2022 and then, after addressing Guest Editors’ comments, to Scholar One by 30 November 2022.
An invitation from the guest editors to submit a full paper does not guarantee publication. All full paper submissions will be subject to the normal peer review processes of Tourism Geographies. All contributors should follow the journal’s ‘Notes for Contributors’. Papers should be no longer than 7,500 words (including references).
Timeline
Expression of interest (submission of an extended abstract): 22 February 2022
Notification of acceptance or rejection of abstracts: 31 March 2022
Submission of full manuscripts to Guest Editors: 31 August 2022
Guest editor review comments to authors: 31 September 2022
Submission of full manuscript in Scholar One: 30 November 2022
Anticipated publication date: published online as soon as papers are accepted. Papers will be allocated to a 2024 issue in Tourism Geographies.
References
Becken, S. (2021). Tourism desperately wants a return to the ‘old normal’ but that would be a disaster. The Conversation. www.theconversation.com
Benjamin, S. Dillette, A., Alderman, D.H. (2020). “We can’t return to normal”: committing to tourism equity in the post-pandemic age. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 476-483. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1759130
Brouder, P. (2020). Reset redux: possible evolutionary pathways towards the transformation of tourism in a COVID-19 world. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 484-490. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1760928
Coenen, L., Benneworth, P., Truffer, B. (2012). Toward a spatial perspective on sustainability transitions. Research Policy, 41(6), 968-979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2012.02.014
Geels, F.W. (2010). Ontologies, socio-technical transitions (to sustainability), and the multi-level perspective. Research Policy, 39(4), 495-510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.022
Geels, F.W. (2011). The multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions: responses to seven criticisms. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 1, 24-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2011.02.002
IPCC (International Panel for Climate Change) (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. IPCC 2021. www.ipcc.ch
Ioannides, D., Gyimothy, S. (2020). The COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity for escaping the unsustainable global tourism path. Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 624-632. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1763445
Köhler, J., Geels, F.W., Kern, F., Markard, J., Onsongod, E., Wieczorek, A., Alkemade, F., Avelino, F., Bergek, A., Boons, F., Fünfschillingh, L. Hess, D., Holtz, G., Hyysalo, S., Jenkins, K., Kivimaa, P., Martiskainen, M., McMeekin, A., Mühlemeier, M.S., Nykvist, B.,Pel, B., Raven, B., Rohracher, H., Sandén, B., Schot, J., Sovacool, B., Turnheim, B., Welch, D. Wells, P. (2019). An agenda for sustainability transitions research: state of the art and future directions. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. 31, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2019.01.004
Monbiot, G. (2020). Airlines and oil giants are on the brink. No government should offer them a lifeline. The Guardian, 29 April 2020. www.theguardian.com
Niewiadomski, P. (2020). COVID-19: From temporary de-globalisation to a rediscovery of tourism? Tourism Geographies, 22(3), 651-656. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1757749
Smith, A., Voß, J.-P., Grin, J. (2010). Innovation studies and sustainability transitions: the allure of the multi-level perspective and its challenges. Research Policy, 39(4). 435-448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.023
UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) (2011). Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication. A Synthesis for Policy Makers. United Nations Environment Programme.
UNWTO & UNDP (World Tourism Organization & United Nations Development Programme) (2017). Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals – Journey to 2030. World Tourism Organization. www.unwto.org
www.unwto.org, World Tourism Organization, accessed in June 2020