Bridging Research and Practice in Sustainable Tourism: The Case of Spain

Abstract

Given the tourism industry’s pivotal role in the global economy and its substantial environmental and socio-cultural impacts, advancing sustainable tourism development has become imperative. While existing research has largely focused on theoretical perspectives and sectoral organizations have issued best-practice guidelines, few studies have examined how industry professionals actively influence and implement sustainability measures. Consequently, research that bridges theoretical analysis with practical application remains scarce. This research addresses this gap by proposing a strategic action plan to guide Spain’s tourism sector toward a more sustainable model. Using a mixed-methods approach, it combines insights from a Delphi panel of experts with an in-depth review of scholarly and professional literature. The findings lead to a set of targeted initiatives aligned with the eight axes of Spain’s Sustainable Tourism Strategy 2030, aimed at strengthening the social, economic, environmental, and institutional dimensions of national tourism development. The expert panel emphasized the need for stronger regulatory standards and improved public–private collaboration as critical enablers of sustainability. This study also identifies key structural shortcomings within the sector and provides actionable policy recommendations to support stakeholders and policymakers in advancing sustainable tourism practices in Spain.

1. Introduction

Economic literature has long recognized the substantial role of tourism in fostering economic development [1]. In 2024, the travel and tourism sector accounted for approximately 10% of global GDP (USD 10.9 trillion) and supported 357 million jobs worldwide [2]. Consequently, the integration of tourism into national, regional, and local development strategies has become a widely adopted approach to fostering wealth creation and employment generation [3]. Beyond its contribution to economic growth, tourism also has significant social and environmental effects [4], which calls for a comprehensive and balanced approach aligned with the principles of sustainable development [5].

Within the last two decades, policy and practical initiatives have burgeoned globally around sustainable tourism [6]. In this context, The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Tourism Organization developed a policy guide with 12 strategic objectives to support the transition to a more sustainable tourism model [7]. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 involve some small references to sustainable tourism in SDG8: Decent work and economic growth; SDG12: Responsible consumption and production; and SDG14: Life below water [8]. Among the world’s leading tourist destinations, France [9] and Spain [10]—the two most visited countries globally—have developed national tourism strategies with a strong emphasis on promoting sustainable tourism. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released in 2018 the document ISO 21401 [11] to specify requirements to implement a sustainability management system in tourist accommodation. This standard complements ISO 14001:2015 [11] and ISO 26000:2010 [11], which, respectively, provide guidance on environmental management systems and social responsibility for tourism establishments. Additionally, some international certification programs have emerged, focusing on sustainability in the travel and tourism industry (Global Sustainable Tourism Council certification [12], sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism [13], sustainable destinations and tourism organizations [14], or sustainable accommodation [15]. Furthermore, leading consulting firms such as McKinsey, KPMG, and Deloitte periodically publish sectoral reports on sustainable tourism, providing strategic guidelines to support the development and implementation of sustainable tourism practices. Regarding the literature in the field, sustainable tourism has been examined from different perspectives [16,17]. The nexus between sustainable tourism and rural community development has increasingly become a focus of scholarly inquiry. Benefits from sustainable tourism on the progress of rural communities were studied by [5,18,19], while [20] discussed the engagement of residents in tourism development. Community-based tourism alternatives were suggested by [21]. Marketing strategies [22], responsible tourism [23], development policies [24], implementation of sustainable tourism policy [25], social tourism [26], development drivers [27], funding [28], impact on natural resources [29], and cultural heritage [30,31], or new business models [1] were also explored in the domain of sustainable tourism. However, there is no consensus yet on the definition of a sustainable tourism development model to be implemented worldwide [32].

Within this context, a pertinent research question emerges: how can academic inquiry, policy frameworks, and practitioners’ perspectives be integrated to delineate a pathway toward a sustainable tourism model? This article aims to give a response to this query by proposing a framework for advancing sustainable tourism in Spain, one of the world’s leading destinations. The framework is designed to assist practitioners in identifying and selecting the most suitable actions to effectively promote progress toward sustainability in the sector. The methodology combines literature review with expert judgment. Extant global literature was first reviewed to formulate a theoretical scheme applicable to any country, which was later contrasted with the snapshot of sustainable tourism created from the Spanish sectoral non-peer-reviewed literature. For a more sustainable tourism model in Spain, a panel of local experts determined actions to implement through a two-round Delphi method.

The contribution of this article is threefold. First, from a theoretical perspective, it offers a comprehensive characterization of global sustainable tourism, encompassing its social, economic, environmental, and institutional dimensions, as well as the diverse conceptual approaches advanced in the international scholarly debate. Second, it delivers a practical framework that can serve as a useful instrument for various actors within the tourism industry to advance sustainability in their operations and policies. Finally, the findings provide Spanish stakeholders with valuable insights into the structural shortcomings of the national tourism sector, thereby informing more effective strategies for sustainable development.

The organization of the manuscript comprises three additional sections. Section 2 describes the methodological protocol followed. Results are presented and discussed in Section 3. The last section summarizes the main conclusions, limitations encountered, and recommendations for future research.

2. Methodology

The research employed a three-stage methodology, as illustrated in Figure 1. In the initial phase (2.1.), an extensive review of scientific literature combined with thematic analysis was performed to construct a theoretical reference framework. This framework delineates the key elements to be incorporated into an effective model aimed at promoting sustainable tourism development. In the second phase (2.2.), a review of the non-peer-reviewed literature—primarily produced by national and international public institutions—was conducted. This analysis facilitated the development of a set of recommended actions to be implemented within Spain’s sustainable tourism sector. Experts in the field identified major actions in the Spanish realm to efficiently promote sustainable tourism in the country (2.3.).

2.1. Conceptualizing a Sustainable Tourism Model

The literature review was completed in August 2024 following the protocol shown in Figure 2. The generic search string <sustainable tourism development> was considered to collect the largest number of related contributions from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) multidisciplinary databases with no further restrictions. A total of 41,395 documents were thus found after merging manuscripts from both sources; still, this number was reduced to 642 contributions when applying exclusion criteria and removing duplicates and works mostly based on case studies or the impact of COVID-19 in the tourism sector. Only articles published in English and/or Spanish were shortlisted, while 152 ‘hot papers’ (outstanding number of citations after publication) and six ‘highly cited papers’ (top of 1% of the number of citations) from WoS were deemed in the preliminary selection. Screening the titles, abstracts, and keywords revealed that only 44 documents were specifically focused on the development of sustainable tourism, to be later fully examined. As a result of the screening process, seven articles were discarded due to their limited relevance. Thematic analysis was therefore conducted with the 37 remaining documents.

Thematic analysis was employed as a research tool to examine the presence, meanings, and interrelationships of specific words, themes, and concepts. The process was conducted in five sequential steps: (1) defining a research question to analyze content; (2) establishing concepts/categories to code; (3) specifying coding rules; (4) coding content; and (5) analyzing results [33].

The content of the 37 articles finally selected was explored to ascertain determinant factors contributing to the development of sustainable tourism. According to the Sustainable Tourism Strategy of Spain 2030 [10], a three-tier coding scheme was adopted. At the first level are the four sustainability dimensions (1: economic; 2: institutional; 3: environmental; 4: social). The eight themes of the Spanish strategy (#.1: sustainable growth; #.2: preservation of natural and cultural values; #.3: social benefit; #.4: participation and governance; #.5: permanent adaptation; #.6: competitive transformation; #.7: tourism space, companies and individuals; #.8: product, marketing, and tourism intelligence) constitute the second step. A third tier (.#. #) was added to list the actions from literature.

2.2. Towards a Spanish Sustainable Tourism Model

To incorporate a market-oriented perspective, a bibliographic search of the non-peer-reviewed literature was undertaken. This included reports from international organizations, Spanish sector-specific public and private institutions, and major global consulting firms. The objective was to collect information on the actions recommended for advancing sustainable tourism in Spain. Particular attention was paid to publications produced by the United Nations, the World Tourism Organization, the World Travel & Tourism Council, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, and the European Union at the international level.

Within the national context, the main sources of information consulted included the repositories of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, Institute for Tourist Quality, Institute of Tourism Studies, National Statistical Institute, Institute for the Promotion of Tourism in Spain, and State Society for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies, as well as the websites of the Councils of Tourism of the 17 Spanish autonomous communities and other national associations. While climate change adaptation is highly relevant to tourism, it falls outside the scope of this study, which focuses on outlining a general action plan for Spain. However, future research should address this crucial dimension. The actions suggested in the above-mentioned sources were grouped following the coding proposed in 2.1. around the four facets of sustainability.

2.3. Diagnosing Spanish Sustainable Tourism Model

From an initial pool of fifty tourism professionals contacted via email, seven national practitioners consented to participate in a Delphi panel implemented across two iterative rounds. The primary objective was to identify and refine strategic directions for advancing a sustainable tourism model in Spain, drawing upon the methodological approaches outlined in Section 2.1 and Section 2.2. Industry (4) provided the largest number of panelists, followed by consultancy and government sectors with two and one, respectively. Five experts had more than five years of experience in the field, whereas two had less expertise (Figure 3). The Delphi process employed a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (exceptionally low importance) to 5 (remarkably high importance) to evaluate each item based on its anticipated positive and measurable impact on at least two of the four sustainability dimensions. Consensus for inclusion was defined as a minimum aggregated score of 21 points, equivalent to an average rating of no less than 3 points per expert across the seven evaluators. During the first step, panelists refined individually each framework from peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed literature. In addition, they were invited to hint further initiatives to be debated in the second round. After merging the two resulting schemas, they assessed all actions in the last iteration to delineate a sustainable roadmap for the national tourism industry.

3. Results

The following sections present the findings derived from the application of the methodological protocol outlined above.

3.1. Theoretical Reference Frame for the Development of Sustainable Tourism

The eight themes used in the coding framework as second level are first described as follows. Sustainable growth is development that combines economic growth with environmental responsibility. The preservation of natural and cultural values seeks to preserve cultural and natural heritage. Social benefit examines the contribution of tourism sector benefits to stakeholder groups. The active participation of these groups in the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of policies directed to national tourism is the subject of participation and governance. Continuous adaptation enhances the responsiveness of the tourism sector to the ever-changing environment. Competitive transformation studies how tourist companies exploit their strengths, develop new skills, and take advantage of opportunities to improve their positioning. The theme tourism space, companies, and individuals focus on the factors conditioning the development of the main tourism actors. Product, marketing, and tourism intelligence enhance tourism promotion strategies based on a tourism intelligence model.

The review of literature identified 46 actions to shape the pattern for sustainable tourism, some of which are associated with more than one theme. The allocation of actions across the four sustainability dimensions appears markedly imbalanced. Excluding the institutional dimension, which encompasses 28 actions distributed across the eight thematic axes, the remaining sustainability domains are only marginally addressed, each represented by no more than four thematic axes: economic (4), environmental (2), and social (3) for a total of 6, 4, and 8 actions, respectively.

Table 1. Actions from the literature to enhance the economic dimension of sustainable tourism. Source: [32].

Code	Action
1.1.1	Tourism-based economic development strategies
1.1.2	Inclusion of local residents’ views on tourism and digital technologies in a local development plan
1.1.3	Development of plans towards competitiveness and value creation
1.3.1	Strategies to foster local development based on tourism profits
1.6.1	Development of plans towards competitiveness and value creation
1.8.1	Understanding of tourist behavior in relation to e-commerce

,

Table 2. Initiatives for the institutional domain. Source: [32].

Code	Action
2.1.1	Co-design of tourism products and services as part of a sustainable development process
2.1.2	Creating regulatory standards to make tourism sustainable
2.2.1	Raising environmental awareness among consumers of tourism products and services
2.3.1	Assessing tourism impacts on environment and local communities
2.4.1	Public–private collaboration for the development of regulations on tourism-related activities
2.4.2	Creating networks for better management of tourism
2.4.3	Drafting regulatory standards to make tourism sustainable
2.4.4	Developing tailored regulatory standards for the tourism of a given country
2.4.5	Collaborative design of tourism proposals promoting sustainable development
2.5.1	Analysis of tourism market segmentation from an e-commerce perspective
2.5.2	Applying Artificial Intelligence on tourism
2.5.3	Promoting innovation in tourism industry
2.6.1	Including participatory processes in tourism
2.6.2	Virtual simulation to make tourism more cost efficient
2.6.3	Using digital technologies in tourism
2.7.1	Applying sustainable entrepreneurship practices in tourist sector
2.7.2	Business models geared towards online tourism marketing
2.8.1	Promoting SLOW tourism
2.8.2	Analysis of tourism market segmentation to enhance rural tourism
2.8.3	Virtual simulation to make tourism more cost efficient
2.8.4	Research on tourism market
2.8.5	Analyzing tourism market segmentation from an e-commerce perspective
2.8.6	Using digital technologies in tourism
2.8.7	Applying Artificial Intelligence on tourism
2.8.8	Business models geared towards online tourism marketing
2.8.9	Implementing social marketing on the encouragement of tourism
2.8.10	Collaborative design of tourism proposals promoting sustainable development
2.8.11	Promoting sustainability in rural tourism

,

Table 3. Environmental suggestions for a sustainable tourism model. Source: [32].

Code	Action
3.1.1	Implementing sustainable development models based on data analysis
3.1.2	Research on consumer behavior and motivations towards gastronomy and cultural tourism
3.8.1	Analysis of tourism market segmentation
3.8.2	Promoting ecotourism, rural tourism, and cultural tourism

and

Table 4. Actions proposed in the social field. Source: [32].

Code	Action
4.1.1	Inclusion of local residents’ views on tourism and digital technologies in a local development plan
4.3.1	Assessing tourism impacts on environment and local communities
4.3.2	Developing tourist proposals to enhance quality of life and social conditions of local communities
4.3.3	Analyzing local residents’ perceptions on the impact of tourism where they live
4.3.4	Strategies to boost local development based on tourism profits
4.8.1	Linking tourism products and services with social responsibility
4.8.2	Including community-based initiatives to foster rural tourism
4.8.3	Analysis of tourism market segmentation from an e-commerce perspective

display the actions noted by the scientific literature for the promotion of sustainable tourism per each sustainability domain.

Table 1 summarizes the six actions recommended to strengthen the economic sphere. Sustainable growth (3) is emphasized more strongly than social benefits, competitive transformation, and product, marketing, and tourist intelligence, which are represented by one action each. Most actions focused on the development of tourism strategies aimed at enhancing sectoral competitiveness [34], local community development [35], and the use of digital technologies [36,37,38].

As shown in Table 2, the institutional dimension accounted for the majority of the actions (28) proposed in the literature. The theme associated with product, marketing, and tourism intelligence reflected the largest number of actions (11), followed by participation and governance (5). The other themes involved were present in a range of one to three actions. Development of specific regulatory frameworks for the sector [39], marketing [40,41,42], and the application of digital technologies in tourism [43,44], along with the encouragement of alternative tourism [45,46] were the preferred targets of these actions.

With respect to the environmental dimension, the reviewed literature reports only four actions directly associated with policy efforts to foster sustainable tourism development. (Table 3). These actions were divided equally between the theme of sustainable growth and that of product, marketing, and tourist intelligence, being especially geared towards the preparation of models for tourism development [47], market research [48], and the promotion of alternative tourism [49].

The literature review identified eight actions related to the social dimension (Table 4). Of these, five were directed toward generating social benefits, three focused on product development, marketing, and tourism intelligence, and one specifically addressed sustainable growth. These actions were designed to study the impact of tourism on local communities [50,51] or community-based tourism [52,53].

3.2. Insights About the Spanish Sustainable Tourism Model

The thorough review of the references listed in 2.2 disclosed 60 actions oriented to the Spanish sustainable tourism that were clustered into categories as per the above coding guidelines. Sources included Spanish ministries (2), leading international consulting firms (2), Spanish state tourism agencies (4), international tourism associations (1), and Spanish associations of tourism companies (1). National state agencies (TurEspaña, Destino Turístico Inteligente, Instituto para la Calidad Turística Española y la Sostenibilidad (ICTES), Sociedad Mercantil Estatal para la Gestión de la Innovación y las Tecnologías Turísticas (SEGITTUR)) formulated 23 targeted actions, particularly emphasizing the input of Destino Turístico Inteligente with 15 actions, followed by TurEspaña, ICTES, and SEGITTUR with 4, 3, and 1 actions, respectively. Deloitte (17) and McKinsey & Company (2) proposed a total of 19 actions. The Ministerio de Industria, Comercio y Turismo (12), and the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medioambiente (2) suggested 14 actions. The contribution of sectoral associations was limited, accounting for only four actions: three from Hosteltur, a consortium of tourism companies, and one from the World Travel & Tourism Council. Figure 4 shows the marked imbalance between the distribution of actions drawn from the non-peer-reviewed literature and the four dimensions of sustainability. The institutional dimension encompasses 38 actions, considerably exceeding those identified in the economic (12), environmental (8), and social (2) dimensions. A similar pattern is evident in the thematic analysis of the theoretical framework. The areas of sustainable growth and product development, marketing, and tourism intelligence each include 15 actions, followed by competitive transformation (8), social benefit (7), permanent adaptation (7), and participation and governance (6). In contrast, the preservation of natural and cultural values is represented by only two actions, and no actions were identified in relation to tourist spaces, companies, or individuals.

Actions oriented towards social benefit (5) predominated over those directed towards sustainable growth (3), competitive transformation (3), and product, marketing, and tourism intelligence (1) within the economic dimension. The actions addressed a diverse set of themes, with particular emphasis on innovation and new technologies, territorial cohesion of destinations, local economic development, and strategies aimed at maximizing revenue per tourist.

Table 5. Action plan for the economic domain.

Code	Action	Source
1.1.1	Attracting more profitable tourists to trigger sustainability in destinations	[54]
1.1.2	Developing a tourism model maximizing revenues per traveler	[55]
1.1.3	Creating a network of smart tourist destinations (DTI network)	[56]
1.3.1	Diversifying tourist destinations to promote territorial cohesion	[10]
1.3.2	Diversifying tourist destinations to promote territorial cohesion	[57]
1.3.3	Focusing tourism on the promotion of local economy, use of renewables or smart technologies	[55]
1.3.4	Involving local communities and stakeholders in the development of sustainable tourism	[58]
1.3.5	Developing social and sustainable tourism models to boost local economy	[56]
1.6.1	Development of plans towards competitiveness and value creation	[10]
1.6.2	Developing a tourism model maximizing revenues per traveler	[54]
1.6.3	Creating a network of smart tourist destinations (DTI network)	[56]
1.8.1	Analysis of tourism market segmentation according to the use of digital technologies	[56]

shows that Destino Turístico Inteligente (4) was the state tourism agency that articulated the most actions. The actions addressed a diverse set of themes, with particular emphasis on innovation and new technologies, territorial cohesion of destinations, local economic development, and strategies aimed at maximizing revenue per tourist.

The institutional domain represented over 60% of all actions identified for the Spanish context, covering nearly all thematic areas outlined in the theoretical reference framework (

Table 6. Actions towards the institutional domain.

Code	Action	Source
2.1.1	Long-term planning of tourist destinations	[61]
2.1.2	Agreement with Paradores de España and RENFE to reduce the carbon footprint of travelers	[61]
2.1.3	Developing tourist proposals to enhance social, environmental, and economic dimensions	[54]
2.1.4	Implementing sustainable tourism certificates: European Chart for Sustainable Tourism, EMAS, ETIS	[10]
2.1.5	Developing a tourism model minimizing impacts on local communities	[57]
2.1.6	Receiving a green certificate for Spain as a tourist destination	[59]
2.1.7	Adapting national tourism to climate change	[62]
2.1.8	Implementing standards to achieve the SDGs in tourism destinations	[60]
2.1.9	Receiving the certificate S Brand tourist sustainability	[60]
2.1.10	Implementing UNE-ISO 21401:2019 standard for the management of tourist accommodation	[11,60]
2.2.1	Involving all tourism actors in environmental protection	[10]
2.2.2	Raising environmental awareness among consumers of tourism products and services	[55]
2.3.1	Using Internet of Things for better tourism management	[10]
2.4.1	Public–private collaboration for the promotion of sustainability in tourism	[59]
2.4.2	Membership of the European Network for the Development of Sustainable Tourism (ECOTRANS)	[63]
2.4.3	Statistical monitoring of sustainable tourism models according to WTO guidelines	[61]
2.4.4	Adapting national tourism to climate change	[62]
2.4.5	Destination-based tourism strategy	[10]
2.4.6	Establishing public–private partnerships to promote ecotourism	[56]
2.5.1	Encouraging the use of social networks as instrument to promote tourism	[55]
2.5.2	Using Big Data for a predictive analysis of the demand	[56]
2.5.3	Creating tourism-oriented IT tools, such as destination tourism applications, global destination management and tourist intelligence	[10]
2.5.4	Applying Artificial Intelligence and Big Data on tourism	[55]
2.5.5	Creating tourist hubs based on innovation	[10]
2.5.6	Boosting Spain as a destination for tourism innovation	[59]
2.5.7	Creating a network of smart tourist destinations (DTI network)	[56]
2.6.1	Promoting digitalization among tourism actors	[10,56]
2.6.2	Creating virtual experiences in tourist destinations	[55]
2.6.3	Promoting innovation and digitalization among tourism actors	[55]
2.6.4	Digitally transforming tourism industry to improve the end-to-end traveler experience	[59]
2.6.5	Promoting digitalization among tourism actors	[10,56]
2.8.1	Promoting destinations based on cultural and environmental tourism	[10]
2.8.2	Promoting digitalization among tourism actors	[10,56]
2.8.3	Creating virtual experiences in tourist destinations	[55]
2.8.4	Stimulating public sector engagement in tourism innovation	[55]
2.8.5	Digitally transforming tourism industry to improve the end-to-end traveler experience	[59]
2.8.6	Promoting digitalization among tourism actors	[10,56]
2.8.7	Establishing public–private partnerships to promote ecotourism	[56]

), excluding tourism, companies, and individuals. Social growth (10), permanent adaptation (7), product, marketing, and tourism intelligence (7), participation and governance (6) and competitive transformation (5) were the subjects with the largest number of actions. Preservation of natural and cultural values (2) and social benefit (1) were the least mentioned. Deloitte (12), the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism (9) and Destino Turístico Inteligente (6) were the actors that provided more actions to the national tourism sector. Sustainable tourism certifications [10,59,60], the use of digital technologies [10,55,56,59], and tourism innovation [10,59] were the actions primarily advised.

A total of eight environmentally focused initiatives were identified (

Table 7. Proposals regarding the environmental field.

Code	Action	Source
3.1.1	Promoting destinations based on cultural and environmental tourism	[10]
3.1.2	Promoting destinations based on cultural, gastronomic, or business tourism	[55]
3.8.1	Analysis of tourism market segmentation	[54]
3.8.2	Steering tourist demand towards target destinations	[59]
3.8.3	Using Big Data for a predictive analysis of the demand	[56]
3.8.4	Promoting destinations based on cultural, gastronomic, or business tourism	[55]
3.8.5	Promoting destinations based on cultural, gastronomic, or business tourism	[56]
3.8.6	Establishing public–private partnerships to promote ecotourism	[56]

), including two related to sustainable growth and six addressing product development, marketing, and tourism intelligence. The main contributors were Destino Turístico Inteligente and Deloitte (three initiatives each), followed by TurEspaña and the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Tourism with one initiative each. Most programs have prioritized using Spain’s natural, cultural, and gastronomic resources to reinforce the structural competitiveness and diversification of the national tourism industry [10,55,56].

Only two actions were proposed for the social dimension (

Table 8. Social-based initiatives.

Code	Action	Source
4.3.1	Building tourist facilities to encourage territorial connectivity and cohesion	[56]
4.8.1	Analysis of tourism market segmentation according to the use of digital technologies	[56]

) addressing social benefit and product, marketing, and intelligence equally. The search of synergies that strengthen the territorial cohesion of tourist destinations, and the analysis of how the use of digital technologies impacts demand, substantiated the two actions recommended by [56].

3.3. Business Approach Towards a Spanish Sustainable Tourism

In the first round of the Delphi process, panelists substantially narrowed the set of actions outlined in the theoretical reference framework (Section 3.1), reducing them from 46 to 22. In the same vein, the initiatives proposed for the Spanish context (Section 3.2) were reduced from 60 to 26. The remaining actions were consolidated into a single set and subsequently re-evaluated using the five-point Likert scale. In addition, the experts recommended the inclusion of two additional points for consideration: (i) promoting spiritual and religious tourism; and (ii) creating sectoral forums and working groups to enhance sustainable tourism in the country.

A final inventory of 21 actions was suggested by practitioners after removing duplicates in the second round. Figure 5 presents the outcomes of the refinement process conducted throughout the research. While the number of actions decreased across all sustainability dimensions, the reduction was particularly pronounced in the social, economic, and environmental domains. However, the institutional dimension consistently retained the largest share of actions across all three frameworks.

The distribution of the recommended actions between the eight axes of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy of Spain 2030 displayed a marked imbalance (Figure 6), but product, marketing, and tourism intelligence was the most considered in the three frameworks developed in this study. Spanish practitioners highlighted the strong emphasis placed on socio-economic growth and social benefit. They noted, however, that limited attention was afforded toward tourism spaces, companies, and individuals. Similarly, the preservation of natural and cultural values and efforts to foster competitive transformation received little focus. The framework developed for the Spanish context based on the non-peer-reviewed literature also receive neglected attention on the two preceding themes. For the remaining themes, both the theoretical framework and the Spanish context framework exhibit a comparable distribution of actions.

Panelists emphasized the reinforcement of local economies in tourist destinations through the integration of renewables and smart technologies, and the development of social and sustainable tourism models as the main measure to strengthen the economic aspect of sustainability (

Table 9. Economic-related initiatives according to panelists.

Code	Action	Source
1.3.1	Focusing tourism on the promotion of local economy, use of renewables or smart technologies	[55]
1.3.2	Developing social and sustainable tourism models to boost local economy	[56]
1.8.1	Analysis of tourism market segmentation according to the use of digital technologies	[56]

). The analysis of tourism market segmentation from the perspective of digital technology use was recommended as well.

A set of 13 actions were directed at the institutional aspect of sustainable tourism (

Table 10. Actions to enhance the institutional dimension from the Delphi process.

Code	Action	Source
2.1.1	Creating regulatory standards to make tourism sustainable	[64]
2.1.2	Developing tourist proposals to enhance social, environmental, and economic dimensions	[54]
2.1.3	Implementing sustainable tourism certificates	[10]
2.1.4	Developing a tourism model minimizing impacts on local communities	[57]
2.2.1	Creating national sectoral forums and working groups to foster sustainable tourism	Panel of experts
2.4.1	Public–private collaboration for the development of regulations on tourism-related activities	[59]
2.4.2	Creating regulatory standards to make tourism sustainable	[64]
2.5.1	Creating tourism-oriented IT tools, such as destination tourism applications, global destination management and tourist intelligence	[10]
2.5.2	Creating tourist hubs based on innovation	[10]
2.6.1	Promoting digitalization among tourism actors	[10,56]
2.8.1	Promoting destinations based on cultural and environmental tourism	[10]
2.8.2	Promoting digitalization among tourism actors	[10,56]
2.8.3	Promoting sustainability in rural tourism	[46]

). This substantial number of initiatives reflects the importance that Spanish practitioners attribute to the national governance agenda for sustainable tourism, particularly in the absence of dedicated legislation and regulation. Panelists recommended establishing regulatory standards, sectoral forums, and stronger public–private partnerships to promote sustainable tourism. They also stressed diversifying Spain’s tourism offer with innovative products and services. Despite receiving nearly one hundred million visitors in 2024, practitioners advised creating innovation-driven hubs to move beyond the country’s prevailing sun-and-beach image.

Table 11. Environmental tips from panelists.

Code	Action	Source
3.1.1	Promoting destinations based on cultural and environmental tourism	[10]
3.8.1	Promoting sustainability in rural tourism	[49]
3.8.2	Promoting destinations based on cultural and environmental tourism	[55]

and

Table 12. Initiatives proposed by experts geared towards the social facet.

Code	Action	Source
4.3.1	Developing tourist proposals to enhance quality of life and social conditions of local communities	[51]
4.8.1	Analysis of tourism market segmentation according to the use of digital technologies	[56]

summarize proposals made to enhance environmental and social dimensions. The promotion of cultural and environmental tourism was recommended for the former, while the latter is focused on improving the well-being of local communities and the discussion of how digital technologies affect market segmentation.

There are notable differences between the action plan conceived by the panelists and those built upon scientific and specialized literature which open potential new research avenues. Actions geared towards territorial cohesion, competitiveness, and value creation, along with developing a network of smart tourist destinations and maximizing revenues by travelers were discarded in the economic field. Institutional initiatives involving social marketing, artificial intelligence, or virtual tourist experiences were also ignored. Actions with respect to the environmental domain such as those associated with reducing carbon footprint, addressing climate change, raising environmental awareness, designing tourism models based on data analysis, promoting ecotourism, and studying consumer behavior towards gastronomic tourism were not seconded by experts. Measures to encourage territorial connectivity and cohesion through tourism, assess impacts of tourism on local communities, and analyze residents’ perceptions on tourism models were not included in the new framework either.

4. Conclusions

To bridge research and practice in sustainable tourism, a panel of seven tourism professionals conducted a two-round Delphi study to reach consensus on actions to advance sustainable tourism in Spain, drawing on existing scientific and sectoral non-peer-reviewed literature. The action plan was organized around the eight axes of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy of Spain 2030 as the sole governmental regulatory standard in the field. Main conclusions of the study are summarized below.

Significant discrepancies were identified between the perspectives of local panelists on sustainable tourism and those presented in research-based literature, particularly in the importance attributed to the economic, environmental, and social dimension. Nevertheless, all the three frameworks were focused on socio-economic growth and product, market, and tourism intelligence themes.

The uneven allocation of actions among the eight thematic categories raises questions about the suitability of the strategy proposed by the Spanish government to foster sustainable tourism, more specifically, about the adequacy of the sustainable tourism model vaguely outlined. As this document has not yet been fully developed, its limited availability can be considered a major constraint, potentially affecting the coding scheme applied to guide the literature review and thematic analysis. In the same direction, the number of participants in the panel may be viewed as a limiting factor in the study.

Only a small number of actors in the tourism industry have prescribed specific actions for Spanish tourism, which denotes the modest attention paid in the formulation of effective plans oriented towards sustainable tourism in Spain. This issue is confirmed by panelists who have suggested the development of regulatory standards and sectoral and working forums to make national tourism more sustainable.

The minimal importance attributed to the theme of tourism spaces, companies, and individuals—the sector’s main actors—across all three proposed frameworks highlights the need for deeper investigation into the factors influencing the preferences of tourism businesses and consumers regarding available and demanded products and services. Although the number of panelists was insignificant compared to what might be achieved through a broad survey of local sustainable tourism stakeholders, the Delphi technique allowed for closer interaction and richer insights into practitioners’ perspectives, ensuring the reliability of the findings. Aligned with one of the core actions recurrently identified in this study, future research will examine consumer preferences for tourism products and services to better define the current and emerging profiles of sustainable tourism consumers. Further shortcomings were also revealed in this article to be addressed in potential studies on vulnerabilities of tourism under climate change, an integrated resilience enhancement strategy, practical application of scientific advances on sustainable tourism, or the linkage between the SDGs and the action plan towards a more sustainable tourism model. Subsequent studies are intended to explore the application of the proposed framework in the international context, as well as the analysis of the structural drivers of Spain’s sustainable tourism trajectory through the lens of Metamodernism.