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Innovation in Sustainable Tourism: Strategies for Resilience and Adaptation

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2025) | Viewed by 1764

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor

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Guest Editor
Department of Marketing, Southstar Management Institute (SMI), Duy Tan University, Da Nang City 550000, Vietnam
Interests: AI; human-computer interaction; robotics; smart tourism; sustainability studies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The global tourism industry is highly vulnerable to various disruptive factors such as climate change, environmental degradation, natural disasters, health crises, pandemics, economic instability, economic policies, technological disruptions, and geopolitical tensions. These factors are often interconnected and affect different destinations, organizations, local communities, and types of tourism. The disruptions caused necessitate a shift towards resilience and adaptation strategies to maintain stability, promote further development of the tourism sector, and ensure a more equitable and peaceful world and the sustainability of the planet. While the negative impacts of various disruptive factors and external shocks have been widely studied, strategies for resilience and adaptation in tourism are less well understood. Embracing cutting-edge technologies, expanding the variety of tourism experiences, and building robust community collaborations are crucial elements to adapt and recover from disturbances and shocks. Moreover, policy frameworks must be flexible, adaptive, and responsive to the evolving challenges, ensuring the tourism industry can prosper in an environment of uncertainty and change. This Special Issue aims to gather innovative research that explores how destinations, businesses, and communities can navigate these challenges, ensuring sustainable tourism development and improved resilience.

We welcome original research articles, review papers, case studies, and theoretical contributions. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Conceptual frameworks, theories, and models that contribute to understanding resilience and adaptation in the tourism sector;
  • Strategies for reducing and adapting to climate impacts on tourism destinations;
  • In-depth case studies and lessons learned from tourism recovery efforts following disasters, health crises, pandemics, or economic downturns;
  • The role of technology and digital transformation, smart tourism, green technologies, and technological solutions in increasing tourism organizations’ resilience and adaptability;
  • Strategies for enhancing community engagement, protecting cultural heritage, and encouraging local empowerment within the tourism industry;
  • Analysis of policies, regulations, and governance structures that support resilient and long-term sustainability in the tourism sector;
  • Strategies for economic diversification, effective financial planning, and investment in tourism to endure economic disruptions;
  • Economic benefits of sustainable tourism, sustainable business models, and entrepreneurship;
  • Integration of sustainability principles to promote the resilience of tourism businesses and destinations.
  • Sustainable marketing strategies and consumer behavior;
  • Assessing the influence of political tensions and civil disturbances on the tourism industry and developing plans to reduce these risks and enhance security.

Prof. Dr. Vasiliki Vrana
Dr. Subhankar Das
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • resilience in tourism
  • climate change
  • environmental adaptation
  • crisis management
  • tourism recovery
  • tourism and pandemics
  • technological innovations
  • community resilience
  • cultural resilience
  • local empowerment
  • economic resilience
  • investment in tourism
  • geopolitical stability
  • social resilience
  • sustainable tourism practices
  • responsible tourism behaviors

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

24 pages, 2974 KB  
Article
Ecological Resilience and Sustainable Development: Dynamic Assessment and Evolution Mechanisms of Landscape Patterns and Ecotourism Suitability in the Yangtze River Delta Region
by Junjie Li, Xiaodong Liu, Zhiyu Feng, Jinjin Liu, Yibo Wang, Mengjie Zhang and Xiangbin Peng
Sustainability 2025, 17(17), 7706; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17177706 - 27 Aug 2025
Viewed by 317
Abstract
Ecotourism, as a resilient and sustainable form of tourism, plays an increasingly vital role in regional economic growth and ecological conservation, particularly in the face of challenges such as climate change and rapid urbanization. This study employs spatial-temporal analysis tools including GIS, Fragstats, [...] Read more.
Ecotourism, as a resilient and sustainable form of tourism, plays an increasingly vital role in regional economic growth and ecological conservation, particularly in the face of challenges such as climate change and rapid urbanization. This study employs spatial-temporal analysis tools including GIS, Fragstats, and GeoDa to examine the dynamic evolution of ecotourism suitability levels (ESL) and landscape patterns (LP) in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2002 to 2022. By incorporating spatial autocorrelation analysis, the relationship between ESL and LP is investigated to assess the adaptive capacity of the regional ecotourism system. The results reveal the following: (1) Overall Trends: ESL in the YRD has generally increased over the past two decades, with expansions observed in both high and very low suitability areas, while areas of low suitability have contracted. (2) Spatial Patterns: Core cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Hefei exhibit high ESL; however, these areas also face intensified landscape fragmentation and decreased ecological connectivity. (3) Landscape Patterns: The region has experienced increasing landscape fragmentation and diversity, particularly in economically advanced zones, posing significant challenges to ecological resilience. (4) Spatial Clustering: Notable spatial clustering of ESL and LP indices is identified in highly urbanized areas, underscoring the necessity for adaptive landscape planning and flexible policy frameworks. This study provides empirical evidence and strategic recommendations to enhance the resilience and sustainability of ecotourism in rapidly urbanizing regions, supporting adaptive responses to crises and informed long-term decision-making. Full article
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