Dual Pathways: Sustainable Tourism Employment at the Crossroads of Green Growth and Degrowth/Post-Growth

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue on “Dual Pathways: Sustainable Tourism Employment at the Crossroads of Green Growth and Degrowth/Post-Growth”, which is to be published in Sustainability.

The primary response to traditional tourism's negative impacts has been to advocate for “sustainable” tourism, which aligns with broader sustainable development policies that emphasize its environmental, social, and economic impacts (Mowforth & Munt, 2016). Despite various definitions (Butler, 1999), both sustainable tourism and development discussions focus on sustaining economic growth (Naess & Høyer, 2009). This idea is supported by the UN's Brundtland Report (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which emphasize promoting sustained and inclusive economic growth, including in tourism (United Nations, 2016).

The predicted significant growth of tourism (Gossling & Peeters, 2015) raises concerns about overtourism and the compatibility of sustainability with economic growth (Buscher & Fletcher, 2017; Fletcher, 2019; Hall, 2009, 2010; Higgins-Desbiolles, 2010, 2018). These concerns have given rise to the concepts of “green growth” and “decoupling” (UNEP 2011a, 2011b). Green growth—or the green economy concept—underscores the necessity of decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation. It does not challenge the notion of growth in itself, but it highlights technological innovations as means to enhance the efficiency of the use of natural resources and substitute natural capital with other forms of capital (Von Weizäcker, et al. 2009). However, the green economy faces increasing criticism and opposition from proponents of a strong conception of sustainability, as articulated in degrowth/post-growth approaches. Critics argue that the global tourism industry's focus on growth conflicts with sustainability goals (Fletcher & Rammelt, 2017; Hickel & Kallis, 2019; Parrique et al., 2019) and call for a new tourism management model that does not rely on continuous growth (Higgins-Desbiolles, 2010), necessitating a re-evaluation of the political and economic systems underlying tourism. Degrowth/post-growth (Dwyer, 2023) challenges the traditional belief that economic growth is essential for prosperity, proposing instead that focusing on equity, ecological balance, and human well-being can lead to a more sustainable and fulfilling future for all.

When reevaluating our political and economic systems, a critical aspect to consider is the tourism job market. Researchers are encouraged to contemplate the reconfiguration of the tourism job market under these emerging economic paradigms, considering its potential contributions to sustainability and planetary well-being. This call for papers seeks scholarly contributions on sustainable tourism employment (Amrutha et al., 2020; Baum, 2018; Baum et al., 2016) that use either or both green growth and degrowth/post-growth concepts. In this context, “dual pathways” suggests examining and perhaps even integrating both green growth and degrowth/post-growth principles as complementary strategies. It implies a balanced consideration of both approaches to achieve a sustainable and equitable model for employment in the tourism sector, addressing environmental sustainability and economic stability from two different but potentially synergistic perspectives.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Their research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Sustainable tourism jobs and equity/the redistribution of wealth;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and consumption/production;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and public policies;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and ecological balance;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and technology/AI;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and job satisfaction;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and social inequalities;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and work–life balance/human well-being;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and the democratization of workplaces;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and local and community-oriented jobs;
• Sustainable tourism jobs, expectations and experiences;
• Sustainable tourism jobs and gender.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Dani Blasco
Dr. Natàlia Ferrer-Roca
Guest Editors

References

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• Sustainable tourism employment
• green growth
• degrowth
• post-growth