Tourism Sustainability on Islands and the 2030 UN Goals

Dear Colleagues,

Islands are among the most sought-after tourist destinations around the world, but they can lack resilience when it comes to overcoming tourism’s impacts on their natural ecosystems. This is mostly true for small and remote islands. However, tourism is also a major income source for these territories, and sometimes the only one.

Tourism can impact islands’ natural systems through the development of new tourist infrastructure, increasing the number of visitors to the islands, and diversifying the type of recreational activities that take place on natural environments. One of the main challenges is to make the development of recreational activities compatible with the conservation purposes of the designated protected areas, both in land and at sea. Several strategies have been adopted in order to prevent major impacts on islands’ ecosystems, such as certification schemes and eco-labels. The attribution of these eco-labels implies businesses’ and other stakeholders’ compliance to certain environmental rules  that aim to prevent ecological impacts.

The 2030 sustainable development goals of the United Nations are clear about the need to protect life below water (target 14) and life on land (target 15). On islands, these targets can only be met if we address tourism’s impacts on ecosystems, while the role of tourism in local economic development can help to meet goal 8—decent work and economic growth. But can this be a form of circular economy? What is needed to fulfil the requirements of the sustainable development of islanders’ communities?

The scope of this Special Issue will be to publish novel research that address the above-mentioned problems, seeking solutions and novel approaches to tackle these problems, while promoting the sustainable development of insular territories.

Islands are fragile, mostly small and remote pieces of land, with unique natural values subjected to all sorts of tourist pressures. While tourism is usually seen as a panacea for the economic growth of local communities, it can also be regarded as a major threat to natural values. This is an unstable balance that needs permanent monitoring, as was demonstrated by the impacts that the COVID-19 lockdown had on these territories. Tourists disappeared, lowering the pressure on the environment, while small businesses collapsed due to the absence of these tourists.

The concept of sustainability encompasses the social, economic, and environmental dimensions. However, it is the environment that supports the society that, in turn, is responsible for the model of economic development. Can we still provide pleasant experiences in a degraded environment? And is it possible for insular territories to meet the 2030 United Nations Agenda for sustainable development through the tourism sector?

Please submit your contributions and share your thoughts on how to achieve more sustainable development of islands without compromising the tourism sector, one economic pilar within these communities.

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

models of tourism development; tourism in protected areas; sustainable tourism; tourism management; tourism impacts; nature-based recreational activities; eco-labels and certification schemes; education and training; environmental sustainability; tourism planning; tourism of health and well-being; sustainable tourism practices; circular economy; development of new ecotourism products; tourism and conservation; 2030 UN agenda on tourism and sustainable development.

Dr. Maria Anunciação Mateus Ventura
Dr. Andrea Zita Costa Botelho
Guest Editors

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• tourism development
• tourism planning
• protected areas
• sustainable tourism
• tourism certification
• tourism management
• tourism impacts
• recreational activities
• conservation
• circular economy
• 2030 UN agenda