A critical framework for interrogating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda in tourism

Abstract

Research in the area of sustainable tourism continues to grow, however a lack of understanding regarding necessary action inhibits progress. McCloskey's (2015) critique regarding the failure of the MDGs, as a direct result of a lack of critical consciousness, and understanding of the structural contexts of poverty and under-development, provided the impetus for our work. McCloskey (2015) signals the important role of education in fostering transitions to sustainability. As such, we have applied our critical lens to the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Our paper offers tools for critically thinking through the potential for the SDGs to help shape the tourism industry for more sustainable, equitable, and just futures. We positioned six themes to serve as a conceptual framework for interrogating the SDG agenda in tourism; arising from our considerations of both reformist and radical pathways to sustainable transitions in tourism: critical tourism scholarship, gender in the sustainable development agenda, engaging with Indigenous perspectives and other paradigms, degrowth and the circular economy, governance and planning, and ethical consumption. We address these core themes as essential platforms to critique the SDGs in the context of sustainable tourism development, and highlight the cutting edge research carried out by our contributors in this special issue.

Tourism, peace and sustainability in sanctions-ridden destinations

“…In Iran this is particularly significant for women's economic empowerment which is central to realizing women's rights and gender equality and to the achievement of the SDGs (UN Women, 2020). While, tourism has been viewed as a sector capable of advancing gender equality and women's empowerment (Alarc on & Cole, 2019;Cole, 2006;Tucker & Boonabaana, 2012) as it is also enshrined in SDG5 which focuses on gender equality and women's empowerment (Boluk et al, 2019), nonetheless, as the findings of this study also showed, the economic disruption ensuing from sanctions are detrimental to such empowerment capacity of tourism.…”

“…As such, this study shows that sanctions imposed by major powers on, usually developing countries negatively affect the peace-building capacity of tourism and in turn generate more depression and conflict. Furthermore, if we take another step back, we can observe that not only is the impositions of sanctions on Iran and its subsequent implications for the Iranian people steeped in politics but so too is the very framing of the notion of tourismthrough-peace (Blanchard & Higgins-Desbiolles, 2013b;Cho, 2007 ) and, we would also suggest, the SDGs (Boluk et al, 2019;Hall, 2019).…”

“…Instead, what is required is an understanding of peace in which the vital role of social, economic and environmental justice is recognised along with human rights (Higgins-Desbiolles, 2006, 2008Higgins-Desbiolles et al, 2019;Isaac & Hodge, 2011;Jamal & Camargo, 2014). Importantly, this observation extends to both sanctions and the role of tourism as tourism itself can be used to support authoritarian and despotic regimes with little real commitment to development endeavours such as the SDGs (Boluk et al, 2019;Cortright & Lopez, 2018;Hall, 1994). Instead, the notion of empowerment though tourism is replaced by disempowerment via the imposition of sanctions.…”

The COVID-19 crisis and sustainability in the hospitality industry

“…Jones and Wynn 2019) and frameworks (e.g. Boluk et al 2019) used to analyse sustainability. Within the hospitality industry the concept of sustainability has also been applied to a range of natural disasters and emergencies (e.g.…”

Aprender ayudando: Experiencias en el desarrollo del turismo sostenible en áreas rurales del sur del Ecuador

“…En la actualidad los debates en torno a la agenda de turismo respecto al desarrollo sostenible, discuten sobre las debilidades y la falta de acciones claras para conseguir los objetivos hasta el 2030. Por una parte, es evidente una falta de incentivos para la especialización de técnicos con enfoque en desarrollo del turismo sostenible, pero por otra, preocupa la falta de participación de las mujeres, problemas con un consumo ético de productos, la falta de inclusión de los saberes ancestrales aplicados al desarrollo y modelos de gobernanza más integrales (Boluk, Cavaliere y Higgins, 2019). Por esto, urge la investigación en cuanto al desarrollo del pensamiento crítico de todos los actores en relación a nuevas formas de economías, redistribución de poder, equidad y conservación biocultural.…”