TOURISTS' ROLES IN A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: POLLUTERS, MITIGATORS AND BELIEVERS

Abstract

On September 25th 2015 the United Nations adopted a renewed set of global sustainable development goals, whereby again tourism was hardly mentioned. The more recent COP21 agreement on climate change has made clear the urge for all parties to be involved. This paper aims to discuss therefore the extent to which tourists can contribute positively to a sustainable tourism development depending their predisposition and ways of experiencing. The research was carried out by means of a current literature review using a descriptive and exploratory approach. First, insight is gained in the ways of experiencing of tourists, while next space/place relations at holiday destinations are examined as well as which type of tourists is likely to move in each selected area. A framework is then developed, that allows for determining three so-called experience zones at holiday destinations, whereby each zone contains different characteristics for the roles tourists can play in a sustainable tourism development. Dividing a holiday destination into sections according to space/place relations in combination with tourists' modes of experiencing wields valuable insights not only into the extent tourists can contribute positively to a sustainable development, but also into the relationship between tourists and the environment they move in.