Sustainable Tourism in the Current European Context

Introduction:Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and an important source of income, taxes and jobs while being closely linked to social, economic and environmental well-being of many countries, especially of the developing countries. Sustainable tourism can be considered as an extension of the sustainability concept in the tourism sector, to meet the current needs of tourists, without compromising the possibilities of future generations to satisfy their own needs. The sustainable development of the tourism sector cannot be achieved if certain social groups will not be able to continue accessing tourism services and, at the same time, if the negative aspects of the environmental impact are neglected. The components of sustainable development actually form the core of social innovation activities. New business models, digital devices, user-generated content, big data and online commerce have positive effects on sustainable tourism. But the quality of the tourist product is influenced by the quality of the human factor. Activities that can be performed remotely will be based on new technologies, which require new skills and competencies for employees. It is necessary to reconfigure the implementation of the tourist services process, in which the human interaction is reduced and, at the same time, the client experience is stimulated. The COVID-19 crisis can be considered a catalytic moment to reconsider the growth trajectory of the tourism industry, in the sense that all activities can be reorganised so that the development of tourism is sustainable, with a less destructive impact on the social and environmental component. Aim:The purpose of this chapter is to review the valences of sustainable tourism in the context of societal changes at the European level. Method:An extensive literature review was carried out and then the authors discussed the critical issues affecting sustainable tourism. To achieve this, the authors incorporated findings from various researches into four categories. The result is a new perspective and a new potential framework for analysis. Findings:The authors identified four critical factors that have the potential to influence the sustainable tourism development: social innovation, digitalisation, management of crisis situations and human capital development. Originality of the Study:This chapter offers a new perspective on the factors that influence the sustainable tourism. These new factors offer potential for further in-depth analysis and refinement.