Tourism in Times of Complex Global Risks

In the 21st century, the quest for global sustainability and building a resilient human civilization has become greater than ever before. The world has become a densely coupled social-ecological system featuring an intricate... [ view full abstract ]

In the 21st century, the quest for global sustainability and building a resilient human civilization has become greater than ever before. The world has become a densely coupled social-ecological system featuring an intricate and complex phenomenology of risks, e.g. physical, assets and infrastructure related, technological, financial and, very importantly, social and ecological ones. Global tourism is a feature of a hyper-globalized and inter-connected world that is prone to the many risks and threats that characterize our time. Recent cases such as the Paris, Nice, Brussels and Thai terror attacks, the failing of states and destruction of cultural heritage sites such as in Syria, or the rapid spread of Zika in the Americas, as different as they are, show that no business as usual approach can be sustained in world tourism. Moreover, climate change, ecosystem destruction and other drastic global environmental changes demand a transformative attitude to governing tourism in the years to come. Sustainable tourism models are playing an important role in this regard but are also challenged by the complex risks described above.