Sustainable tourism, a tool for cultural understanding and peace

The pandemic prompted a precipitous drop in tourism around the globe. As people begin to travel again, sustainability principles can lead to a healthier industry. The goal is to spur economic, environmental and sociocultural improvements -- and even foment peace.

The COVID-19 crisis led to an 83% drop in the number of tourists traveling internationally in 2020 compared with 2019, while millions of people working in industries that rely on tourism lost their jobs.

In 2022 and moving forward, we may have an opportunity to bring back tourism in more sustainable ways, while also prioritizing economic recovery. In a new report on sustainable tourism, IESE's Javier Pardo Torregrosa and Joan Fontrodona, holder of the CaixaBank Chair of Sustainability and Social Impact, look to sustainability principles to help guide a healthy revitalization.

The report is available here (in Spanish): "Turismo sostenible. Bases para la recuperación del sector turístico desde la cultura de la sostenibilidad."

In the report, the authors discuss the (1) economic, (2) environmental and (3) sociocultural dimensions of sustainable tourism. They then move to (4) governance, a more political area related to giving voice to local communities, respecting human dignity and promoting peace by increasing contact and understanding between different nationalities and cultures. Each of these four bases is summarized in this two-minute video:

New forms of tourism are helping redirect the industry onto a more sustainable path. They include ecotourism, agrotourism, solidarity and slow tourism. At the same time, the authors propose that the whole industry -- including new and traditional ways to travel the world -- move forward in a way that is sustainable.