In the last decade, tourist destinations in all areas of our Americas have experienced significant growth in visitor demand, reflected in new hotel investments, intensive use of coastal areas, installation of tourist resorts in natural areas, and incorporation of new mountain areas for adventure and ecotourism activities, among others, which have increased pressure on ecosystems while contributing to the economy of resident communities. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the Americas as a whole received approximately 219 million foreign tourists (UNWTO, 2021).
In a scenario of reactivation of tourist demand, one of the greatest challenges facing tourism sector leaders will be to implement concrete actions to ensure better tourism management of the territories.
The Glasgow Declaration, to be discussed at the upcoming Climate Change summit, affirms that “climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss endanger most tourism activities. Sea-level rise, more frequent flooding, and other extreme weather events threaten livelihoods everywhere, from infrastructure and supply chains to food security.
The impacts of climate change are felt most severely by vulnerable and underrepresented groups, such as women, indigenous communities, people living with disabilities, and small island states. A just and inclusive transformation of tourism must prioritize their voices and needs, as well as those of younger generations who will otherwise bear the full cost of our inaction (UNWTO, 2021).
Responding to this call, promoting sustainable tourism development and decisively advancing to achieve the SDGs by 2030 requires concrete evidence and urgent actions from sector authorities, the private sector, host communities, and tourists themselves. Among other reasons, we can mention the following:
- Sustainability is not linked to a specific type of tourism, so any process of tourism growth, whether in massive coastal locations or in others with low visitor flow, must be managed with sustainability criteria.
- Tourism is an economic activity dependent on territorial identity, and therefore, natural resources and cultural heritage form the basis for its long-term viability.
- The local community directly benefits from tourism activity and must be involved from the beginning. It is therefore a factor that directly contributes to the sustainability of the tourism development process.
- The private sector, represented by accommodation, food, transportation, recreation service providers, and all those responsible for offering goods and services to the tourism industry, requires stable conditions for long-term profitability, which implies safeguarding the basic conditions (economic, environmental, socio-cultural, and management) that attract visitors.
- Tourism sector organizations constantly face decisions that require coherence and relevance over time and space, involving the challenge of focusing all available tools for public-private leadership and coordination and their articulation with local management.
- It is understood that the growth cycle of any destination will be conditioned by its ability to compete in market segments that demand sustainable goods and services.
- Tourists’ expectations have been a determining factor in defining the type and content of tourist products, but it does not seem reasonable to condition sustainability to visitor satisfaction.
In this context, the imperative to generate conditions for a structural change in the tourism development model that we have fostered in the region is evident. It is the opportunity offered to us by crises.
