9.2 Sustainability and Ethics

In response to the failure of the tourism industry to meet the sustainability goals it set for 2030, tourism leaders, Indigenous communities, governments, tourists, and environmental activists have been working to promote a shift away from the understanding and practice of tourism as an industry capable of achieving never-ending growth and profit toward one that embraces tourism as an agent for community-led regenerative practices that reverence local ecosystems and protect biodiversity. In sum, tourism is shifting toward a new paradigm in which destinations are approached and treated as complex, dynamic living ecosystems. This approach prioritizes the wellbeing of the communities that live within a destination and allows locals to shape their region’s tourism goals and practices. Such community-led tourism operates from the ground up and works to enhance the wellbeing of the community, the environment, and the destination’s cultural heritage.

Prior to the introduction and spread of the term regenerative tourism, the term responsible tourism was coined in the 1990s to emphasize the importance of ethics in sustainable development—a type of planning first defined in 1987 as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations” (Brundtland Commission, 1987, p. 8). By the early 1990s it had become undeniable that mass tourism was wreaking havoc on the environment and leading, in many cases, to increased economic disparity among less developed nations. As many tourism destinations began to experience overtourism and environmental degradation due to poorly designed or inadequate infrastructure, key institutions, organizations, and leaders began the monumental task of rearranging industry priorities. Proponents of responsible tourism argue that the industry must undergo a transformation to repair the significant harms it continues to inflict on destination communities and the environment. These harms include reduced biodiversity; pollution of waterways and marine and coastal ecosystems; higher cost of living for residents, increased poverty, and lack of potable water for locals; unsanitary waste dumps that deposit toxins into the soil; increased reliance on nonrenewable energy sources; and the loss of traditional values and cultural heritage.

Tourism is undoubtedly a globalizing force and, as such, it can have a homogenizing impact on destinations, especially those that are funded and developed by international corporations. What are known as enclave resorts, for example, are typically financed by multinational corporations and often involve the mass displacement of locals. Many are located in South America, Africa, the South Pacific, and South and Southeast Asia. Many enclave resorts import food and other supplies from overseas and hire foreign workers as staff. Often these locations lack the infrastructure needed to process solid waste and sewage, which pollutes the soil and local waters causing ecological havoc and contaminating local water supplies. Bali, Cancun, and the Maldives provide three stark examples.

Across the world communities have begun to protest extractive tourism, gaining a voice in the tourism futures of their home environments. In the Maldives, for example, an alliance run by locals formed their own Destination Management Organization, the Horsburgh Atoll Tourism Alliance (HATA), which promotes ecological restoration and protection as part of its tourism development plan. HATA’s goals “include restoring mangroves and seagrass beds, and setting guidelines to prevent harmful activities like fish feeding and improper anchoring. Additionally, HATA plans to involve the community and visitors in restoration efforts such as planting native vegetation and participating in beach clean-ups” (McCarthy & King, 2024).

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Key Takeaway
A growing movement within the industry has begun to shift tourism away from an extractive, profit-driven model toward community-led, regenerative practices that prioritize ethics, local control, and environmental health.
Significance to Regenerative Tourism
Sustainability alone is insufficient if it fails to address ethical questions and systemic harms like biodiversity loss, pollution, and cultural erosion. Regenerative tourism takes sustainability further by actively repairing damage, supporting local communities’ rights to shape tourism, and fostering ecosystems’ resilience and health.
Significance to Tourism
The rapid rise in the number of tourists traveling to certain destinations has led to their degradation, which, in turn, damages the future of tourism in the region. Successful tourism in the future depends on ethical frameworks, community participation, and practices that regenerate rather than exploit natural and cultural resources.
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Attributions