Towards sustainable tourism development: Understanding key proponents

Abstract

Sustainable tourism has emerged as a growing tourism facet in recent years, gaining acceptance among tourism developers and stakeholders; as a tourism development model that is economically viable, socially acceptable, and environmentally friendly. Nonetheless, tourism development faces numerous challenges, including displacement of people, cultural commercialization, organic dilapidation, and economic dependency resulting from social-economic development. As a result, many countries have begun to embrace long-term sustainable tourism development goals, an essential component of achieving Vision 2030. Therefore, this paper propagates the discussions surrounding corroboration approaches, tourism infrastructure, stakeholders' role, and government policies' influence on sustainable tourism development. To support its thesis, the paper develops a conceptual framework to guide tourism practitioners and other stakeholders in understanding and dissecting sustainable tourism models and knowledge. The findings emphasize stakeholders’ collaboration framework, the need for adequate and supportive tourism infrastructure, and the foundational basis of public-private initiatives to enhance tourism growth.