Un-locking unsustainable tourism destination paths: the role of voluntary compliance of tourism businesses with sustainability certification on the island of Rügen

Abstract

Abstract During the last 150 years the island of Rügen has developed into a mass tourism destination resulting in a continuing pressure on the island’s environment and cultural heritage. Highlighting the need for a stronger consideration of ecological and social-cultural aspects of development in economic geography research, this paper uses an evolutionary approach to identify lock-ins in the Rügen tourism industry that hamper a sustainability transition and analyzes the role voluntary compliance of tourism businesses with sustainability certification can play to break away from these development paths. Focusing on the concepts of green growth and degrowth the paper provides indications that particularly in protected areas that are confronted with acceptance problems, an efficiency-driven green growth approach guided by a spirit of sustainability can be the basis for moving towards more sustainable modes of development. However, the study raises the question of time frames for regional sustainability transitions and the parameters these depend on.