Is sustainable tourism an obstacle to the economic performance of the tourism industry? Evidence from an international empirical study

Sustainability has become an important strategic objective for tourism destinations worldwide. All analytical tourism competitiveness models make direct or indirect positive references to sustainability. It is accepted that sustainable tourism can reduce resource costs and help create market differentiation. Nevertheless, it has traditionally been considered that, short term, sustainability measures can reduce profitability and compromise competitiveness. Debates on the progress, implications, and practicality of sustainable tourism remain open. The relationship between economic sustainability, and environmental and sociocultural sustainability, is a central but largely unresearched area for tourism scholars, especially at the macro level. This study explores that difficult but essential area, using the World Economic Forum's empirical evidence from 128 countries, backed by the economic data search tool of the World Travel & Tourism Council. It demonstrates that progress in tourism sustainability does not affect a country's main economic tourism indicators in the short term, and does not constrain profitability and competitiveness. It also finds that sustainable tourism is not a luxury that only rich countries can afford, nor should it prevent development and perpetuate poverty in developing countries. An effective marketing and communication program about sustainable tourism is, however, found to be essential for economic success.