Abstract (150 Words)
The legitimacy and longevity of the tourism industry is at stake more than ever. The year of 2020 brought global attention to the detrimental environmental externalities happening at the expense of the industry's economic focus, while the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel causing further damage to the industry in social and economical senses. A new way of managing destinations to regenerate tourism and stimulate social, economic, and environmental recovery is needed. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework and its recent launch of the Global SDG Indicators Database may provide Destination Managers and Civic Leadership with the blueprint and tools needed to develop and measure sustainable tourism development. This study proposes to interview 36 directors of DMOs across the U.S. to identify current SDG initiatives, and motives and challenges for implementation. Finally, the Theory of Planned Behavior will be used to reveal attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral controls for proposing an industry-wide intervention.
Applying Sustainable Development Goals for Tourism Regeneration and Industry Resiliency: A Destination Management Perspective
The legitimacy and longevity of the tourism industry is at stake more than ever. The year of 2020 brought global attention to the detrimental environmental externalities happening at the expense of the industry's economic focus, while the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel causing further damage to the industry in social and economical senses. A new way of managing destinations to regenerate tourism and stimulate social, economic, and environmental recovery is needed. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework and its recent launch of the Global SDG Indicators Database may provide Destination Managers and Civic Leadership with the blueprint and tools needed to develop and measure sustainable tourism development. This study proposes to interview 36 directors of DMOs across the U.S. to identify current SDG initiatives, and motives and challenges for implementation. Finally, the Theory of Planned Behavior will be used to reveal attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral controls for proposing an industry-wide intervention.
