Tourism as a Driver of Sustainability: Empirical Insights on the Sustainable Development Goals

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29036/n3ypjb54

Keywords:

regenerative tourism; Agenda 2030 measurement; Sustainable Development Goals; national sustainable tourism performance

Abstract

Sustainable tourism has emerged as a key issue in contemporary development agendas due to increasingly urgent global sustainability challenges. Concurrently, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has intensified the focus on tourism as a means to achieve sustainable development. This research aims to assess the potential of tourism as a systemiser of sustainability to realise the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in a tourist region. It undertook an in-depth correlational analysis of tourism development and sustainable development, based on 232 indicators that monitor the 17 SDGs at the national level. Ultimately, the study highlights necessary directions for tourism policy, which must be oriented towards fostering resilience by 2030 while recovering businesses and society through three dimensions: 1) tourism and people; 2) tourism and the planet; and 3) tourism, prosperity, and global partnerships.

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Author Biographies

  • Miguel Puig-Cabrera, Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CinTurs), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal & University of Seville, Seville, Spain

    Miguel Puig Cabrera is an Integrated Researcher at the Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CINTURS) at the University of Algarve (Portugal) and a Lecturer at the University of Seville, Spain. His research focuses on specialisation and smart development of the territory, tourism, poverty alleviation, socioeconomic inequalities, and quality of life. He holds a PhD in Geography, a Master’s in Economics and Development, and a Degree in Tourism.

  • José António C. Santos, Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CinTurs), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal & Faculty of Tourism, University of Malaga, Spain

    José António C. Santos (PhD) is a Coordinating Professor at the School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism (ESGHT) and an integrated researcher of CINTURS at the University of Algarve. He is also head of the department, journal editor, and the chair of the TMS conferences. He supervises postdoctoral, doctoral, and master’s students and is conducting research in: sustainability in tourism and hospitality, sustainable event management, gastronomy and tourism, and heritage interpretation.

  • Víctor Calderón-Fajardo, Department of Business Management, Faculty of Tourism, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain

    Víctor Calderón-Fajardo is a full-time researcher at the Department of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Malaga (Spain). He holds a Master's in Tourism Management and Marketing, a Degree in Tourism, and a Degree in Management and Public Administration.

  • Margarida Custódio Santos, Research Centre for Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CinTurs), Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    Margarida Custódio Santos holds a PhD in Tourism, a Master's in Management and Development in Tourism, a Degree in Marketing, and a Bachelor's in Tourism Information. Currently, she is a Coordinating Professor and serves as the director of the Postgraduate Course in Digital Marketing at the School of Management, Hospitality, and Tourism - University of the Algarve. She is currently responsible for the Research Line in Tourism, Territories, and Environment at CINTURS. She supervises postdoctoral, doctoral, and master’s students.

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Published

2025-12-01

How to Cite

Puig-Cabrera, M., Santos, J. A. C., Calderón-Fajardo, V., & Santos, M. C. (2025). Tourism as a Driver of Sustainability: Empirical Insights on the Sustainable Development Goals. Journal of Tourism and Services, 16(31), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.29036/n3ypjb54