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While tourism is mostly considered a crucial driver for local development, its impact in terms of sustainability and attractiveness of local destinations must also be taken into account. This is especially true for small islands, where tourism may determine detrimental effects in the long term to the limited space and resources. The “sustainable tourism” approach considers this phenomenon and proposes possible solutions to problems such as the loss of public space, waste management, energy and water over-consumption, traffic congestion, air, water, and visual pollution. This chapter presents and discusses the results of a survey that has been carried out in Ischia, a small Mediterranean island located in the Gulf of Naples in order to explore the propensity toward sustainable mobility of both tourists and residents. In particular, the mobility patterns of the respondents have been deeply investigated both at home (domestic behavior) and on holiday (tourist behavior). The results suggest that the promotion of a higher level of cooperation among different stakeholders and local governments is of paramount importance in order to achieve sustainable tourism on islands. This may also generate important effects in terms of destination attractiveness.

Sustainable tourism development is a concept that recognizes both environmental and socio-cultural limits to development. It also recognizes that as tourist numbers increase, socio-cultural and environmental costs increase. As such, sustainable tourism considers social and cultural liability, economic productivity and ecological sensibility in all its processes. The sustainability of the tourism industry can only be assured through maintaining the natural, social and cultural values of regional areas that rely on a tourism industry.

In this case study of tourism on Gökçeada (Imbros) Island in Turkey, a model is developed which explains the maintenance of social, cultural, natural and architectural environments to achieve sustainability in tourism. The case study research employs interviews, observation and Delphi techniques. A SWOT analysis on how best to protect and develop the social and cultural identity of Gökçeada is completed based on the findings of the interviews, observations, Delphi analysis and literature. A Sustainable Tourism Tree Model is presented for tourism in Gökçeada. Future applications of the Sustainable Tourism Tree Model, both for generating development of tourist destinations in a sustainable way and for resolving socio-cultural challenges in development, are discussed.

This editorial aims to situate the papers chosen for this special issue within academic literature and identify their contributions to new knowledge.

The editorial first discusses tourism research literature pertinent to the idiosyncrasies of destination management in island contexts. Second, the paper identifies the contributions made to this field by the authors and the implications of their innovative research for island tourism and destination management.

Each paper contributes, in its way, to the field of island tourism, either by integration of explorations of theory, shifting paradigms or revealing new knowledge. This special issue contains two seminal papers by top academic leaders of the fields of islandness and HRM in island destinations. It also presents papers that comment on destination management issues at macro and micro levels.

Collectively this collection of papers offers new perspectives concerning the challenges of creating destination image in peripheral locations, the impacts of global mobilities (inward and outward) on destination labor markets, models for sustainable destination development, the welcome extended to visitors and returning locals by island communities, destination positioning strategies and service interactions.

Local development is becoming increasingly dependent on the tourism industry, especially in fragile contexts such as islands, where tourism makes it possible to overcome, at least in part, the obstacles linked to geo-morphological characteristics. The relevance of the sector for the economy is documented by the international literature and underscored in various studies (Balaguer & Cantavella-Jorda, 2002; Croes & Vanegas Sr, 2008; Dritsakis, 2004; Durbarry, 2004; Eugenio-Martin, Martin-Morales, & Sinclair, 2008; Eugenio-Martin, Morales, Scarpa, 2004; Hazari & Sgro, 1995; Maloney & Montes Rojas, 2005; Pigliaru & Lanza, 2000; Sequeira & Maçãs Nunes, 2008), which explain why tourism is attributed a leading role and even recognized as a driving force for the local economy. It is capable of creating new economic opportunities, especially, as mentioned, for island contexts, and even more so for those of modest size, which require special attention given the specific characteristics that distinguish them from the mainland. Islands are, indeed, a unique cluster despite belonging to individual states, and, being located in different regions of the world and featuring different stages of economic development and tourism, they are the beneficiaries of development policies focused on the economy of services and culture. This is essentially due to reasons linked to specific territorial features in terms of morphology and geographical location, primarily associated with the condition of isolation from the mainland. The result is a particular condition that characterizes them both materially, with effects on transport and logistics, and therefore on their economic and production autonomy, and ideally, i.e. in relation to the place that islands have in the collective imagination. They are associated with the desire to escape, to get in touch with nature, to slow down the pace and break patterns, and to attract a large number of visitors who, however, are concentrated mainly during the summer months. This leads to many difficulties and has several implications, in terms of pressure and quality, and requires careful management from very early on, from the stage of discovery of the destination by the first tourists, in order to guide development by limiting the drawbacks.

Domestic tourism has been a prominent form of tourism in the archipelagos. Its dominance has at times been considered to be a limitation causing seasonality. The pandemic has changed many things in this regard. Travelling closer to home and domestic tourism have become even more the norm, and domestic tourism is now seen as a blessing. The role of domestic tourism to restart island tourism was investigated by using a group of islands in the central Mediterranean region. Interviews held with stakeholders and secondary data have shown that island to island domestic tourism was key for such destinations to restart tourism – a major economic sector on such islands. As the pandemic rages on, domestic tourism is expected to increase. This is galvanised by the safe environment found on islands where local populations have been fully vaccinated, the pristine natural environment which is highly sought after following a long period of staying indoors, opportunities of self-catering accommodation with full amenities as well as connections gained between islands. Domestic tourism might be also favoured due to its potential to contribute in reducing emissions which is key for the tourism sector to contribute to the European Green Deal targets. However, several challenges need to be addressed. These include addressing seasonality by targeting domestic tourists also off season through adequate packages focusing on diverse niches comprising ecotourism, ensuring reliable and sustainable sea transport services and better management of the natural environment.

This chapter presents a brief selective review of recent literature from which the operative definition “sustainability diamond” emerges. Subsequently a tourism penetration index is developed for 40 small islands with populations of less than three million. The index scores loosely arrange destinations into three development stages across the life cycle: emerging, intermediate, and high impact. Descriptive profiles of the characteristics of these three stages are presented, followed by a means difference analysis employing a dozen socioeconomic variables. The chapter concludes that these are three empirically distinct stages of development, each having major policy challenges.

This chapter proposes the socioeconomic metabolism (SEM) and multilevel perspective (MLP) as “novel” conceptual and practical models that island policy makers can apply to analyzing the transitioning from the current island tourism to sustainable island tourism. Pandemics, such as COVID-19 and climate-related disasters pose risks that highlight a need for restructuring the dominant “sun, sea, and sand” and mass tourism, with excessive resort buildup on the coasts. These crises and disasters constantly disrupt island tourism, exacerbating the already volatile nature of the tourism industry, especially in the Caribbean. Therefore, the SEM which grounds an understanding of how the island system functions, coupled with the MLP that explains sustainability transitions, are proffered as an alternative and systematic approach to restructuring island tourism. In this regard, the models are analyzed for their application to the tourism accommodation subsector. The chapter concludes with the relevance of the models to policy makers and demonstrates how their application can minimize the risks posed by disasters and pandemics to materials and energy flows in the accommodation sector and eventually lead to sustainable island tourism.

This paper aims to provide a comparative analysis of sustainable tourism development across the Anglophone Caribbean region from the post-independence period of 1962 to the 2020s. The perspective explores the implications of insularity, tourism investment and the pace of technology adoption on the potential realisation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the islands of Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and the Eastern Caribbean States.

The viewpoint uses secondary data from grey literature such as government policy documents, academic literature, newspapers and consultancy reports to explore the central themes and provide a conceptual framework for the paper.

The findings reveal that Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are nearer to the light-green single-sector approach to sustainable tourism development. The overarching findings reveal that the region’s heavy focus on economic priorities results in less attention to competitiveness challenges such as environmental management, social equity and technological innovations.

The research presents a comprehensive overview of the tourism development trajectory of other tourism-dependent island-states. The research offers lessons and cross-learning opportunities that may be useful to decision-makers within SIDS. The main limitation is that the findings may only be transferable and generalised to the extent that other jurisdictions bear similar macroeconomic governance structures and cultural characteristics to Caribbean SIDS.

This paper provides a meaningful discussion and contributes to the body of knowledge on the history of Caribbean tourism development, the challenges and future potential of sustainability and lends itself to opportunities for future research in the Caribbean and other SIDS.

The study outlines the social implications for inclusive, responsible and sustainable tourism that can potentially take Caribbean SIDS from slow growth to efficiency in developing the tourism product, including the technological environment. This can reduce inequalities, contribute to socio-economic development and improve the region’s human capital.

This paper provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of Caribbean tourism development specific to Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean States. No previous work has been done to compare tourism development within this grouping. Hence, this paper is essential in informing decision-makers and providing the foundation for continuing research in this area.

这篇观点性论文对英语加勒比地区从1962年独立后到本世纪20年代的可持续旅游发展进行了比较分析。该研究前瞻性探讨了牙买加、巴巴多斯、特立尼达和多巴哥以及东加勒比国家的保守性、旅游投资和技术采用速度对潜在实现可持续发展目标的启示。

该研究利用灰色文献中的二手数据, 如政府政策文件、学术文献、报纸和咨询报告, 进行中心主题探索, 并为论文提供概念性框架。

研究结果显示, 加勒比小岛屿发展中国家(SIDS)更接近于以轻绿的单一部门方式实现可持续旅游发展。总体研究结果显示, 该地区过于关注经济优先事项, 导致对环境管理、社会公平和技术创新等竞争力挑战的关注较少。

本研究全面展现了一些依赖旅游发展的岛屿国家的旅游发展路径概览。这项研究为小岛屿发展中国家的决策者提供了可能有用的经验和交叉学习机会。本文研究局限在于, 只有在与加勒比小岛屿发展中国家类似的宏观经济管理结构和文化特征的行政区, 研究结果才可能转移和推广。

这篇论文提供了有意义的讨论, 有助于认知加勒比旅游发展史、可持续发展的挑战和未来潜力, 并为加勒比和其他小岛屿发展中国家的未来研究提供了机会。

该研究概述了包容性、负责任和可持续的旅游发展的社会启示, 这些启示可能使加勒比小岛屿发展中国家从缓慢发展转变为开发旅游产品(包括技术环境)的效率。这有助于减少不平等现象, 促进社会经济发展, 并改善该地区的人力资本。

本文提供了加勒比旅游发展的综合比较分析, 具体到牙买加、特立尼达和多巴哥、巴巴多斯和东加勒比国家。此前没有研究对这些国家的旅游业发展进行比较。因此, 这篇论文为决策者提供必要信息和为这一领域的继续研究建立了基础。

Este trabajo ofrece un análisis comparativo del desarrollo del turismo sostenible en toda la región del Caribe anglófono desde el período posterior a la independencia de 1962 hasta la década de 2020. Se explora las implicaciones de la insularidad, la inversión turística y el ritmo de adopción de la tecnología en la posible realización de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) en las islas de Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad y Tobago y los Estados del Caribe Oriental.

El análisis se basa en datos secundarios bibliográficos a partir de documentos de política gubernamental, literatura académica, periódicos e informes de consultoría para explorar los temas centrales y proporcionar un marco conceptual en este documento.

Las conclusiones revelan que los pequeños estados insulares en desarrollo (Caribbean Small Island Developing States, SIDS) están más próximos del enfoque del turismo como único sector económico o sostenibilidad débil para el desarrollo del turismo sostenible. Las conclusiones generales revelan que la fuerte concentración de la región en las prioridades económicas hace que se preste menos atención a los retos de la competitividad, como la gestión medioambiental, la equidad social y las innovaciones tecnológicas.

La investigación presenta una visión global de la trayectoria de desarrollo turístico de otros Estados insulares dependientes del turismo. La investigación ofrece lecciones y oportunidades de aprendizaje que pueden ser útiles para los responsables de la toma de decisiones en los SIDS. La principal limitación es que las conclusiones sólo pueden ser transferibles y generalizadas en la medida en que otras jurisdicciones tengan estructuras de gobernanza macroeconómica y características culturales similares a las de los SIDS del Caribe.

Este documento ofrece un análisis significativo y contribuye al conjunto de conocimientos sobre la historia del desarrollo del turismo en el Caribe, los retos y el potencial futuro de la sostenibilidad, y se presta a oportunidades para futuras investigaciones en el Caribe y otros SIDS.

El estudio esboza las implicaciones sociales del turismo inclusivo, responsable y sostenible que puede llevar a los SIDS del Caribe de un crecimiento lento a la eficiencia en el desarrollo del producto turístico, incluyendo el entorno tecnológico. Esto puede reducir las desigualdades, contribuir al desarrollo socioeconómico y mejorar el capital humano de la región.

Este trabajo proporciona un análisis comparativo exhaustivo del desarrollo del turismo en el Caribe, específico para Jamaica, Trinidad y Tobago, Barbados y los Estados del Caribe Oriental. No se ha realizado ningún trabajo anterior para comparar el desarrollo del turismo dentro de esta agrupación. Por ello, este trabajo es esencial para informar a los responsables de la toma de decisiones y sentar las bases para continuar la investigación en este ámbito.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the cultural interaction between communities and visitors to islands using social exchange theory to enhance the understanding of the island experience.

The method consisted of 30 in‐depth interviews with community and tourism stakeholders, and formed part of a multi‐phase study that used social exchange theory as the lens to illuminate a range of perspectives of island interaction. This paper presents a comparative case study of Bruny Island in Tasmania, and Magnetic Island in Queensland, Australia.

Findings revealed that local community members have a wide range of motivations for entering into social exchanges with visitors, ranging from solely economic, to a genuine desire to provide quality experiences. Additionally, findings showed the nature of island cultural interaction could vary immensely, from welcoming and meaningful exchanges through to superficial and even hostile contact.

As this research is on two islands in Australia, within a particular timeframe, the results may not be representative of island communities generally. Nonetheless, the results are indicative of locals' perceptions of their interactions with visitors.

The findings have a range of practical implications for the management of local and visitor interaction on islands. A key implication for island communities is the importance of developing programs that educate and inform locals about the potential benefits of interaction. Additionally, this research illustrates how islands can use cultural interaction to differentiate their tourism product and market island experiences.

The paper's contribution is its use of social exchange theory at a micro‐level to illuminate a range of local community members' perspectives of their tourism exchanges, in order to enhance understanding of the complex process of interaction between locals and visitors to islands.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the tourism life cycle of Langkawi Island, Malaysia. The paper seeks to investigate the stages of life cycle that the island has passed through and at what stage the island is in today.

The paper adopts Butler’s Tourism Area Life Cycle model as the research framework to describe the characteristics of each stage of the island’s tourism life cycle and determine the time scale of the stages. The evidence presented in the stages is derived from secondary sources dating from 1642 to present.

The findings indicate that the tourism life cycle in Langkawi Island has undergone four stages of development and that it is currently in the consolidation stage. Numerous characteristics suggested by Butler’s model for each stage are clearly discernible in the island’s tourism growth. The government serves as the major player and catalyst for tourism expansion in the island from one stage to the next.

It is hoped that the paper will contribute to a better understanding of how tourism and its market have evolved in Langkawi Island. The paper also provides insights on how future planning should be directed in more sustainable and responsible ways to position the island.

The paper delivers a comprehensive understanding on the tourism developmental process of Langkawi Island, besides facilitating the understanding of major fundamental causes and conditions and the accompanying transition in the stages. The paper also bridges the gaps in knowledge addressed in similar previous studies.