Sustainable Development and Responsible Tourism

This chapter introduces the global sustainable development agenda and outlines the UN Sustainable Development Goals framework which is made up of 17 goals to be achieved by 2030. This global framework is offered as a lens through which sustainable development in the context of tourism is being implemented and measured. This is contrasted with responsible tourism, which is framed as the set of processes and mechanisms through which sustainable development is being pursued. The case study of iSimangaliso Wetland Park in South Africa at the end of the chapter consolidates the key ideas from the chapter through highlighting the role that tourism plays in changing and shaping the socio-cultural and environmental fabric of societies, and sustainable approaches to addressing these changes today and in the future.