The Sustainable Destination: Policies, Image, Brand and Value

Dear Colleagues,

Many tourist destinations have made sustainability a key element of their development policy, responding both to the growing awareness of tourists and to increasing pressure from international institutions and organizations, which have come to see the social and ethical dimensions of sustainability as essential for tourism development. A number of important initiatives have promoted sustainability certification for destinations (e.g., Global Sustainable Tourism Council, https://www.gstcouncil.org/; Green Destination Foundation, https://greendestinations.org/), as tools with which to give destinations a distinctive value associated with their good environmental practices. Implementing the principles of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) requires tourist destinations to guarantee not only that they will respect the local environment but also that their development models will protect and valorize the social and cultural dimensions of the area, as well as giving full consideration to the rights of its workers and residents.

This is the context within which the Special Issue is intended as a contribution to the scientific discussion on the links between a destination’s sustainability, competitivity, and image; it is assumed that the values associated with sustainability can positively impact a destination’s image, increasing both its value and its attractiveness.

In light of the multiplicity of stakeholders (public, private, local community) involved in defining a destination’s offer—and, thus, inevitably also in shaping its image—the Special Issue sets out to investigate how these stakeholders coordinate their activities, take decisions, and form relationships and networks among themselves in order to identify best practices for the creation and promotion of such destinations.

In the contemporary scenario, digital transformation represents an organizational strategy whose objective is to create value for all stakeholders. Indeed, the networked connections enabled by digitalization can grow along the links of the already existing social and professional collaborations. In this regard, digital ecosystems can play a role in enhancing the already existent relationships among the key stakeholders involved in a destination’s sustainability management, thus contributing to improving its efficiency, attractiveness, and fostering new collaborative activities.

To this end, papers which examine the following will be welcomed:

• Good practices and environmental certification schemes in tourist destinations;
• Implementation of principles linked to the 17 UN goals in tourist destinations;
• Studies on the impact of sustainability policies on a destination’s attraction power;
• Studies on the positive effect of sustainability policies on destination image and perceived value;
• Operational and logistics tools used by destination management and marketing to gain the status of “sustainable destination”;
• Studies on participatory processes and public–private partnerships aimed at creating sustainable tourism destinations and/or promoting their image;
• The role of the DMO in the promotion of a sustainable destination;
• Studies on the awareness, attitudes, and behaviors of local communities involved in the definition of a sustainable destination offer;
• Studies on the attitudes, preferences, and choices of consumers/tourists with regard to the sustainable destination approach;
• Analyses of the strategies, policies, and good practices of tourism enterprises operating within sustainable destinations;
• Digital transformation as a driver of sustainable tourism;
• Managerial and organizational implications of digitalization in the context of smart destinations;
• The role of a digital ecosystem in the promotion of a sustainable destination.

While the Special Issue welcomes multi- and interdisciplinary contributions, preference will be given to research in the field of management.

Prof. Dr. Umberto Martini
Prof. Dr. Federica Buffa
Dr. Alessia Zoppelletto
Guest Editors

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• sustainable destination
• green destination
• destination competitiveness
• destination image and branding
• community participation
• destination management
• best practices for sustainability
• green certifications
• digital tourism ecosystems