The Meaningful Tourism Paradigm – A Tool for Sustainable Tourism Development in Times of Crises and Challenges

Authors

  • Wolfgang Georg Arlt Meaningful Tourism Center, London - United Kingdom Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15637694

Keywords:

Meaningful Tourism, Sustainable tourism development, Stakeholder engagement, Positive psychology, SMART KPIs

Abstract

Confronted by converging crises – climate change, AI-driven disruption, and shifting traveler demands – traditional sustainable tourism models struggle with "sustainability fatigue," often emphasizing sacrifice over tangible gain. This article introduces the Meaningful Tourism (MT) paradigm as a transformative tool for resilient development. Grounded in Positive Psychology, MT ensures the objective benefits and subjective satisfaction of all six core stakeholders (Visitors, Host Community, Employees, Businesses, Governments, Environment) simultaneously. It rejects zero-sum trade-offs, instead fostering aligned stakeholder interests through achievable, annually measured SMART KPIs tracking transparent progress. By shifting focus from restriction to mutual flourishing and demonstrable outcomes, MT provides a practical, positive, and holistic framework for building sustainable tourism resilience in an era defined by challenges and the search for meaning.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Airbnb (ed.) (2021). From Isolation to Connection— Travel in 2021. Travel report 2021, San Francisco: Airbnb

Arlt, W. G. (ed.) (2020). Welcoming the New Chinese Outbound Tourists: Guest relationships with Chinese visitors in the 2020s. Hamburg: COTRI China Outbound Tourism Research Institute

Arlt, W.G. (2022a). Meaningful Tourism Training. Hamburg: MTC

Arlt, W.G. (2022b). Why the world needs Meaningful Travel, PhocusWright. Retrieved from https://www.phocuswire.com/why-the-world-needs-meaningful-tourism

Arlt, W.G., Chun, P. & Duane, B. (2025) Meaningfulness. Kathmandu

Bhuiyan, M.A., Crovella, T., Paiano, A & Alves, H. (2021). A Review of Research on Tourism Industry, Economic Crisis and Mitigation Process of the Loss: Analysis on Pre, During and Post Pandemic Situation. Sustainability. 2021; 13(18):10314

Biermann, F. et al. (2022). Scientific evidence on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals. Nature Sustainability, published June 20, 2022

Binkhorst, E. & Den Dekker, T. (2009). Agenda for co-creation tourism experience research. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management 18 (2-3) 311-327

Bouskill, D., Corbeil, D. (2002). Planet D. Retrieved from https://theplanetd.com/

Chiambaretto, P., Mayenc, E., Chappert, H., Engsig, J., Fernandez, A.S., Le Roy, F. (2021). Where does flygskam come from? The role of citizens’ lack of knowledge of the environmental impact of air transport in explaining the development of flight shame. Journal of Air Transport Management, Volume 93, June 2021

Conely, C. (2022). 5 Ways to Promote Sustainable Travel: a Guide for the Small DMO. Retrieved from https://crowdriff.com/resources/home/5-ways-promote-sustainable-travel-small-dmo

COTRI Analytics (2022). Global Tourism Database

Crane, H. (2013): How can we secure sustainable jobs for the most disadvantaged? In: The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2013/oct/11/sustainable-jobs-disadvantaged

D’Eramo, M. (2021). The World in a Selfie - An Inquiry into the Tourist Age. Verso (2021)

European Travel Commission (2022). Sustainable Travel in an Era of Disruption: Impact of COVID-19 on Sustainable Tourism Attitudes. Retrieved from https://etc-corporate.org/reports/sustainable-travel-in-an-era-of-disruption-impact-of-covid-19-on-sustainable-tourism-attitudes/

Filep, S., Laing, S. J. & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2017) (eds.). Positive Tourism. Abingdon: Routledge.

Filep, S., & Laing, S. J. (2019). Trends and directions in tourism and positive psychology. Journal of Travel Research, 58(3), 343–354.

Fletcher, R, Mas, I.M., Blanco-Romero, A. & Blazquez-Salom, M. (2019). Tourism and degrowth: An emerging agenda for research and praxis. Journal of Sustainable Tourism (27) 12. 1745-1763

Goodwin, H. (2011). Taking Responsibility for Tourism. Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers.

González, K. & Hubbard, R. (2022). Meaningful travel experiences. Retrieved from https://innovationsoftheworld.com/meaningful-travel-experiences/

Heritage Tribune, (2022): Palma to limit cruise ships to protect itself from Overtourism. Retrieved from https://heritagetribune.eu/spain/palma-to-limit-cruise-ships-to-protect-itself-from-overtourism/

Inskeep, E. (1991). Tourism Planning: an Integrated and Sustainable Development Approach. New York: John Wiley & Sons

Kaspar, C., (1973). Fremdenverkehrsökologie - eine neue Dimension der Fremdenverkehrslehre. (Engl: Tourism ecology - A new dimension of tourism science). In: Walter, E. (Ed.), Festschrift zur Vollendung des 65. Lebensjahres von P. Bernecker, Haupt: Wien, 139-143

Kirchherr, J. (2022). Bullshit in the Sustainability and Transitions Literature: a Provocation. Circular Economy and Sustainability. Open access, published May 20, 2022

Krippendorf, J. (1984). Die Ferienmenschen. Für ein neues Verständnis von Freizeit und Reisen. Zürich: Orell Füssli

Kühnen, M., Silva, S. & Hahn, R. (2022). From negative to positive sustainability performance measurement and assessment? A qualitative inquiry drawing on framing effects theory. Business Strategy and the Environment. Open access, published January 8, 2002

Kwok, L., (2021). What if Labor Shortage Is a Long-Term Threat to the Hospitality and Tourism Industry? Retrieved from https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4106680.html

Lichtenthaler, U. (2021), "Why being sustainable is not enough: embracing a net positive impact", Journal of Business Strategy, article publication date: 21 December 2021.

Mccreesh, M. (2022). Where adventure travel in Taiwan begins. Retrieved from https://originwild.com.tw/

Persson-Fischer U., Liu, S. (2021) The Impact of a Global Crisis on Areas and Topics of Tourism Research. Sustainability. 13(2):906

Pine, B.J. (2026), Transformation economy, Harvard Business Press, Boston

Pollock, A., (2022). A higher purpose. Retrieved from http://www.conscious.travel/

Robbins, T. (2021): Why we travel — and why we shouldn’t stop. Financial Times May 21, 2021 Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/fd66019e-d960-4187-968f-ca2206081f30

Seligman, M.E. (2012). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York: Simon and Schuster

Seligman, M.E. and Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive psychology: An introduction”, Flow and the foundations of positive psychology. Dordrecht, Springer pp. 279–298

Singh, T.V., Butler, R. & Fennell, D.A. (Eds.) (2022): Tourism as a Pathway to Hope and Happiness. Channel View, Bristol

Sorensen, F., Grindsted, Th. (2021). Sustainability approaches and nature tourism development. Annals of Tourism Research 91

Tollman, G. (2023) Travel at a crossroads – There’s no turning back. Retrieved from https://www.travelpulse.com/news/impacting-travel/venice-postpones-tourist-entry-fees-until-2023.html

UN (2022). WMO warns of frequent heatwaves in decades ahead. Retrieved from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1122822

UN, (2025). Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals Report. Retrieved from: https://hlpf.un.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/SG%20SDG%20Progress%20Report%2029%20Apr%202025.pdf

UNEP, (2022). Transforming tourism in the Pan-European region for a resilient and sustainable post-COVID world. Paris: UNEP

UNWTO, (2020). UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Vol. 18, Issue 3, June 2020. Retrieved from https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/wtobarometereng.2020.18.1.3

UNWTO (2021): International tourism growth continues to outpace the economy. Retrieved from https://www.unwto.org/international-tourism-growth-continues-to-outpace-the-economy

WCED (1987). Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future. United Nations General Assembly document A/42/427. New York: UN

Downloads

Published

2025-06-08

How to Cite

Arlt, W. G. . (2025). The Meaningful Tourism Paradigm – A Tool for Sustainable Tourism Development in Times of Crises and Challenges. Bali Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Culture Research, 2(2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15637694