Facilitating Transitions to Sustainable Tourism - The role of the tour operator

Abstract: Tourism has become a leading industry in the world and continues to grow rapidly, contributing essentially to economic growth and employment in many countries. Tourism as it looks today poses serious threats to the environment and considerable social and cultural challenges. The problem addressed by this research lies in the weakness of current concepts and practices in pursuit of sustainable tourism to provide lucrative solutions for the impacts created by mass tourism. Taking a systemic approach to problem solving, this thesis aims to bring an in-depth understanding of the complex reality that underlies the dynamic transitions in systems of sustainable tourism. Consequently, the research is focused on the role of key powerful actors, as agents of change, with the overall purpose of clarifying the conditions that trigger and shape their capability to influence a systemic transition. The approach is global in its scope and considers the system as a whole capable to change under the interactions of different elements within the internal and external contexts. Identifying key challenges and opportunities, the research concludes with the suggestion that tour operators may find prosperous directions of development in the field of innovation and sustainable service development.