Social Sustainability on Competitiveness in the Tourism Industry: Toward New Approach?

Abstract

The achievements made over the years of policies seeking to stimulate tourism demand have led to a great increase in the number of tourists arriving in many destinations. Some destinations have begun to suffer problems derived from the success of policies focused solely on increasing the number of arrivals. The objective of this work is to analyze the role of social sustainability in the analysis of tourism competitiveness. Methodologically, this study has been developed from the analysis of papers published in journals indexed in the Journal Citations Reports and Scopus. This has been complemented with information extracted from a number of well-known studies regarding tourism competitiveness. In such a context, this chapter reflects on the need to consider the social sustainability linked to the development of tourism and the locals’ support as factors included within the concept of competitiveness.