ABSTRACT
The growth of visitors and their associated travel needs and consumption patterns is creating one of the biggest tourism challenges for the future as an era of finite resources is entered, where reduced fossil-fuel dependency, low emissions and sustainable economic systems become paramount. The present economy is locked into high energy prices and a reliance on diminishing resources that are becoming fiercely fought over (Gössling et al., 2010). This weakens the ability of countries across the globe to provide well-being for people and communities and threatens the ability of tourism to con - tinue its upward trajectory of growth. If unrestrained, tourism is projected to grow to 43 million international tourist arrivals per year from 2010, amounting to a total of 1.8 billion arrivals by 2030 (UNWTO, 2011). However in the context of supply pressures on water (Postel, 2000), soil (Pimental and Kounang, 1998) and fossil fuels (Hirsch, 2005), it is inconceivable that these projections, and the associated value for people created by this level of tourism, can be achieved without drastic change to the current business model (Becken, 2007, Gössling et al., 2010). Much has been made of the potential of a green tourism economy to help respond to these challenges, and achieving sustainable consumption and production is recognized as central to this (Pearce, 1989; Barbier, 2011; UNEP, 2011a, 2011b, 2012). In a resource-constrained and increasingly populated world, the sheer scale and continued growth of the sector raises serious questions about its viability and sustainability if a green economic model is not employed.
