ABSTRACT
Integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in business strategies represents one of the main emerging transformations that have interested tourism and hospitality due to the increasing pressures made by stakeholders. In this sense, a large number of tourism organisations started to revise their business models in order to consider sustainable and ethical principles within their services. However, the comprehension of tourism’s contributions to sustainable development represents a complex activity due to the impacts caused by tourism organisations on society. In fact, prior studies agreed about the existence of criticisms that negatively impact the development of sustainable destinations. The chapter aims consist of the evaluation of the enabling role covered by cycling tourism on SDGs. Building on the theoretical framework proposed by Joyce and Paquin (2016), the research will evaluate the peculiarities of cycling tourism’s business models, which represents a novel field of research in management studies. The analysis was conducted through the analysis of Puglia, which represents one of the main worldwide destinations that have based its tourism strategies on sustainable and smart principles.
