Sustainability and Tourism – Interdisciplinary Perspectives

In May 2024, a one-day international research symposium was held on the topic of “Sustainability and Tourism - Interdisciplinary Perspectives“, which approached the topic of sustainability in the context of tourism from different perspectives.

Researchers from the fields of economics, law, didactics, linguistics, semiotics and cultural studies were involved, as well as speakers from the field. Overall, the symposium was very well attended with approximately 70 people. It was held in English, was also broadcast online and was open to the public, so a large number of (international) researchers and students from Trier University of Applied Sciences and abroad took part.

As sustainability is a very controversial issue in the context of tourism, the topic offered plenty of scope for discussion. For this reason, the symposium critically examined examples of tourism in the context of sustainability and compared problematic practices and best practices with the help of an interdisciplinary, international and multi-perspective approach. Potentials as well as criticism of current practice were presented and discussed.

The symposium also examined different tourism practices from an international perspective. To this end, research projects from various countries were presented: Norway, Germany/Israel/Croatia, Zanzibar, Hawaii and Oman. Overall, the researchers concluded that, on the one hand, sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the context of tourism, but that, on the other hand, problematic developments inevitably go hand in hand with this and must therefore always be critically analyzed.