Tourism Governance in the Anthropocene

The book aims to address and reflect on the role of governance of the tourism sector in the era of the Anthropocene, also in light of the challenges of climate change and of the Covid-19 pandemic providing an innovative contribution on the discusses lessons for the Future of Tourism in the Anthropocene. The definition of the Anthropocene has caused an increase in ethical concerns about our relationship with nature and fears dictated by the environmental crisis (Holden, 2019). In this scenario, the tourism sector has also begun to question these issues and the experience of Covid-19 pandemic has powerfully brought environmental issues back to the center of attention, also affecting on the perception of landscapes (Burini, 2020). The year 2020 brought about a distinct change in tourism demand with a rediscovery of small villages and locations outside the classic tourist itineraries by tourists, in search of healthy, safe and less frequented places for a new style of vacation, but also by workers staying in their second homes and discovering the smart working experience. In this context, territories and local institutions must activate new forms of multi-level governance of the tourism sector to make the most of the new opportunities and satisfy the new principles that are emerging, such as the need to develop a more responsible, sustainable, slow tourism and at the same time to discover the role of digitalization and technologies to better manage tourist fluxes and demand. The enhancement of landscapes and the participation of local communities for the promotion of local knowledge is crucial in this new governance process (Burini, 2019; Belotti, 2020) to promote a new way of living that can also contribute to fight the environmental crisis and the depopulation of marginal areas. The book will address, among others, the following research questions: how does a destabilizing relationship between human activities and the natural environment relate to tourism? How to decrease significant environmental challenges for international tourism, that are threatening our landscapes? How can local and urban governance encourage of pro-environmental behavior by tourists? These issues are strongly related to the need to start a general reflection on new forms of governance of the tourism sector in the Anthropocene.