Islandscapes and sustainable creative tourism: A conceptual framework and guidelines for best practices

Abstract

As strategies for the development of creative tourism multiply in contexts ranging from global cities to small communities, the need for a clearer conceptual framework, capable of better differentiating existing approaches, has become more evident. Building upon existing knowledge on cultural and creative tourism, and on a prior review of the literature on creative tourism on islands, this paper proposes a typology of creative tourism initiatives, and after examining this new categoriza-tion, develops the concept of sustainable creative tourism. Through highlighting the need for creative tourism developers, policymakers, and practitioners to deepen their engagement with more holistic and integrated approaches oriented towards sustainable development in all its dimensions (economic, environmental, social, and cultural), the authors systematize a set of international principles and policy recommendations meant to promote sustainable creative tourism development strategies, duly adjusted to different places and realities, with an emphasis on vulnerable islandscapes.