Tourism destination quality and the UN Sustainable Development Goals: tourism Agenda 2030.

Abstract

• Purpose: This conceptual paper explains how improving tourism destination quality could contribute to addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at tourism destinations. • Design/methodology/approach: The paper synthesizes literature on sustainability, the SDGs and tourism destination quality, and considers sustainability from the destination quality frame of reference. The approach starts with a critical analysis of principles of sustainability, as embodied in the 17 SDGs, in terms of whether they are primarily concerned with ‘quantity’ or ‘quality’. This is followed by examining potential links between destination quality and the SDGs, using results of a recent empirical research on tourism destination quality (henceforth the TDQ study). • Findings: The paper reveals that most of the SDGs are largely focused on quantity, whilst relatively few are concerned primarily with quality. Several TDQ dimensions, specifically ‘Authentic’, ‘Safe’, ‘Well-kept’, ‘Affordable’, ‘Novel’, ‘Varied’, ‘Relaxing’, ‘Uncrowded’, ‘Hospitable’ and ‘Informative’, and in addition the holistic perspective of destination quality indicated in the TDQ study, are revealed as having strong links with the SDGs, largely because of their concern with quality. The paper therefore proposes a positive relationship between enhancing destination quality and addressing the SDGs at tourism destinations. • Originality: This is the first paper that adapts the extant theory on sustainability (represented by the SDGs) by introducing a destination quality frame of reference. The links between tourism destination quality and the SDGs have not been previously investigated. This paper indicates strong relationships between destination quality and several SDGs, and thus extends the existing theory on sustainability by introducing the quality improvement perspective. • Research implications: The paper calls for future empirical research to test the theoretical links between destination quality and SDGs established in this paper. • Practical implications: The use of the proposed framework for managing tourism destination quality and sustainability can help destination managers in enhancing destination quality and the attainment of the SDGs.