Timeline

• October 31, 2026: Full paper submission deadline

Timeline

• September 30, 2026: Submission deadline

Kalliopi Chatzipanagiotou, University of Glasgow

Achilleas Boukis, University of Birmingham

George Christodoulides, American University of Sharjah

Raffaele Filieri, Audencia Business School

Luxury tourism is expected to grow faster than any other industry segment. Although scholarship on luxury tourism has expanded in recent years, much of this work focuses on its economic dimensions, often overlooking its broader sustainable, social and ethical implications. The relationship between sustainability and luxury tourism has received increasing attention in recent years, yet we know little about what sustainable luxury actually means, given the tension between exclusivity and responsible resource use. Furthermore, while many luxury tourists express concern for sustainability, there remains limited empirical evidence on how such concerns translate into actual decision-making or on the trade-offs they are willing to accept.

At the same time, the experiences of local communities and workers are largely overlooked, pointing to a broader gap around social inequality. Much of the discussion remains focused on minimizing environmental harm, with less attention given to how luxury tourism might actively support more regenerative and inclusive forms of sustainable development. Luxury tourism can amplify inequalities, concentrating wealth and privilege within exclusive enclaves while placing disproportionate burdens on local communities, ecosystems, and labour. These tensions between luxury value and impact raise critical questions about who benefits from luxury tourism, who is excluded, and how its growth reshapes societal dynamics, cultural authenticity, and environmental sustainability.

Technological innovation adds further complexity. Artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and other immersive tools are transforming how sustainable luxury is produced, mediated, and consumed. These technologies may democratize access and enhance personalization, yet they also raise concerns about authenticity, cultural representation, and digital exclusion. Additionally, there is a lack of robust methods for assessing the real environmental and social impacts of luxury tourism, while questions about the role of technology are only starting to surface, particularly concerning its environmental footprint and issues of access and inequality.

This Special Issue aims to advance knowledge and debate on sustainable luxury tourism by inviting research that explores how it is defined, experienced, and measured in today's global environment and across various contexts. We also encourage studies of emerging forms of luxury travel, including wellness, medical, and experiential travel, which bring to the fore new environmental concerns and tensions such as the commodification of care and inequalities in access to health and well-being. Research on sustainable luxury tourism, whether theoretical, conceptual, or empirical, is encouraged, particularly those that adopt holistic approaches and connect sustainable luxury theory with practical applications. Mixed-method and multi-method submissions are welcomed. Studies focusing on more than one country and culture, as well as those with a longitudinal approach, will be prioritised.

Potential topics

• Designing and conceptualizing sustainable luxury tourism experiences
• Luxury tourism consumption practices and sustainable behaviors
• Emerging forms of luxury tourism through a sustainability lens
• Cultural authenticity and heritage in sustainable luxury experiences
• Personalization, exclusivity, and sustainability tensions in luxury tourism
• Storytelling, experience design, and sustainability communication
• The environmental and social dark sides of luxury tourism
• Local communities, inclusion, and social value creation in sustainable luxury tourism
• Labor practices and working conditions in sustainable luxury hospitality
• Destination branding, image, and sustainable luxury positioning
• Stakeholder collaboration and governance in sustainable luxury tourism
• Sustainable luxury within tourism ecosystems and power dynamics

Timeline

• November 1, 2026: Abstract deadline
• May 31, 2027: Manuscript deadline

Edmund Goh, Les Roches Abu Dhabi Hospitality Academy

Jun Wen, Macau University of Science and Technology

Siamak Seyfi, University of Oulu

C. Michael Hall, Massey University

Xin-Jean Lim, Sun Yat-Sen University

September 2025 marked the 10th anniversary of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global blueprint for achieving peace, prosperity, and planetary wellbeing. Over the past decade, the hospitality and tourism industries and destination communities have emerged as powerful platforms for advancing and contesting these goals. Hospitality and tourism encompass all 17 SDGs, either directly or indirectly, from economic growth and decent work (SDG 8) to responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 13), and partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).

In hospitality and tourism research, SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) has guided studies on workforce inclusion, ethical employment, and skills development; SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) has inspired frameworks for food-waste reduction, sustainable procurement, and circular-economy innovation; and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) has informed investigations into heritage protection, destination resilience, and overtourism management. At the same time, SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) have underpinned studies on women's empowerment, migrant labour, and social inclusion across tourism enterprises. Research has also expanded around SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 14/15 (Life Below Water and Life on Land), addressing carbon measurement, biodiversity conservation, and regenerative destination practices.

While studies have advocated that tourism and hospitality can positively contribute to the fulfilment of the UN's ambitious 2030 Agenda, there remains a noticeable gap in how the SDGs are explicitly integrated within scholarly research. Many studies have investigated sustainability-related themes without explicitly aligning their objectives, frameworks, or findings to specific SDG targets, often downplaying or omitting the SDG lens altogether. This disconnect limits the sector's ability to evaluate progress, benchmark impact, and influence policymaking.

This Special Issue responds to those calls by encouraging tourism and hospitality researchers to explicitly reconnect their work to the SDG framework, to identify future research pathways, and to assist policymakers in addressing global challenges through evidence-based strategies. In particular, we seek contributions that illuminate the dynamic linkages between key stakeholders such as hosts, tourists, destinations, government, and industry to explore how these interrelationships can generate more sustainable and equitable outcomes.

This Special Issue seeks to critically assess the progress, limitations, and future directions of SDG-related initiatives in hospitality and tourism. We invite empirical, conceptual, and review papers that evaluate how far the sector has come but also envision pathways for a regenerative, inclusive, and just hospitality and tourism future beyond 2030.

Potential topics

• Reflecting on the First Decade (2015–2025) of SDG achievements and gaps
• Critical reviews of how research to date references SDGs and where conceptual or methodological gaps persist
• Evaluating tourism and hospitality's contribution to all 17 SDGs, including SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) through community tourism, local sourcing, and food redistribution
• Examining progress toward SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) through wellness tourism, workplace health initiatives, and traveller safety
• Assessing SDG 4 (Quality Education) via tourism and hospitality curriculum transformation, sustainability literacy, and lifelong learning
• Policy coherence and alignment of tourism strategies with SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions), focusing on governance, transparency, and ethical practices
• Reviewing the role of SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) in sustainable destination design, transport systems, and smart tourism
• Integrating SDG 8 (Decent Work), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) through inclusive recruitment, fair wages, and leadership opportunities
• Advancing SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) via food waste management, circular hospitality systems, and sustainable event management
• Strengthening SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by aligning urban tourism, heritage conservation, and destination capacity management
• Building SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through cross-sector collaborations among government, academia, and private enterprises
• Linking SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) to energy-efficient hotel design, water conservation, and waste-water reuse
• Exploring SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land) through carbon-neutral travel, biodiversity protection, and eco-restoration tourism
• Applying SDG 9 (Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 16 (Institutions) in AI-driven sustainability measurement, blockchain transparency, and smart destination governance
• Embedding SDG 3 (Health) and SDG 11 (Communities) in wellness, resilience, and crisis recovery frameworks
• Integrating ethical, cultural, and spiritual perspectives on sustainability to support SDG 4 (Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships)
• Conceptualising post-SDG paradigms such as regenerative tourism, circular hospitality, etc.
• Examining the intersections of sustainability with digital transformation, big data, and tourism intelligence systems
• Developing cross-SDG frameworks and metrics to capture interlinkages (e.g., SDG 8–12–13 synergies)
• Big data analytics, AI, and social media mining for SDG progress tracking and destination reporting
• Comparative cross-national or longitudinal studies assessing tourism's SDG impact
• Theorising host–guest–destination dynamics as a holistic system contributing to SDG 1–17 interdependence

Timeline

• Invalid DateTime: Selected Manuscripts Published
• May 1, 2026: Abstract (Systematic Review) Submission Deadline
• July 1, 2026: Abstract (Full Paper and Research Note) Submission Deadline
• December 1, 2026: Full Manuscript Submission Deadline
• January 1, 2027: Review Process