How Business Ecosystems Can Drive Sustainable Tourism

Tourism is booming, but the accounting is off. Mass tourism is damaging the planet through CO2 emissions and resource depletion, diluting local cultural identities and concentrating economic benefits among large investors rather than host communities.

Drawing on research and advisory work, including the pioneering case of Valencia's collaborative tourism model, this Forbes piece argues that business ecosystems offer a path toward a more sustainable tourism paradigm. It identifies four levers for change: aligning all stakeholders around a shared purpose, offering a broader basket of sustainable tourism options, ensuring fairness and trust within the system, and harnessing digital platforms and data sharing. From the Dolomites to Athens, the piece shows that a different model is not only desirable but already being built.

Read here.

Authors: Michael Jacobides and Elisa Farri