Scholarly record

CIRCULAR TOURISM AS A KEY FOR ECO-INNOVATIONS IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY BASED ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Kliment Naydenov

Abstract

Global issues such as resource scarcity, climate change, land and ocean pollution linked to the widespread growth model of production and consumption have led to the introduction of many concepts and approaches such as 'sustainable development' and 'green growth', and etc. It is also a circular economy, and it has many similarities to these concepts and approaches that deal with the relationship between people and their environment. However, it has distinctive use and, in principle, has more radical consequences than, for example, the concept of sustainability as defined and used in the Brundtland report, reported to the United Nations (Brundtland, 1987). In more and more countries, attempts have been made to pursue sustainability acceptance through circular business models. Circular business models lead to the creation of a circular economy concept. The concept of circular economy sets a set of principles for production and consumption, radically different from the take-make-dispose linear regime prevailing in today's market economies, based on continued economic growth and increased resource productivity. A circular economy is an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life. Sustainable tourism has been talked about years ago. According to the World Tourism Organization, sustainable tourism is ?Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities". The tourism sector has hitherto (till now) not been given much attention as a possible context for Circular Economy initiatives and analyses. Seen in the context of sustainable development, circular tourism can reconcile tourism and sustainable resource management. Its objective is to produce goods and tourist services while greatly limiting the impact on the environment (including the consumption and waste of non-renewable energy sources). Circular tourism follows the logic of the circular economy, a business model consistent with the principles of sustainable development. In the same way, circular tourism proposes a model in which each actor of tourism (traveler, host, tour operator, and supplier) adopts an eco-friendly approach. Circular, closed tourism, which is already a trend in Europe, is a prerequisite for the sustainable development of the sector. Currently the circular economy is a key priority in the EC, not just in the field of tourism. It will create a tourism sector that will be linked to biodegradable waste.

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