The Tourism Transition of Green Destinations in the Post-pandemic

This chapter explores the notion of tourism as a driver of change within green destinations and highlights pros and cons related to the enhancement of environmental resources. If nature-based tourism has always been considered a favourable context to orient tourist development towards sustainability, its recent growing trend has posed new critical issues which require a reassessment of the topics related to both environmental and social impacts. In some cases, these changes have happened at an unpredicted speed, eventually turning tourism into an undesired source of development. The risk of over-tourism is highlighted as a phenomenon associated not only with large numbers of tourists but also referring to small numbers of unexpected visitors who may cause concern for small and unprepared local communities if their arrival is not adequately managed. Some indications related to the methodology of transition management are examined as a strategy to address these criticalities.