Ecotourism emphasizes minimizing the environmental footprint of tourism by relying on renewable energy sources, implementing effective waste management practices, and fostering community empowerment. Circular economy initiatives aim to minimize resource exploitation by adopting practices that enable the efficient use of resources, thereby maintaining a balance between the economy and the environment. Despite significant strides, gaps remain in understanding the enablers of implementing circular economy principles in ecotourism. The purpose of the study is to address this research gap. The Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (TISM) methodology was employed to establish the hierarchical relationships between the identified enablers. Fuzzy MIC MAC analysis further helped to understand the nature of linkages between the enablers. The study revealed that the critical enablers for implementing circular economy principles in ecotourism were policy and regulations, capacity building, environmental audits, local sourcing, reuse and recycling, community support and involvement, and technology and innovation. This study proposes new insights by integrating two critical domains of ecotourism and the circular economy. The TISM model is a unique contribution of the study that can be leveraged to build sustainable models in ecotourism. The study's findings have profound implications for policymakers, individuals in the tourism industry, and researchers, enabling them to strategically formulate policies that promote the principles of the circular economy in ecotourism.
Panackal et al. (Sat,) studied this question.