Sport tourism and sustainable destinations: foundations and pathways

Destinations serve as the spatial context and reference point for this special issue. They are, in essence, the place where sport tourism is produced and consumed (Higham, 2005). Whether sport tourism development takes the form of sport events, active participation or sport heritage activities, it draws on local resources and forms part of the complex dynamic of community life (Preuss, 2015; Weed, 2008). Sport tourism therefore has implications for destination residents who may benefit from, or incur the costs of this development, with potential impacts ranging across the local–global spatial spectrum (Giampiccoli, Lee, & Nauright, 2015). As such, it is essential that the academic community critically question the sustainability of sport tourism destinations.