Critical tourism strategy

Destination strategies are central to the future development of tourism. They are typically created using a traditional management studies approach, characterized by an emphasis on growing visitor numbers along with varying commitments to sustainability. This article argues that this approach has significant shortcomings which present a research gap. To address this, the idea of critical tourism strategy is first further developed and then applied. Using a framework analysis based on critical tourism strategy, a sample of 17 English-language strategies is evaluated. The findings note many areas of good practice but also highlight important silences, omissions, and hidden biases. The conclusions advocate the widening of strategic horizons to deliver tourism guided by values as well as volumes.