Covid-19, tourism and the advocacy of degrowth

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the advocacy of degrowth in tourism, principally in relation to the emerging debates taking place in the light of the impact of Covid-19. It reviews the origins and meaning of degrowth as a development philosophy in order to place the discussion in a broader context. It proceeds to question some of the economic, environmental and cultural assumptions implicit and often explicit in degrowth advocacy with regard to tourism. The article argues that economic growth – in tourism and generally – is a necessary, albeit far from sufficient, condition for addressing the varied problems facing contemporary society manifest in modern tourism. There have been numerous publications, especially in the light of Covid-19, advocating tourism degrowth. There have been none directly questioning the claims made. It is hoped that this article will open up a discursive space for engagement between those who see economic growth as a part of the problem and those who see it as a part of the solution.

KEYWORDS:

• Degrowth
• consumerism
• growth
• COVID-19
• localism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 It should be noted that the Frankfurt School did not see the consumerism they critiqued as intrinsic to growth, and were not against economic growth.

2 Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZoKfap4g4w.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher writes and researches on tourism at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. He blogs on this and other issues at http://politicsoftourism.blogspot.com/