Ever since the arrival of COVID-19, many destinations have followed a futures focused pathway with the reimagination of tourism, based on the principles of community, sustainability, and regeneration.

However, this reimagination is often based on utopian ideals that are difficult to attain and doomed to fail. Utopia itself means ‘no place’. So, how can the future of tourism reconcile these utopian ideals with realistic perspectives? Is the future just a return to the past where unsustainable growth is the norm? What will regrowth or degrowth look like? What is the outlook for mass tourism from a sustainability perspective? How can we manage the worst of unsustainable behaviours?

Right at the heart of these questions is the role of capitalism and business as a tourism system. We bring together a thinker, a leader, and a researcher who will delve into these questions to find answers.