A Triple Helix Approach in Sustainable Tourism Governance

The tourism industry encounters significant demands to reconcile econom- ic growth with environmental and social sustainability. However, many governance approaches focus on economic development, overlooking en- vironmental and social dimensions. This chapter investigates the potential of systems thinking to improve sustainable tourism governance, so the ob- jective is to explore how the multiple actors involved in tourism systems can effectively interact to co-create value by integrating the economic, so- cial, and environmental dimensions of sustainability. This chapter presents a framework based on the viable systems approach (VSA) to tackle the issues of reconciling economic development with environmental and social welfare in the tourism industry. It employs the VSA framework of the tri- ple helix of sustainability (THS) to underscore the main challenges for the effective integrated governance of sustainable tourism systems. Tourism management must meet various requirements to maintain profitability and fulfil environmental and social standards; this is complicated by the in- volvement of multiple actors with different interests and goals. In such a direction, the chapter highlights the contribution of the THS, a govern- ance framework that integrates the triple bottom line with the triple helix of innovation, guiding science, policy, and industry actors to make tourism sustainable. Through the THS, systems thinking could support key actors in better understanding the multidimensionality of sustainability and the ways to harmonise the variety to manage. This study offers guidance to policymakers and organisations responsible for overall governance. It also provides insights to academic institutions and scholars who play a crucial role in envisioning new scenarios.