Routes and Itineraries as a Means of Contribution for Sustainable Tourism Development

The study emerges from the idea that 2017 has been recognized as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development (UNWTO 2016). The recognition underlines the potential of tourism to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thus, it assesses the extraordinary opportunity to build a tourism sector that is more responsible and committed to global development goals. The author focuses on the potential of cultural and natural routes, and itineraries, in terms of inclusive and sustainable economic growth; social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction; resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change; cultural values, diversity and heritage; and mutual understanding, peace and security. Indeed, the paper aims to describe the routes and itineraries, most of which have survived from past centuries, and analyze their potential to boost the power of tourism as a solid contributing factor in order to make the world a better place. The methodology is qualitative and develops beginning with the selection and analysis of bibliographic sources through the identification of key words such as itineraries, cultural routes, historical routes, thematic routes, and so on. Besides these sources, the author will assess other relevant information collected from websites and social network pages related to itineraries and routes known at a European and international level. The sources collected have facilitated the classification of the itineraries and routes according to geographical, historical, thematic, and motivational criteria, and the results have been analyzed based on to their contribution to the SDGs. The conclusions, will also take account of some research limitations such as the problems arising from the analysis of the topic due to the considerably large amount of existing itineraries around the world, and the difficulty to distinguish between official itineraries accredited by entities like the Council of Europe, and those itineraries recognized by other relevant stakeholders, like local communities and travelers.