Suppliers as key collaborators for sustainable tourism development

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce a conceptual approach to understanding driving forces for innovation in sustainable tourism development. The model underpins the fact that innovation in tourism is not solely the effect of a strategic and wilful internal action in tourism firms and organisations, but also the consequences of external driving forces. Further, the article offers a more detailed review of the importance of suppliers as (one of several) push factors for sustainable tourism development. Examples are provided, and possibilities and limitations in terms of a rapid development of more sustainable practices in tourism are discussed. A four-field model aims at stimulating the search for new forms of collaboration between tourism firms and their suppliers in the upstream supply chain, and it adds dimensions to the traditional perspectives on value chains in tourism.