Evidence-informed decision-making in sustainable tourism: from research to action

This article acknowledges advances made in the development of tourism indicators and the capacity for evidence generation regarding sustainable tourism. However, we contrast this progress with what continues to be limited utilisation of such evidence in tourism decision-making. This review presents good practices of evidence use and showcases promising advances toward the employment of evidence-informed approaches in the future. A novel categorisation of the literature on evidence-informed policymaking highlights opportunities for advancing evidence use at all stages of policy development. Importantly, a continuous and context-sensitive engagement with evidence users over different stages of the policymaking process greatly enhance the chances of evidence-informed decision-making. A significant part of the current evidence generated on sustainable tourism practices tends to target the problem-definition stage. Evidence generation for problem-solving and evaluation is more neglected, particularly in the scholarly community, despite the utility it holds for decision-makers. Other success factors for evidence use include pursuing participatory approaches, using actionable simulations and prioritising local systems thinking over standardisation. Despite these advancements, there is an urgent need for increased empirical research on actual evidence use, including building knowledge on the motivations and behaviours of evidence users, effective forms of evidence presentation and evidence co-creation through research-practice partnerships.