GONZAGA, A. A.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/0131280000335183; GONZAGA, Ariana Almeida.
Abstract:
Alternative tourism can contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
however, its broad scope has produced a degree of imprecision on the subject. This study aimed
to identify and unify knowledge about alternative tourism, specifying the assumptions that
differentiate this approach as a development model. It is a systematic literature review of
articles published in the Web of Science and Scopus databases to extract an integrative concept
of alternative tourism and define its characteristics, modalities, positive and negative impacts,
and main critical. To reduce researchers' bias and ensure the legitimacy and rigour of the
research, we established a review protocol based on the PRISMA 2020 technique. The results
indicate that the principles of sustainability guide the development of alternative tourism, which
can occur through a wide range of tourist activities, which have in common concern and
responsibility for the environment and local communities. It is an ambivalent phenomenon that
entails positive and negative impacts, grouped based on the sustainability tripod. The main
criticisms of the model are about the economic viability and the possibility of reproducing the
structures it seeks to subvert. The findings bring theoretical and empirical contributions to
destination management.
