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Papers

No. 4 (2025)

Travelling close to home to fight fossil capitalism? An exploratory and critical reflection on local tourism as a strategy for degrowth

  • Elisa Magnani
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/rgioa4-2025oa21680
Submitted
dicembre 15, 2025
Published
2026-01-12

Abstract

This essay offers an exploratory and innovative analysis of the interconnectedness between proximity tourism, the climate change/tourism nexus, and tourism degrowth. Firstly, a spatial and epistemological introduction on proximity tourism is offered, and its connection with climate change, followed by an analysis of the critical debate on tourist degrowth. Finally, the connection between these two perspectives is investigated, questioning the effectiveness of proximity tourism in contrasting carbon capitalism, highlighting several critical variables, related to fair and equitable access to tourism mobility, and to socio-nvironmental justice.

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