Accessible Island and Coastal Tourism: An Integrative Framework for Participation and Sustainability

Accessible tourism is increasingly recognised as a condition of socially sustainable development, yet its documented provision does not necessarily enable its usability. This conceptual paper develops an Inclusive Tourism Sustainability Framework (ITSF) through a structured, purposive synthesis of accessibility chain, capability, inclusive tourism, economic and island studies literature. The contribution is integration and operational refinement, not a new general theory or an empirical validation. The physical, digital, economic and institutional–social conditions form a configuration whose indispensable links must meet user-specific requirements at the time of travel. A threshold model separates journey feasibility from subsequent choice, while a generalised utility formulation distinguishes monetary costs, time, effort and risk. Six untested propositions connect this core mechanism to participation and, conditionally, to welfare, firm and destination outcomes. Operational indicators, a source-to-proposition map and a clearly labelled hypothetical coastal illustration show how the framework could be implemented. The accessibility dividend is defined as a non-additive family of outcomes: commercial gains need not imply improved affordability or equity. Island and coastal conditions, including limited substitutes, weather-related disruptions and conservation constraints, bound the proposed relationships. Accessibility remains independently justified by rights; improvements in competitiveness, resilience and sustainability require separate evidence rather than being presumed consequences of investment.