Social movements, workers and residents as actors of transformative paths in tourism

Abstract The tourism sector is facing increasing pressure to move beyond its growth-oriented development trajectory due to the environmental and social consequences of continued tourism expansion. While degrowth provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for such a transformation, the question of how this transformation can be initiated and which actors can drive it remains insufficiently addressed. Drawing on Erik Olin Wright’s (2010) concept of symbiotic transformation, this paper examines the role of civil society actors in advancing degrowth pathways in tourism. Based on qualitative research conducted in Barcelona and Mallorca, it analyses the perspectives and transformative potential of social movements, tourism workers and residents in tourism destinations. The findings demonstrate that, despite widespread criticism of the dominant tourism model in highly touristified destinations and considerable support for post-growth principles, existing actors remain fragmented and lack the capacity to form broad and coherent alliances capable of challenging growth-oriented tourism development. In particular, tourism workers and marginalised resident groups remain insufficiently integrated into broader degrowth movements, while economic dependence on tourism constrains their capacity for collective mobilisation. The paper therefore argues that future degrowth strategies in tourism should place greater emphasis on building transformative bottom-up agency within civil society, particularly through stronger alliances between workers, social movements and environmental organisations. Furthermore, such strategies should increasingly promote economic democracy to make the implementation of tourism degrowth policies more viable.