NS34 Session 9

Tourism and hospitality are increasingly invoking circular economy (CE) principles as a pathway to sustainability, yet the field lacks consensus on what circularity actually means in a tourism context, how it differs from (or converges with) regenerative approaches, and whether it genuinely delivers systemic change or risks becoming another layer of greenwashing. This session takes that unresolved tension as its central intellectual problem. We anchor the session in a theoretical question with normative stakes: can circular economy thinking serve as a genuine agent for good in tourism, or does it reproduce existing inequities and power asymmetries under the guise of sustainability?  Drawing on systems thinking and political ecology as theoretical frames, we examine circularity not as a technical fix but as a sociotechnical and governance challenge. 

The session is organised around three tightly scoped debates. First, we clarify the concepts of circularity, regenerative tourism, and degrowth, which are often used interchangeably in tourism research despite important differences. Papers in this thread are expected to clearly position their concepts and justify the chosen framing. Second, we examine technology-enabled circularity and its limits. Technologies such as AI, digital twins, and data analytics are reshaping how resources are managed in hospitality operations, but their broader implications for labour, data ownership, and unequal access remain insufficiently explored. Contributions are invited that go beyond efficiency gains to interrogate who bears the costs of digital-circular transitions and who captures the value. Third, we address measurement, governance, and accountability: circularity claims in tourism are rarely rigorously verified. This thread invites methodological contributions, including systems modelling, qualitative governance analysis, and indicator development, that help distinguish substantive circular practice from performative compliance. 

Across all three themes, the session highlights justice and equity as central to circular economy transitions, drawing particular attention to governance, labour conditions, and value distribution within Nordic tourism contexts. 

The session is designed to be genuinely participatory across career stages, from postgraduate researchers to senior scholars and industry actors, without diluting its intellectual ambition. Participants are expected to engage with trade-offs, not only opportunities.