Innovation in sustainable tourism projects in Alpine resorts

Abstract : Alpine resorts are particularly sensitive to the question of tourism sustainability, notably because of their economic dependence on winter tourism in a context of climate change. They can be characterized by the notion of vulnerability, which reflects their adaptive capacity to coinciding issues of sustainability and adaptation to climate change. This chapter analyses four tourist resorts in the French Alps (Val d’Isère, Saint Gervais, Combloux and Les Gets) as innovative milieus that create the expertise required to address the potential challenges of this adaptive capacity. The chapter first provides an explanation of the specific characteristics of these resorts with regard to sustainable tourism, their relative sensitivity and capacity to innovate. It then examines the innovative dimension of local solutions explored in the four study sites, and their ability to stimulate real change towards sustainable development for the local communities.