ATLANTIC SUNSET: Sunset tourism as the new horizon for sustainable tourism futures?
Résumé
Tourism as an industry is consistently dependent on the natural environment in which it is based. There has been extensive engagement in tourism on landscapes and bodies of water and their role in tourism (Foley and Kistemann, 2015) but less has been written about the role of the sky.
In recent years we have seen a growth in the concept of astro-tourism or dark sky tourism (MacMillan, Dalgleish, Conway and Mahon 2023, Impey and Formanek 2021, Paskova, Budinska, and Zelenka 2020). There is evidence to suggest that the valorisation of the sunset may also be a beneficial way to promote and develop sustainable tourism product (Mira-Pérez 2018). The possibility of capturing the sunset as a sustainable tourism resource creates significant potential to explore central concepts of regeneration of peripheral areas, carrying capacity in areas suffering from over tourism and the future possibility of tourism development including ideas of de-growth.
This paper will present the initial conceptual frameworks, study areas and initial findings from the ATLANTIC SUNSET project. The ATLANTIC SUNSET project, supported by Interreg Atlantic Area funds is led by the CEER Foundation. It is based on the experience of Irish, French, Spanish and Portuguese research groups, and seeks to take advantage not only of the natural beauty associated with the best and most particular Atlantic sunsets, but also to identify and enhance the value of local endogenous resources associated with the sun.