The brutal collapse of Dubai comes as a cruel reminder of the reality of tourism development. Not only does a new destination have to establish itself durably, but it can only be built upon the respect of a certain equilibrium. A showcase of extravagance and the superlative, the emirate was overcome by the craze for being bigger and taller, repeating the same mistakes made fifty years earlier that disfigured part of the Mediterranean shoreline and nearby islands. The accelerated race ahead of real estate promoters diverted them from the basic trends that are currently guiding travelers choices. Concrete, towers and giganticness do not correspond to their aspirations for getting away and their quest for authenticity.

Sustainable development is not a passing fashion for riding the environmentalist wave. It is an essential principal of respectful growth that allows cycles to evolve normally. By forcing their rate of development, some destinations dig the graves for the hotels of tomorrow, such as the Arizona desert that currently houses immense cemeteries of airplanes that are too noisy, too polluting, too fuel hungry. Beyond Dubai’s incomplete construction sites, we may question the survival of its operational hotels once tourists shy away from a disfigured Gulf. And what might we think of the hospitality frenzy stirring up Shanghai or South Africa?

Globalization is in the process of making operating conditions equal, including in countries with reputations for their low costs for real estate, for construction and employment. It becomes all the more important to respect the rules of sustainable development when they guarantee the durability of the new hotel offer. If the islands in the Indian Ocean succeeded in keeping their image and appeal for decades, it is because growth was controlled through responsible strategies.

This approach is going even further in the minds of travelers who are becoming citizens who are aware of the impact of their choice. They will be more likely to prefer closer destinations in the future in order to avoid long trips producing CO2. When theis happens the mature markets of Europe or North America offer new territories for hospitality growth with the adaptation of the supply to environmental demands.