Ecosystem services for urban destination development: Potential for sustainability

This chapter addresses opportunities and challenges in urban planning by implementing the concept of ecosystem services in an urban tourism and destination development context. In analysing ecosystem services in urban tourism, we contribute to an emerging literature focusing on urban ecosystem services. An important research gap is also addressed; despite the importance of tourism for cities, there is hardly anything written about the relationship between urban tourism and ecosystem services. This chapter first examines the concept of ecosystem services in relation to the development of urban green infrastructure, primarily based on a literature review. Thereafter, two case studies are conducted in cities in the south of Sweden, to examine the development of green infrastructure in practice. These studies are based on a combination of document analysis, interviews, and on-site observations. In this chapter, it is argued that ecosystem services is a fruitful concept for understanding sustainability challenges in relation to urban tourism. Ecosystem services can also be used as a framework for developing management solutions in urban tourism, aiming both at adapting to effects of climate change and at enhancing tourist experiences in urban environments.