What is Indexes

This work intends to verify if there is academic research that proposes innovative strategies for sustainable tourism. It analyses 70 valid documents including theses, dissertations, scientific papers, and reports. Main objectives to explore are which themes stand out most; the difference between academic production in Portugal and Brazil; and how the topics of sustainability, environment, governance, planning, and regulation relate to tourism. A software for qualitative analysis is used to enrich the discussion around sustainable tourism discerning preferential governance strategies. Few works use sustainability indexes, and, if used, most of them are descriptive. For real sustainable tourism, its governance has to be based on appropriate indicators. Measures can empower destinations, providing the information needed to decide accurate and creatively. A challenge for the Portuguese academy on tourism and hospitality is to have an ongoing role in implementing key indicators and in their validation and monitoring.