About us

The Expertise Network Sustainable Urban Tourism (ENSUT) is an initiative of the Creative Business domain of Inholland University of Applied Sciences. We explore how tourism can add value to an urban area. We do this with a growing network of knowledge institutions, governments, businesses, residents, researchers and students.

ENSUT would like to provide a powerful answer to the question: ”How can we (re)design urban tourism in a sustainable and resilient way?” From various disciplines and city councils there is a need to investigate and redefine tourism from a systemic perspective. In this way, it can be demonstrated what value tourism can add to an urban area.

ENSUT wants to meet these needs by entering into smart partnerships and discovering innovative solutions. We do this at different scales. We work together with international partners in projects such as SmartCulTour and Smartdest, but we are also visible in the middle of cities such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam, through our living labs. Irrespective of the scale level, useful research reports are produced, but also handy tools.

The concept of Sustainable Urban Tourism is based on the following key principles:

– Improving the quality of life of the destination community
– Providing a high experiential value to urban users
– Preserving and enhancing the quality of the natural environment, on which both the community and visitors depend.

By focusing on these principles, ENSUT hopes to gain a better understanding of regenerative tourism and provide tools to help develop the phenomenon further.

In addition to Sustainable Urban Tourism, ENSUT is working on three other themes:

Regenerative Placemaking

The Regenerative Placemaking pillar works from a systemic perspective to understand and develop the visitor economy (in its broadest sense) in metropolitan regions in ways that enhance the quality of place and life, including through placemaking.

Smart Citizenship & Governance

The Smart Citizenship & Governance pillar focuses on the organisation of tourism. It aims to go beyond solutionism and participationism. This is done through constructively critical consideration of governance processes and ways to meaningfully engage stakeholders and encourage joint ownership.

Disruptive Innovations

Within the Disruptive Innovations pillar, the focus is on ways in which social and technological innovations contribute to changes in the visitor economy. It also works towards encouraging innovations that will create a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable tourism and leisure ecosystem.

Within the Creative Business domain of Inholland University of Applied Sciences, there are several living labs that focus on various social issues. ENSUT mainly cooperates with the two living labs that focus on tourism and leisure, namely:

– Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Amsterdam
– Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam

In the Urban Leisure & Tourism Labs we focus on how tourism and leisure can positively contribute to Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The results, solutions and innovations from the labs make an important contribution to our network and the field, and also provide new insights into education.

We invite knowledge institutions, companies and (government) organisations to participate in our growing network and to share issues. From our expertise and together, we hope to come up with inspiring solutions. The network will be launched at the end of May 2023 and we are still looking for launch partners. Will you join us?

Header Photo Credits: Philippa Collin