Is tourism the mean to achieve sustainable growth?

We analyze whether it is possible for an economy specialized in tourism to achieve long-run growth, ensuring that its natural resources are used sustainably. This is a very delicate issue, since tourism is based on a deep and complex bilateral relationship with the surrounding environment, which affects and is affected by tourists' inflows. Indeed, on the one hand, environmental assets are a fundamental determinant of tourists' destination choice and, on the other hand, tourism has negative effects on the environment. We construct an economic model where agents determine how to allocate resources between accumulating tourism facilities and preserving the environment, since tourists' inflow depends on the quality of the environment. We show that a sustainable development pathway exists and the nature of tourists preferences is determinant in determining the long run economic growth rate