The assumption that tourism growth can be sustainable is widespread in certain academic sectors and public institutions. It is an assumption that is partly founded on the Tourist Multiplier theory, proposed by Archer and Owen in the early 1970s. However, this premise is coming up against an increasingly urgent reality: the finite nature of our planet and its resources. Economic development has natural limits. The article presents a conflictivist view of tourism development that is more in line with this reality: The emergence of new economic activity – or its growth – forces us to restructure our use of the available resources. These resources cannot always be multiplied. And as part of this process, some will lose and others will win.
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