Introduction

The challenges facing tourism destinations today constitute a central area of research within academic, policy and tourism management discourses (Ivars i Baidal et al. 2013; Shang et al. 2024). The maturation of global tourism markets has precipitated a slowdown in growth trajectories, increasing competitive pressures across the sector. This phenomenon is compounded by an experienced consumer base demanding superior quality in destination offerings (Dwyer et al. 2009; Rasoulinezhad 2020). Existing scientific articles have critically examined the nexus between well-established destinations, sustainable development paradigms and strategic market diversification (Bramwell et al. 2017) while examining the role of such destinations within an evolving global landscape marked by structural realignments in tourism dynamics (Duhamel and Violier 2009). Research using the mainstream paradigm highlights the need for adaptive strategies that strengthen sustainability, improve competitive positioning, and enhance service excellence to navigate these transformative changes effectively (Schianetz et al. 2007).

Tourism is a dynamic industry due to changes in the consumer market and its constant development, which impacts the resident community. Although the adverse effects of tourism are not a new phenomenon, new dynamics make this issue of constant importance. Public managers consider that this activity promotes economic development, but sometimes an overuse of this factor leads to problems for residents, becoming a problem that must be managed appropriately (Berselli et al. 2022).

This situation requires a common vision shared by the different participating agents (Faulkner 2002) and a combination of public-private efforts (Klijn and Skelcher 2007). According to Simeoini et al. (2019), the transition to sustainable tourism is a complex task, requiring time, money, and the willingness of stakeholders to undertake the required changes and implement sustainable practices.

Ecotourism is growing globally, positioning itself as an alternative to conventional tourism that seeks to minimise its environmental impact and maximise benefits for local communities (Baloch et al. 2023). This trend has been driven by a growing environmental awareness and a desire for more authentic and meaningful tourism experiences (Walker and Moscardo 2014). Local ecotourism ventures have emerged as key players in this scenario, offering tourism products and services that promote the conservation of natural and cultural resources (Kummitha 2020a). According to Gong and Chen (2023), “the tourism industry’s contribution to green growth is known as sustainable tourism, which involves various tourism services that consider environmental and social concerns”.

Ecotourism ventures face challenges in ensuring their long-term sustainability. The persistence of these businesses depends on entrepreneurs’ ability to effectively manage the economic, social, and environmental aspects of their activities. However, the factors influencing entrepreneurs’ decisions to maintain their businesses in the ecotourism sector are still unknown (Kummitha 2020a, 2020b).

This research aims to analyse how economic, social, and environmental management influences ecotourism entrepreneurs’ decisions to maintain their businesses in the long term. It seeks to understand, from the entrepreneurs’ perspective, the key factors that influence their persistence in the sector and the strategies they implement to achieve the sustainability of their ventures, including mitigating overtourism.

The aim is to provide empirical knowledge for developing public policies and support strategies for ecotourism ventures. It will also help public administrations or local governments to design training and technical assistance programmes to consolidate ecotourism as a sustainable economic activity and community development. The perspectives of these programme designs include mitigating the social impact of land use transformation, infrastructure overload, environmental impacts, impact on the local community and negative experiences or perceptions for tourists.

Ecotourism is a type of responsible tourism that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local populations. This activity involves interacting with nature and local cultures, promoting environmental education and interpreting natural and cultural heritage (Chan et al. 2021). However, ecotourism represents an opportunity for conservation and a source of income for local communities. Ecotourism ventures generate jobs, promote local development and contribute to the economic diversification of regions (Samal and Dash 2023).

In the last five years, there has been a discussion about touristification as an effect of tourism-dependent economies that affects social, economic and cultural aspects of a community or geographic space, with the main driver being the satisfaction of tourism needs (Dimitrovski et al. 2022; Woo et al. 2022). Likewise, overtourism of specific public spaces or spaces rich in natural resources is discussed, understanding this term as an excess of tourists that saturates the capacity of tourist facilities, being a problem for sustainable management (Bouchon and Rauscher 2019; Nepal and Nepal 2021; Cheung and Li 2019).

Various measures have been taken in the public sphere to mitigate overtourism (Durán-Román et al. 2022). In Spain, for example, tourist taxes on overnight stays in hotel accommodation have been implemented in two autonomous communities that receive the most tourist flows in Spain. More specifically, it was implemented in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia 2012 and the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands in 2016. Although the funds raised have achieved various sustainability improvement objectives, reducing tourist flows in both autonomous communities has not been possible (Durán-Román 2023).

Something similar happens in Italy, specifically in Venice, where overtourism is so intense that it has evolved into high rates of anti-tourism among the resident population (Seraphin et al. 2018). Although the establishment of taxes on tourist activity is positive, it remains debatable whether it can correct these market failures (Nepal and Nepal 2021).

Additionally, there are other examples where public management in the tourism sector has achieved excellent results in matters focused on sustainability and ecology. More specifically, Finland, named the most sustainable country in the world (Sachs et al. 2024), is taking different measures to attract tourists who care for the environment, boosting the country’s tourism industry and economy. Thus, ecotourism and ecological preservation are promoted from the public sphere, while offering possibilities for scientific study, environmental education and outdoor leisure (Rono 2023). Working with numerous government organisations, local communities and stakeholders is also encouraged (Metsähallitus 2020). In addition, from the public sphere, tourism companies are helped to adopt sustainable and ecological practices and support their marketing efforts, developed in the Sustainable Travel Finland programme (Smith 2022).

Sustainable business management integrates economic, social and environmental aspects into an organisation’s decision-making and operations. In ecotourism, sustainable management involves adopting practices that minimise environmental impact, reduce touristification, minimise overtourism, promote social equity and generate long-term economic benefits (Grosbois and Fennell 2022). Implementing sustainable business management models requires a strategic vision that allows entrepreneurs to identify the opportunities and challenges they face in an increasingly competitive and complex environment.

The survival of ecotourism ventures depends on a combination of internal and external factors. Internal factors include the entrepreneur’s management capacity, product and service quality, innovation, and adaptability to change (Franco et al. 2021). External factors include the economic environment, public policies, competition, market trends, and changes in the natural environment (Qiu et al. 2020).

Ecotourism entrepreneurs have developed many strategies to achieve sustainability in their businesses. These strategies can be classified into three main categories: economic, social, and environmental (Kummitha 2020b). Economic strategies focus on income generation, diversification of products and services, and cost reduction (Alisa and Ridho 2020). Social strategies aim to strengthen relationships with local communities, promote stakeholder engagement, and develop strategic partnerships (Khaledi Koure et al. 2023). Environmental strategies focus on minimising environmental impact, conserving natural resources, and promoting sustainable practices (Baloch et al. 2023). Most of the reviewed literature evidences the impacts of tourism considering the sustainable triple bottom line, that is, the environmental, sociocultural, and economic impacts within destinations (Veríssimo et al. 2020).

This work is structured in four main parts. The introduction provides an overview of the current state of research in this field and presents a view of a knowledge gap intended to be filled. The second part describes the methodology used in the study, which aims to meet the stated objective, followed by a third section presenting the key findings. Finally, the last section analyses the results in detail and offers final comments on the research.

Methodology

The realisation that numerous tourist destinations are perceived to be unsustainable, whereas others are on the verge of decline (Zhang and Jensen 2007), justifies a process of adaptation (Mazanec et al. 2007) to an increasingly competitive tourism industry (Dwyer et al. 2009). Over the past three decades, sustainable development has emerged as an optimal strategy for the balanced management of tourist destinations (Gkoumas 2019), with broad consensus reached in academic, political and industrial circles about the need for more sustainable and, therefore, competitive tourism (Gössling et al. 2012)

Sustainable tourism development would need to satisfy all the agents involved (Adongo et al. 2018), creating economic opportunities and sociocultural benefits, and assuring environmental conservation (Nickerson et al. 2016) and specifically, providing a satisfactory experience for tourists, maximising benefits for the private sector, generating development for the local community, assuring environmental conservation (Pulido-Fernández et al. 2015) and institutional sustainability for present and future generations (Bramwell et al. 2017).

Governments and international organisations highlight the importance of sustainability in the tourism industry, putting pressure on tourism businesses to align their practices with sustainability principles (Xu and Gursoy 2015). However, there is a duality surrounding the adoption of sustainable business practices.

According to the registry of the Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador, Ecuador has 2,757 accommodation infrastructures dedicated to ecotourism, classified by the categories of hostel, guest house, camp, and tourist farm (MINTUR 2024). The empirical evaluation of the variables to be studied was taken from a sample of 325 entrepreneurs specialised in ecotourism in the four natural regions of the Republic of Ecuador, since it is known as the country of the four worlds at the level of tourist brand.

The first region is “Costa”, the western part of the country bordered by the Pacific Ocean (Espinosa et al. 2018). The second region, called “Sierra, “ is located in the central region and formed by the Andes Mountain range (Espinosa et al. 2018). The third region is the Amazon or East, located in the eastern part of the country and is part of the Amazon basin (Espinosa et al. 2018). The fourth region is the Insular or Galapagos Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, about 1000 km from the coast (Espinosa et al. 2018).

An instrument created by the authors was used and validated by Cronbach’s Alpha, with a value greater than 0.8. The average variance extracted was greater than 0.8 for the constructs. A Likert-type rating scale from 1 “no impact” to 6 “high impact” was used for the dependent variables, and the independent variables range from 1 “not at all agree with maintaining the enterprise” to 6 “totally agree with maintaining the enterprise.”

There are two methods in Structural Equation Models (SEM), the covariance-based (CB-SEM) and the partial least squares (PLS-SEM). This research uses the first for its rigour in estimating and determining reliability and validity parameters (Dash and Paul 2021). Additionally, the Multiple Indicators and Multiple Causes (MIMIC) approach is used, where the determinants that influence a latent variable (structural model) are analysed, and then how this latent variable is reflected in the result variables (measurement model) is analysed (Vergara-Romero et al. 2022). The data analysis was carried out with the free software JASP Team (2024). The hypothetical path diagram of the model is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
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Model path diagram: The hypothetical path diagram of the model.

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The various applications of structural equations with sustainable destinations and overtourism are found in Darda and Bhuiyan (2022), analysing the economic impacts. Tokarchuk et al. (2022) analyse tourism capacity through sentiment analysis. Biendicho et al. (2022), examine antitourism in Barcelona, Spain. Chen (2023) analyses the sustainable business of ecotourism in the green economy, and Teruel-Sanchez et al. (2025) analyse the drivers for tourism entrepreneurship through structural equations.

The research has three hypotheses to be contrasted, motivated by previous research. Economic management will be measured by entrepreneurs’ perceptions of their ability to generate benefits (Crosby 2009; Díez Martínez et al. 2016; Herrera Enríquez and Rodríguez Rodríguez, 2017) and the degree of differentiation of the venture and its ability to attract a specific market segment (Fernández Aldecua et al. 2012; Huertas López et al. 2020; Otero and González 2011). The following hypothesis arises from these variables.

H1: The economic management of ecotourism ventures positively influences the entrepreneur’s perception of maintaining the type of business (+).

Social management will be evaluated by the entrepreneur’s leadership for creating a positive work environment and motivating employees (Kasalak et al. 2016; Situmorang and Mirzanti 2012; Zainol and Yasin 2023). Likewise, associativity is the ability to collaborate with other actors in the sector and even with other economic sectors to access resources and knowledge (Esparza-Huamanchumo et al. 2023; Galvez-Acevedo et al. 2020; Rusli et al. 2024).

H2: Social management of ecotourism ventures positively influences the entrepreneur’s perception of maintaining the type of business (+).

Environmental management will be measured by the variable of environmental protection, which is the perception of commitment to the sustainability of the enterprise (Irawan and Hartoyo, 2022; Jayasekara et al. 2024; Setini et al. 2021) and the contribution to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems (Ahmad and Khalid Balisany 2023; Sobhani et al. 2022; Ren et al. 2021).

H3: Environmental management of ecotourism ventures positively influences the entrepreneur’s perception of maintaining the type of business (+).

Finally, Local Entrepreneurship in Ecotourism will be evaluated by the perception that maintaining a local ecotourism enterprise is a way to generate income for my community (Esparza-Huamanchumo et al. 2023; Esparza-Huamanchumo et al. 2020; Set et al. 2015) and that maintaining a rural ecotourism enterprise is an option to diversify and promote the rural economy with interaction with the benefits of nature. (Esparza-Huamanchumo et al. 2023; Esparza-Huamanchumo et al. 2020; Set et al. 2015).

To validate the model and its estimates, the chi-square will be used by applying degrees of freedom for sensitivity to the sample size, and other parsimony adjustment indicators (GFI, CFI, TLI, RMSEA, and SRMR) will be used to validate the factor weights and the plausible value for the prediction coefficients.

Results

The survey data was processed, and the structural equation model was performed with multivariate normality using the Mardia test, which was significant. 62% of the respondents were men and 38% were women. The age range was from 30 to 60 years. Among the main findings were:

Table 1 shows that the model is significantly better than a null model and that the changes made throughout the construction process were significant. The model has 36 parameters and significantly explains the variation in the dependent variable. A factor model with 22 parameters is also evaluated and has significant values.

Table 1 Model adjustment.
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Table 2 shows indices that measure the model’s fit. It is recommended that the values be greater than 0.90 and interpreted jointly. The evaluated model has a moderate fit to the data, where independence, parsimony, and saturation are evaluated.

Table 2 Adjustment measures.
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Table 3 shows that the evaluated model has a moderate fit to the data, since the RMSEA measures the discrepancy between the model and the data, and the SRMR indicates the local fit that measures the discrepancy between the standardised residuals of the model and the data. It has a good overall fit as an exploratory model of the variables. In the case of the RMSEA, this must be less than 0.08; for SRMR, it must be less than 0.05 to consider the general model Table 4.

Table 3 Other adjustment measures.
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Table 4 Predictor coefficients.
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Sustainable management is based on the interrelation of economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Each dimension is characterised by determining factors that influence territorial structure and development. Economic management incorporates indicators such as demand, income, innovation, development strategies, and productive specialisation, which present statistically significant associations and a positive correlation with sectoral growth.

From the social perspective, management is articulated around leadership, entrepreneurship, and associativity, which are essential for configuring resilient and competitive ecosystems. These elements show a positive and significant relationship, which shows their preponderant role in community cohesion and the generation of value networks.

In the environmental field, management is established with the protection of resources, the mitigation of impacts and the involvement of key actors, establishing a positive link between these variables. Additionally, it is observed that participation in environmental initiatives presents a negative correlation in specific contexts, suggesting structural and sociocultural barriers that can hinder the effective implementation of sustainability strategies.

From a comprehensive perspective, the economic dimension emerges as the most representative and influential in sustainability, with income as the determining variable. In the social sphere, entrepreneurship is configured as the most relevant factor for territorial revitalisation. Finally, protecting natural and cultural resources is the primary environmental sustainability catalyst. However, community involvement constitutes a challenge requiring deeper analysis in the Ecuadorian context.

Table 5 shows the relationship between the latent variable, sustainability in this model, and the tendency to establish or consolidate local enterprises aligned with local, rural and ecotourism. The results show statistically significant associations, which underscore the positive impact of sustainability in the configuration of these tourism modalities.

Table 5 Indicator coefficients.
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Ecotourism shows the highest estimate, indicating its greater receptivity to sustainability initiatives than other tourism forms. Contrastingly, local and rural tourism reflect a positive link with sustainability principles, although to a relatively lesser extent than ecotourism.

These findings underline the importance of designing integrated strategies that promote the consolidation of enterprises with a sustainable base, prioritising ecotourism as a sector with a high development potential within the sustainable economy, and preserving natural and cultural resources.

Discussion

The results of the present study reveal a strong positive correlation between economic management and the decision to maintain local ecotourism ventures, corroborating the findings of previous research (Crosby 2009; Fernández Aldecua et al. 2012; Irawan and Hartoyo 2022; Ahmad and Khalid Balisany 2023). Economic management favours sustainable organisational performance, and each variable will be discussed. Effective economic management promotes sustainable organisational performance (Huang and Liang 2024).

Tourism demand indicates vulnerabilities in supply chains, resource constraints or structural inefficiencies that deter the ability to respond to higher levels of operational scale (Cárdenas-García et al. 2024). Revenues allow organisations to fund innovation initiatives and improve operational resilience. Innovation allows ventures to adapt to changing tourism market dynamics, address challenges and maintain a competitive advantage. Specialisation can improve expertise and operational efficiency, often limiting adaptability in dynamic environments. These strategies can be effective as they facilitate organisational alignment with macroeconomic trends and emerging market opportunities.

Social management focuses on the interaction of community-driven initiatives and entrepreneurial performance, bringing about the adoption of inclusive and collaborative approaches. The variables in this area indicate which mechanisms can improve resilience and social cohesion. Associativity facilitates the sharing of resources, the diffusion of knowledge and the creation of interactions between stakeholders (entrepreneurs, guilds or cooperatives). Expanding digital platforms and social technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to strengthen these networks, improving inclusion and accessibility (Pencarelli 2020).

Entrepreneurship drives the creation of new companies and fosters a culture of innovation and resilience within communities (Awad and Martín‐Rojas 2024). Policy interventions to foster entrepreneurial ecosystems (through financial incentives, training programmes, and mentoring networks) are essential to unleashing this potential. Leadership values indicate possible challenges within the leadership dynamics, such as conflicts, inefficiencies, or incompatibility of priorities. Leadership practices must evolve to incorporate participatory governance models, emphasising ethical leadership and shared decision-making.

This finding can be analysed from the perspective of other ventures outside the ecotourism sector, where it could be mentioned that entrepreneurs may have an authoritarian leadership style (Baysak et al. 2023), and participation in networks and associations may not generate tangible benefits (Blekking et al. 2021). Strong, hierarchical, or centralised social management could conflict with the venture’s economic objectives and hinder decision-making (Eiselein and Dentchev 2020).

Environmental management has become a practical dimension of sustainability, emphasising preserving natural resources and mitigating adverse environmental impacts. Sustainable tourism minimises the negative impact of tourism activities on the environment, society and economy. It aims to achieve an ecologically sustainable, economically viable, socially fair, and ethical balance. (Pan et al. 2018). The variables of this dimension indicate the need to adopt proactive and integrative approaches to environmental management. Involvement can address systemic challenges such as resource limitations, with the design of participatory frameworks that are agile, transparent and inclusive being of great importance. Participation strategies must address power imbalances between stakeholders (civil society, entrepreneurs and government), and provide equitable platforms for dialogue (citizen participation, participatory maps, online forums, accountability or e-government) and decision-making (e-governance or open government).

Protection includes environmental and cultural protection to ensure sustainability. Investments in conservation programmes, biodiversity initiatives, ecosystem restoration, and cultural heritage conservation are ethical, and economic needs are required (Wiktor-Mach 2018). The environmental impact variable emphasises precisely assessing impacts and applying mitigation strategies that balance development objectives with ecological preservation.

Among the indicator variables, the commitment to sustainability helps local tourism since it can maintain adaptable and competitive ventures and prosper in a dynamic global market. In this sense, renewable energy sources can meet demand, circular waste management systems can be used, and digital platforms can be used for green marketing.

Regarding sustaining rural tourism ventures, it can be highlighted that it is significant for immersive participation between actors with experiences such as from farm to table, and visits to little-explored biodiverse habitats to reinforce the intrinsic value of rural destinations. In addition, sustainability can offer a platform to address socioeconomic disparities by creating inclusive employment opportunities and promoting sectoral value chains.

Sustainability influences ecotourism because it aligns with common objectives such as environmental sustainability, poverty reduction, and gender equality (Leal Filho et al. 2023; Koehler 2016). Ecotourism entrepreneurs incorporate these objectives into their business models to establish strategic partnerships with conservation organisations, government agencies and local communities to maintain a tripartite impact.

Conclusions

This study highlights sustainable business management to ensure the long-term viability of ecotourism enterprises. The results emphasise that economic, social, and environmental dimensions must be integrated to foster resilient and competitive tourism enterprises. Economic management integrated by revenue generation, diversification, and strategic planning emerges as a determinant of sustainability. Likewise, through entrepreneurship, leadership, and partnership, social management fosters community participation and strengthens collaborative networks. Meanwhile, environmental management integrated by resource protection and impact mitigation maintains ecological integrity and ensures long-term viability.

A significant contribution of this research is validating the positive influence of sustainability-driven tourism practices on the persistence of local ecotourism enterprises. The results show that sustainability is a theoretical construct and a tangible driver of long-term business and community well-being. Furthermore, the high responsiveness of ecotourism enterprises to sustainability initiatives highlights the potential of these enterprises to serve as models for sustainable tourism strategies. However, challenges remain, particularly regarding the observed negative correlation in community participation, suggesting the presence of social and structural barriers impede participatory governance and equitable stakeholder engagement. To address these challenges, tourism policymakers and stakeholders must design inclusive frameworks that foster participation while balancing economic, social and environmental priorities.

The research is limited to a specific sample of Ecuadorian ecotourism entrepreneurs, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other geographic contexts. Future studies should expand the scope of the sample to include diverse regional and international cases to improve the robustness of the conclusions.

Employing structural equation modelling to establish significant relationships between variables does not capture ecotourism businesses’ dynamic and evolving nature. A longitudinal approach would provide a more comprehensive understanding of how sustainability-driven business practices influence business survival over time.

Furthermore, while economic, social, and environmental factors were examined, other contextual variables such as regulatory frameworks, cultural influences, and macroeconomic conditions may also play an important role in shaping sustainable tourism entrepreneurship.

Qualitative methodologies, such as in-depth interviews and case studies, could complement quantitative findings by offering more profound insights into ecotourism entrepreneurs’ motivations, challenges, and lived experiences. This mixed-methods approach would contribute to a better understanding the complexities of achieving sustainability in the tourism sector.

Finally, exploring the moderating effects of other variables in the relationship between business management and sustainability is promising. Variables such as the size of the venture, the entrepreneur’s experience, the level of competition in the market, and public policies could influence how ventures respond to the different dimensions of management.