The Edgar Morin's Complexity Theory in Tourism Studies

Abstract

The field of tourism is widely recognized for its complexity, which has driven researchers to adopt approaches that comprehend the complexity of its phenomena. Among the various theories proposed, Complexity Theory (Morin, 2011) has stood out as a relevant approach. In this context, this article investigated how Edgar Morin's Complexity Theory has contributed to tourism studies. For this purpose, an exploratory and qualitative research was conducted, focusing on the integrative literature review concerning the concept, usage, methodology, main contributions, limitations, and works of Complexity Theory in tourism research. Then, a search was conducted in four international and national databases. The work revealed that Complexity Theory has enabled advances in understanding tourism as a complex system, allowing investigations into the relationships between objects, environments, and contexts, especially regarding interdisciplinarity, sustainability, authenticity, and destination planning. However, it is important to note that some precautions should be taken to avoid inconsistencies, such as adequate delimitation and exploration of concepts, theoretical and methodological coherence, and care regarding positivist biases in scientific writing.