How Sport Tourism Helps to Improve the Sustainable Development of Outermost Island Destinations and Their Resilience: The Study Case of La Réunion Island

The aim of this chapter is to highlight the links between the development of sports tourism and the resilience of vulnerable island destinations. Many islands, due to their natural assets, are tempted by the mobilization of sports tourism as a lever for the development of their economy. Our work will allow us to recall the ambiguous role of tourism, particularly in the context of vulnerable island territories due not only to their natural characteristics but also to their isolation. In that perspective, this chapter will mobilize a case study: the Island of La Réunion, a French and European ultraperipheral region of the Indian Ocean. The expertise of the experience of this destination, positioned on a sports tourism strategy, will show that beyond the visible productive and economic dimensions, it is also the dimensions of transformation that have to be highlighted to assess the success or failure of this strategy. A Sports tourism strategy, well implemented, can also improve the adaptive capacity and the resilience of the remote destination.