Call for Papers – MD Journal Special Issue (2026)

MD Journal has announced a call for papers for a new thematic dossier exploring the intersection of design disciplines and sustainable cultural tourism. As the global travel sector continues to expand (projected to account for nearly 10% of the global economy by 2025) there is an urgent need to critically rethink tourism as a field of environmental, cultural, and social responsibility rather than mere consumption.

This special issue focuses on “Design for Territories,” an approach that integrates the design of products, services, spaces, and systems with the specific cultural, social, and economic realities of local areas. The dossier seeks to examine destinations not merely as promotional backdrops, but as living, layered systems continuously shaped by residents, visitors, institutions, and local narratives.

Design is positioned as a critical mediator capable of balancing local interests with visitor engagement. By implementing coordinated initiatives, design can address the challenges of both overtourism in popular heritage areas and undertourism in marginalized regions. The issue heavily emphasizes “circular design” as a guiding principle—not only for minimizing environmental impact but for sustainably organizing the processes, resources, and relationships that form the tourist experience.

The call invites proposals that explore how cultural heritage design, service design, systemic design, and strategic design can guide:

• Craft design for cultural heritage and the sustainable promotion of local heritage.
• Policies to revitalise tourism and promote education on sustainable cultural tourism
• Products and services for city branding and destination branding with a focus on sustainability
• Examples of circular design applied to sustainable and cultural tourism