The aim of this article is to justify the need to introduce certain changes in tourism governance in this post-pandemic period and in what direction; a complex research question will be addressed by focusing on one of its aspects: the role of local communities. More than governance, the word more extensively used today is co-governance, but only with two actors: public administrations and business organisations. Cooperation between them is necessary but not sufficient because they are not the only actors involved in this industry. An alliance with citizens is essential so that social sustainability is possible and the proliferating outbreaks of tourism-phobia, which are not against tourism, but against certain models and forms of its growth, can be avoided or reversed. In a mature democratic society, should the type of tourism development for a territory be decided without the direct participation and adherence of those who permanently reside there?
